Our Team
The Experts
Qaalfa Dibeehi
25 years of experience
- Member, Board of Directors, Customer Institute (Global)
- Former Dean Leadership Institute, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Global VP Consulting, Forrester (UK)
- Author of two published books on Customer Experience
Education
- MBA – New York University
- MS, Statistics – City University of New York
- MS, Psychology – City University of New York
- MS, Public Health Admin – City University of New York
- Certification in Higher Education Teaching – Harvard University
- Hogan Assessment Certification – Hogan Assessments
Jihane Tehini, CCXP
17 years of experience
- Former Head of Customer Experience & Digital, Bouygues Telecom Business (France)
- Former Principal Facilitator – Leadership Institute, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former consultant- Accenture (France)
- Award Winning Actress, Judge of international CX awards
Education
- MBA – ESCP Business School (France)
- BBA – American University of Beirut
- Certified Customer Experience Professional
Zhecho Dobrev
14 years of experience
- Former Principal Facilitator – Leadership Institute, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Principal Consultant, Beyond Philosophy (UK)
- Author of the book The Big Miss: How Organizations Overlook the Value of Emotions, Business Expert Press
Education
- MBA – University of Bedfordshire (UK),
- MSc – Sofia University (Bulgaria)
Kuldeep Chouhan, CCXP
24 years of experience
- Former Head of Transformation Projects- Personal Banking, First Abu Dhabi Bank (UAE)
- Former Head of Customer Experience, First Abu Dhabi Bank (UAE)
- Former Head of Group Customer Experience, Emirates NBD (UAE)
Education
- MBA (Marketing) – Panjab University (India)
- BSc (Physics) – Delhi University (India)
- Certification in Agile Leadership – Scrum Alliance
- Certified Customer Experience Professional
Olga Guseva, PhD, CCXP
23 years of experience
- Managing Partner, Integria Consult (Russia)
- CXPA European Regional Council member (Global)
- Customer Institute Board of Directors member (Global)
Education
- MBA (Marketing) – State University of New York at Binghamton University (USA)
- Ph.D. (Marketing) – St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (Russia)
- Certified Customer Experience Professional
Paolo Barbesino, PhD
25 years of experience
- Mentor, Central European University (Austria)
- Former SVP, Head of Multichannel Banking, Emirates NBD (UAE)
- Former SVP, Head of Digital – CEE Retail, Unicredit (Austria)
Education
- PhD (Sociology, Social Studies & Technology) – Universita Cattlica del Sacro Cuore (Italy)
- Masters (Communication & Strategic Problem Solving) Universita Cattlica del Sacro Cuore (Italy)
- Bachelors (Economics) Universita Cattlica del Sacro Cuore (Italy)
- Certification In Leadeing for Creativty, Ideo
- Certification in Digital Transformation, Insead–Emirates NBD
Kurly de Guzman, PCC
18 years of experience
- Board Member, International Coaching Federation (Philippines)
- LinkedIn Top Voice
- Former Manager, Hewlett Packard (Philippines)
- Author of book: “Thirty Something and reTired”
Education
- BS (Computer Science) – De La Salle University (Philippines)
- Certified Professional Transformation Coach – Coach Masters Academy
- ICAgile Professional – People Development
Gideon Ruig
30 years of experience
- Founder, RuigCX, Customer Experience Strategy + Design (Netherlands)
- Former Director Customer Experience Shopping malls, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Head Of Customer Experience & Insights, Dubai Airports (UAE)
- Former Head Commercial Development & Innovation, Royal Schiphol Group (Netherlands)
- Founder: Lunchpool – a collaborative culture app
