Archives: Speakers

Dr Andreas Schwer was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Electro Optic Systems in August 2022. An accomplished executive leader with deep international experience – including in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America – Dr Schwer has had a varied career in the defence and space domains. His previous experience includes senior positions in the global defence industry, including fourteen years at Airbus Group and five years at the German defence company Rheinmetall AG. Dr Schwer has a thorough understanding of the Company’s global operations, having acted, most recently, as President of EOS EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) for two years, during which time he oversaw the expansion of the company’s operations in NATO and Middle Eastern markets. Among his qualifications, he holds a PhD in the field of system modelling and numerical optimisation.​

Director of Leisure, Memberships, and Marina at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain, where he manages a diverse range of wellness, nutrition ,marina and child care services. His portfolio also includes sports tourism and the organization of special wellness events, ensuring that guests experience a holistic and luxurious approach to well-being. Ilija is known for integrating personalized fitness programs, children facilities, nutritional and recovery treatments into the spa experience, offering comprehensive wellness solutions.

With over a decade of experience in the Middle East, Ilija has developed a deep understanding of the region’s luxury hospitality market. He previously served as Head of Recreation at The Ritz-Carlton, Abu Dhabi, where he enhanced the resort’s offerings with a focus on wellness and elite professional services. His career also includes significant roles at Dubai Lifestyle Hotels, Rosewood Abu Dhabi, and The Abu Dhabi Edition, where he crafted unique wellness, sports tourism, and recovery experiences.

Born in Skopje, Macedonia, Ilija discovered his passion for wellness, nutrition early in life, which has shaped his personal and professional journey. His ability to create innovative wellness journeys ; combining fitness, nutrition and recovery programs—has positioned him as a leader in guest well-being, contributing to the biggest and world-class standards of The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain that counts more than 2500 members.

Alwin leads Genpact’s Global Consulting business for Banking and Capital Markets and brings in 15+ years of experience across operations, digital Transformation and driving Client Centricity. Previously Alwin worked for HSBC in various leading roles including driving digital transformation within client services across 10+ markets. In his current role he is advising financial services clients including Autobanks with regards to implementation of AI use cases at scale, target operating model transformation and setting up change and transformation organizations to ultimately drive client centricity.   

Dr. Webster is an internationally recognized clinical research expert in pain and addiction medicine. He has participated as an Investigator in hundreds of clinical trials and has authored more than 300 peer reviewed articles. Dr. Webster is board certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine and addiction medicine. He serves as an editor for the journal Pain Medicine and serves as a peer reviewer of several professional journals. Additionally, he is a grant reviewer for The National Institute of Health. Dr. Webster has significant expertise in clinical research, with a focus on experimental and human pain models, human abuse potential studies as well as assessing the effects of drugs on respiratory drive.

Adam is the Supply Chain Manager at Buchan Offshore Wind and has over 20 years’ experience working for major operators in the energy industry, with a focus on offshore floating wind. He is a Chartered Engineer with a variety of engineering and project management roles from development through to commissioning and supply chain.

Buchan Offshore Wind is a global offshore wind consortium, consisting of BayWa r.e., a global renewable energy business; Elicio, an experienced Belgian offshore wind developer, owner and operator; and BW Ideol, a proven floating technology leader and international floating wind project co-developer. Buchan Offshore Wind has secured the rights to develop the floating Buchan Offshore Wind Farm, which is located 75km northeast of Fraserburgh, the wind farm will have a capacity of around 1GW, enough to power over 800,000 homes with green, renewable energy.

Gawtam Jhoty is a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer with over 10 years of experience in cooling systems for high-performance electronics. He specializes in thermal management solutions for aerospace and defense applications.