HR Digitize

Kunal Wadhwani is the CHRO for Choithrams Group & oversees management of over 5000 employees. With over 20 years’ experience in linking human capital to business results, he is highly adept at planning & directing HR Budgeting, Business Partner, Reward & Talent Management Strategies. Kunal has led a cultural transformation within Choithrams by creating agile HR processes that are unique to Choithrams vision & business need. He has led multiple award-winning HR interventions which not only increased the shop floor productivity, but also enhanced the organizations brand image. Kunal is a Global Keynote & Panel Speaker in various professional HR Forums. He has also been a mentor to over 6000+ Management Graduates. He partners with universities to conduct keynotes with student groups to share insights on leadership, conflict, stress management & how to incorporate fun in your modern-day corporate life. His vision is to be a strategic partner to attain organizational excellence by developing and inspiring the true potential of company’s human capital and providing opportunities for growth, wellbeing & enrichment. As he supports the organization with its growth strategy, he also emphasizes the need of ESG as the organization continues to value employees and communities it serves. He is also a professional Ten Pin Bowler who has won the Dubai Singles Ten Pin Championship & has been ranked in the Top 10 Bowlers, by the Emirati Bowling Federation in 2020.

Hayfa’s 24-year experience in Human Capital spans various industries, including finance, real estate, retail and automotive sectors in the private and family-owned business space. She specializes in transformational and agile HR and always keeps the individual colleague experience top of mind when it comes to implementing any human capital strategies in any workplace setting. She is a California State University in Los Angeles (CSULA) graduate and has completed graduate-level management and leadership courses at both Harvard and INSEAD. Hayfa believes that constant learning is the key to keeping up with our ever-changing world, and as such, she also holds an MBA with a specialization in Business Analytics from Hult International Business School’s Dubai campus.

Dr. Mark van Dongen is the Chief HR Officer (CHRO) of RKW- a global leader in innovative foil solutions- and is a business savvy solutions provider, who creates strong cooperation relationships across organizations, countries, and cultures. He has lived and worked in Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia, and bore accountability for HR for up to 22.000 employees. Next to his role as CHRO he is also executive Advisor to multiple female owned start-ups and is professor at the Luxembourg School of Business. He has received the board director diploma IMD and has continuously developed himself through various Executive Development courses from London Business School, IMD and Wharton Business School, where he rounded his profile with the CHRO program Wharton (Sept 2022 - June 2023).

Dr. Rania AlGhamdi is the HR Services Director at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare overseeing daily HR operations, building talent acquisition strategies, and enabling key initiatives that focus on enhancing employee experience. Rania has also served as the Director of Talent learning & Potential where she was responsible for strategizing, developing, and implementing employee engagement and leadership development program and other key functions such as Performance Management, Career Management, Succession Planning, and wellbeing Programs to name a few. She contributed in multiple organizational initiatives in support of D&I, learning, and person-centered care. Rania has participated as a speaker locally and internationally in many HR and T&D events. She has completed several certification programs and is a Certified Knowledge Specialist, Certified Employee Performance Management Professional, Certified Leadership Coach Practitioner, and a Certified Career Services Provider. Rania holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Development from Texas A&M University, USA and has completed her Doctorate Degree from the University of Leicester focusing on the knowledge transfer Practices in Healthcare.

Belgin Ertam is currently handling dual role as the VP HR for GE Middle East, North Africa and Turkiye (MENAT) and Head of Organization and Talent Development for GEIM. She is focused in accelerating the leadership and talent growth together with driving the culture change in global markets and specifically in MENAT region. Belgin leads the HR council for the region and partners with MENAT HR leadership team to execute on Strategic HR pritorities, working closely with GE businesses to position the organization for success.  Prior to joining GE, she started her career at DHL Express where she took different roles until she was appointed as the HR Director in 2004. Then, Belgin worked for Microsoft for 5 years as the HR Director for Microsoft Turkiye. After Microsoft, she joined GE as the HR Director for Turkiye and also assumed the HR Business Partner role for MENAT Commercial Group for two years. She moved to Hong Kong in 2015 and held dual roles as Global Head of Organization and Talent Development and Senior HR Director for Global Functions. In this role, she had been responsible for driving HR processes and initiatives across the regions in 175 countries. Belgin is a graduate of Istanbul University where she studied on Labor Law and Industrial Relations. She completed her education on Leadership at Harvard Business School. Belgin had been the Executive Board Member of PERYON (Personnel Management Association) in Turkiye for 6 years. She founded a training group and led it for 4 years. She lectured on Human Resources Management at Yeditepe University. Due to her remarkable contributions as an HR practitioner, she has been awarded as one of the top 50 CHROs in Turkiye by Fortune Magazine. Belgin is married with two children and a cat.

Georgette Moussallem, Group HR Manager at CFI (Credit Financier Invest) is a professional with 14 years of HR Management experience & Corporate Events Communication. She has notable experience in strategic HR planning, talent retention, data-driven HR, people analytics, emotional intelligence, career guidance, communication, performance, training & development…defining strategic collaboration partnership with government, semi-government and, private sectors. Georgette has extensive experience with leading multinational and, global consulting companies; such as Deloitte; where she was responsible of the full recruitment process and, implementing the coaching function (Tax service line). She holds a Master’s degree in HR Management from Univeristé Saint Joseph (U.S.J., Lebanon) and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication & PR with a minor in Sociology & Anthropology from U.S.J., Lebanon. Georgette is a Licensed Trainer User in Mental Toughness (MT) who received her certification from UK. She’s also certified as a Career Counselor, from the Lebanese American University of Beirut. She utilizes the MT assessment tools & reports, which helps individuals understand how the 4 C’s (confidence, commitment, control, challenge) affect their engagement in life and how they ‘show up” in responding to what’s happening in their life. As a career counselor for a French school, Georgette successfully restructured the orientation department and, implemented creative ideas. Additionally, she led the school team to win a national prize in an advertising and communication university competition. Georgette is a TV Resident Guest Speaker who talks about HR market trends, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, network marketing and how to maximize the future of work. She’s a woman empowerment advocate who aim for gender equality with empathy, diversity, integrity and energy. Moderate many circle, round conference HR related topic table. Frequently invited as Speaker Panelists for HR talk shows, and education fairs. She works with international professionals who are in leadership & decision-maker key role position and, are looking to understand the strategies between their personal life and their work life ones’.