Education
- BA (Design and Design Strategy) ArtEZ University of the Arts (Netherlands)
Dana Khoury Eid
27 years of experience
- Former VP Marketing – Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Channel Marketing Director, MENA, Pepsico (UAE)
- Former Marketing Director, MENA, Pepsico (UAE)
- Former Adjunct Professor, American University of Dubai (UAE)
Education
- MBA – American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
- BBA – American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
- Strategic Management Diploma – Cornell University (USA)
- Certification in Higher Education Teaching – Harvard University
Krishnadas Nanath, PhD
17 years of experience
- Associate Professor, Data Science, Middlesex university (UAE)
- Former Analytics Lead, School of Analytics, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Analytics Consultant, PWC (UAE)
- Former NLP Engineer, Microsoft (India)
Education
- PhD (IT & Systems), Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (India)
- B. Tech. (computer Science) – Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore (India)
- Postgradute Certification (Higher Education) – Middlesex University (UAE)
Amel Murphy
24 years of experience
- Co-founder of Embodied Beings, a wellbeing and leadership consultancy (UK)
- Faculty at Presencing Institute, MIT (USA)
- Founder of the DEI Think Tank in Middle East
- Former Head of Leadership Development, British Petroleum Former Head of Talent Development, Oxfam
- Faculty of Coming Into Your Own, women leadership journey
- Psychosomatic therapist, Somatic experiencing international
- Former faculty of Adler Coaching School
Education
- MSc in O&D, University College London
- Certification on U theory, MIT (USA)
- Systemic and family constellation facilitation, The CSC London
- Certification on cultivating compassion
- Barrett values certification
- Certified trauma resolution therapist
Dapo Fajimi
29 years of experience
- Former Head, Customer Service, Group Consumer Banking, Ecobank (Nigeria)
- Former Head CX Quality Management, Access Bank (Nigeria)
- Former Head, Innovation & Customer Experience, Access Bank (Nigeria)
Education
- MBA – University of Leicester (UK)
- B.Sc. (Industrial Engineering) – University of Ibadan (Nigeria)
- Certified ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System (Lead Auditor)
George Achillias, PhDc
20 years of experience
- Former Senior Director – Advisory Lead EMEA, Cognizant (UK)
- Former Director of Strategy, Wipro (UK)
- Former Director of Global Strategy, Dentsu Aegis Network (UK)
Education
- PhD (Behavioural economics) – Technical University of Crete (Greece)
- MBA – Bentley University (USA)
- Masters (Computer Science) – University of Patras (Greece)
- BSc (Nuclear Physics) – Paris University (France)
Ghulam Husnain Ali, CCXP
24 years of experience
- Former Principal Facilitator, Majid Al Futtaim Leadership Institute (UAE)
- Former Senior Manager, Quality Assurance & Process Improvement, National Bank of Kuwait
- Former Manager, Ernst & Young (Kuwait)
- First certified CX professional by the Customer Experience Professional Association in the GCC
Education
- BA (Mathematics & Economics) – Grinnell College (UK)
- Masters (Accountancy) – SKANS School of Accountancy (Pakistan)
- Chartered Accountant – Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
- Certified Customer Experience Professional
Shamza Khan
26 years of experience
- Former Senior Consultant, Majid Al Futtaim Leadership Institute (UAE)
- Former Senior Consultant, USAID (Pakistan)
- Former Consulting Specialist, Asia School of Business (Malaysia)
- Harvard Business Review author and case writer in collaboration with Columbia University, IESE, Hong Kong University and HKUST.
