Middle East Beachhead Advisory Board

Mahmoud Haidar

Chair

Mahmoud is a strategy and business advisor, having had operational and consulting experience in Europe, North America and the Middle East and Africa.
 
Mahmoud is a computer and telecommunications engineer, with an MBA in Strategy and Innovation in ICT and another master’s in International Relations.
 
He has an 18-year management experience with Blue Chip firms in technology, finance, services and consulting and he advised government and regulatory agencies in numerous countries.
 
Read Q&As with Mahmoud Haidar
 
View video of Mahmoud Haidar talking about the changing market for ICT products in the Middle East.
 
 

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Eli Khoury

Eli Khoury is a multi-award-winning strategic communications specialist, with considerable experience in branding and communications, particularly in the government sector.
 
CEO MENA of M&C Saatchi, Eli is acknowledged to have introduced practices that have raised the standard and improved the substance of advertising and brand design in the Middle East.
 
Eli is also co-founder of the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation. Eli has visited New Zealand several time for filming projects, and is keen to support New Zealand companies in developing their marketing and communication strategies.

Dr Shane Reti (QSM), MBChB

Dr Shane Reti is a GP/dermatologist. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer and International Programme Director for the Division of Clinical Informatics at Harvard Medical School.
 
Shane undertakes strategic planning, contracts and budgeting, and workforce and policy development which has included licensing all the medical practitioners in Dubai, and developing models of care and policy advice to the Kuwait Ministry of Health.
 
He has extensive experience in health care policy and practice, and spent seven years as a Northland District Health Board Director based in Whangarei before being awarded the 2007 Commonwealth Fund International Harkness Fulbright Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice to Harvard.
 
Shane received the Queens Service Medal (QSM) in the 2006 New Years Honours list, for services to medical research, health and Maori education.
 
He retains an academic appointment at the University of Auckland, is provisionally registered with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, and has a Masters in Management from Harvard University.

Simon Crispe

Simon was educated in New Zealand and having qualified as an Architect in the early 80’s, worked for Lockwood Buildings before moving to the UK in 1984.
 
He joined the Atkins Group in 1991 following his early career as a Chartered Architect in the UK.
 
In 1993 he moved to Dubai and began his involvement with the Jumeirah Beach Resort development, including the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Wild Wadi Aqua Park and the 321m-high Burj Al Arab hotel.
 
His role as Technical Director and then Designer Director on Burj al Arab was interrupted by two years in the UK as Design Team Leader and Project Director for the British Airways World Cargo Centre at London’s Heathrow Airport.
 
In his present capacity as the regional Commercial Director for Atkins in the Middle East, he has overall responsibility for the ongoing and extensive commercial activities of the regional business.
 
His responsibilities also include bidding, negotiation and management of major contracts such as the Dubai Metro and he continues to maintain his brief as Client Director for other significant projects in the region.
 
As a New Zealander, Simon is passionate about helping New Zealand companies in the Beachheads programme establish successful business relationships in the Middle East.

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Nuha Safar

Nuha Safar is a businesswoman from the UAE specialising in the formation and execution of organisational and corporate communication strategies, and management of international and local affairs.
 
She worked for the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry for more than 10 years managing the corporate communication, external relations, and customer service centers. In addition to leading different Dubai based business / CSR initiatives and campaigns, she has organised various regional and international events promoting Dubai and the UAE as a business hub.
 
Nuha is a forming member of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award. She managed to tie up the Dubai Chamber with well respected international and local charitable organisations (such as the UNICEF, MSF, WFP and UAE Red Crescent) through running awareness and fund raising campaigns. Nuha also served on different boards including Dubai Brand Council, UAE Advertisers Business Group, Dubai the City that Cares Campaign, Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Summer Surprises, and Al Noor Center for Children with Special Needs.

She is a graduate of Business Administration from the Higher Colleges of Technology – Dubai Women's College, and graduated from Mohammad Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development, which teaches various master classes from leading business schools such as Cranfield Business School and Singapore Business School.