Education
- Masters (International Finance & Marketing) – Columbia University (USA)
- Masters (International Business) – Columbia University (USA)
- BBA (Management & Marketing) – Hong Kong Polytechnic University (China)
Mustafa el Rafey
34 years of experience
- Founder, TransformHCM, HR Consulting (UAE)
- Former SVP Human Capital, Majid Al Futtaim Retail (UAE)
- Former SVP Human Resources & Global Talent Management, QVC (USA)
- Former SVP Talent Management, Starbucks (USA)
- Former VP Human Resources a& Global HR Systems, Mars (USA)
Education
- BSc (Computer Science) – University of Westminster (UK)
- Post Graduate Diploma (Management Studies) University of Westminster (UK)
Salma el-Shurafa, CPCC, PCC
20 years of experience
- Former Faculty & Executive coach, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Faculty, The Coaches Training Institute Dubai (UAE)
- Executive Coach – Performance Consultants International (UAE)
Education
- Bachelors (HR Management & Industrial Relations), Saint Mary’s University (Canada)
- Certification in Culture Facilitation, Senn Delaney (Heidrick & Struggles)
- Certified Advanced Cultural Intelligence Facilitator, Cultural Intelligence Center
Mohammed Zwayne
32 years of experience
- Former VP Global Solutions Strategy, PMO and Customer Experience, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former VP Global Services Strategy, Operations and Service Excellence, Johnson & Johnson (USA)
- Former Head of Asia Pacific Global Financial Services, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines)
- Former Philippines Country Managing Director (Partner) for Finance Operations BPO, Accenture (Philippines)
Education
- MBA (Business Management), Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (USA)
- BBA ( Finance), Texas A&M University (USA)
Marco Buschman, MCC, CTPC, CPCC
33 years of experience
- Managing Partner, Courius, specialists in the people side of change (Netherlands)
- Executive Coach & Facilitator of Transformation, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Executive Coach & Facilitator of Leadership Development Programs, Cap Gemini (worldwide)
- Lecturer & Executive Coach MBA Programs, Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (Netherlands)
- Author of five books including the bestseller “Verbindend Vermogen” and “The Connection Quotient”
Education
- Msc (Business Administration) – Radboud University (Netherlands)
- Bachelors (Military Business Administration) Royal Military Academy (Netherlands)
Tariq Hassoun
13 years of experience
- Former Senior Manager, Operations & Sustainability, Leadership Institute, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Head of Operations (Sustainability), Kings’ Schools (UAE)
- Former Manager, Operations (incl. sustainability) , GEMS Education (UAE)
- Former Site Manger, Nottingham City Council (UK)
Education
- MBA (Sustainability Leadership) – University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UK)
Celine Schillinger
32 years of experience
- Founder, We Need Social
- Former Head of Innovation & Engagement for Quality, Sanofi Pasteur (Global)
- Top 101 Global Influencers in Employee Engagement & Employee Experience
- Author of the book Dare to Un-Lead: The Art of Relational Leadership in a Fragmented World (Porchlight 2022 Leadership & Strategy Book of the Year; Thinkers50 Top Ten New Management Books 2023)
Education
- Master Degrees, Political Sciences & Corporate Communications (France)
- Kotter Change Leadership Certified
Murielle Grussenmeyer Pereira
30 years of experience
- Former Head of Leadership Development, Leadership Institute, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Former Global Head of L&D and Engagement, Chalhoub Group, (UAE)
- Former Global Executive Development and Organizational Effectiveness Senior Manager, Philip Morris International (Switzerland)
- Former Vice President, Talent Management and Organizational Design, AIG (UK)
Education
- Masters (Managerial Economics) – Universite Paris Cite (France)
- Bachelors (Business) – Universite Paris Cite (France)
- Brain Based Coaching Certification – International Coaching Federation
- Hogan Assessment Certification – Hogan Assessments
Sonali Gogia
23 years of experience
- Co – founder and Lead experience strategist, Bolt Experience Design Studio (India)
- Former Customer Experience Designer & Trainer, The Service Project, (India)
- Former Visiting Faculty, (India’s leading school of Design & Innovation)
- Former Service Designer, Logotel (Italy)
- Former Retail and Education Manager, Lancome, (India)
Education
- Masters (Service Design) – Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
- Bachelors (Business) – Tulane University (USA)
- Facilitation Skills – L’Oreal & Korn Ferry
- Handling Challenging Customers – Lancome
- Professional Selling Skills – Korn Ferry
- Art & Pleasure of Selling Luxury – Lancome
Non-exec Advisory Board
Our non-exec advisory is composed of industry leaders who understand and model the mantra “esse, quam videri” – meaning “to be rather than to seem”. They lead with authenticity and integrity and practice what they preach rather than to simply seeming to do so.
Khaled El Chidiac
- Ex-CEO Global Solutions, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
- Ex-CEO Ventures, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
Zouera Youssoufou
- CEO, Aliko Dangote Foundation (Nigeria)
- Former Global Head, Women in Business, International Finance Corporation – World Bank Group
Francis Giani
- Chief Community Mgmt Officer, Nakeel (UAE)
- Former Head of CX Communities, Majid Al Futtaim (UAE)
Tushar Dani
- Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, Rasan (UAE)
- Former Chief Digital Officer, Al Rajhi Takaful (KSA)