Meet the Speakers
H.E. Nayef Omar Al-Kalali
Undersecretary Public Works Affairs, Ministry of Works
Kingdom of Bahrain
Nayef Omar Al-Kalali has amassed unparalleled regional expertise through a career spanning two decades in which he has focused on coastal and marine engineering, dredging and land reclamation, island projects, master planning, roads, transport and traffic engineering, engineering management, public administration and strategic business planning, among others.
He is currently the Undersecretary of Public Works Affairs at Bahrain's Ministry of Works and the Vice Chairman of the Urban Planning and Development Authority.
Previously Undersecretary of Public Works Affairs at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Al-Kalali also held earlier senior level positions with the Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and Environment.
His involvement in major projects in Bahrain includes the production of a draft for a Coastal Development Policy for the Kingdom of Bahrain, Development of Amwaj Islands Master Plan, Dredging & Land Reclamation in various areas, Environmental Protection Projects and Land Reclamation Guidelines as well as other strategic infrastructure projects.
Mr Al-Kalali is the recipient of the Certificate of Achievements from the Institute of Hydraulics Engineering in Delft, The Netherlands. He has also won several awards of merit in recognition of his professional expertise and continuous voluntary contribution in the field of marine engineering. He also attained a certificate in Good Governance from Harvard University.
He is also the author and poet of a number of literary publications.
A graduate of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, Mr Al-Kalali holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Transport Engineering and Operations from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK.
Gurjit Singh is Chief Property Development Officer overseeing the property development portfolio of Sorouh Real Estate PJSC, both in the UAE and internationally. Sorouh is a publicly listed company with projects, existing and in development valued in excess of AED 70 billion (USD$ 19 billion).
Mr. Singh has been internationally active in the real estate industry for more than 25 years, and has been involved in the development of resort, commercial, retail, leisure and residential township developments in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Singapore.
Prior to joining Sorouh, Mr. Singh worked with numerous public listed, diversified multinationals including the Sime Darby Group, one of Malaysia’s largest multinationals, and the Sentosa Leisure Group in Singapore, where he worked as Group Director for the Property division, spearheading the place development, place management and investment marketing of the Sentosa Island destination in Singapore. Mr. Singh was also responsible for the overall destination development implementation of the USD$ 8 billion business plan for the Sentosa Resort, including the new Integrated Resort and the prestigious Sentosa Cove residential waterfront development on Sentosa in Singapore.
Mr. Singh was part of the creative and development team that was awarded the coveted international 2006 THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement for the Images of Singapore attraction on Sentosa. He was also part of the team that won the prestigious 2007 Cityscape Architectural Award for best Leisure Development for the Palawan Beach Development in Sentosa.
Mr. Singh is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, a Fellow of the Institute of Place Management, Fellow of the Land Institute United Kingdom, Fellow of the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia. He is also a Member the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers, a Member of the Association of Property and Facilities Management Singapore and an Associate Member of the Singapore Institute of Planners as well as a Registered Property Valuer and Estate Agent.
He has spoken at numerous international conferences including Cityscape Dubai, Asia and China on real estate issues and has authored numerous published articles on Place Management, Property Management, Property Development, Gated Developments, Real Estate Investment Trusts and Property Derivatives. He is also the author of a book titled “Property Management in Malaysia”.
Mr. Singh is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, England. In 1994, he was awarded with the Malaysian Young Manager of the Year.
William Yuen earned in 1987 his Distinction degree in Architecture at the University of Wale, UK. He worked in major architectural firms in London for a number of years before he joined P&T in 1993. During the period between 1993 – 2004, William apart from working on projects in Hong Kong also designed many buildings in China. In 2005, he was awarded the First Class Registered Architect Qualification in PRC. The same year he became the principle designer in the newly established Dubai office and has since actively pursued business opportunities in the UAE through excellence in design. William became a Group Director and a shareholder of P&T Group in 2007.
In more than 20 years’ practice, William has realized a host of projects of high rise and super high rise prestigious commercial and residential towers as well as luxurious houses, retail centres, hotels and schools. He has also had extensive experience in Master Planning and Urban Design in the UK, Turkey, China and the Middle East. William is currently handling numerous high profile projects in the UAE.
William also participates works in public affair. He was a speaker on invitation by the Hong Kong and Trade Development Council to promote Hong Kong Architects to the Middle East Region. He has been a visiting speaker and critic for Chinese University of Hong Kong and also City University of Hong Kong.
William loves music, salsa and travel and has interest in wine and all things related to Art.
John Elliott brings to the team a wealth of hospitality design and planning experience with a focus on the Middle East and Europe.
A graduate of the Architectural Association School in London, John finished his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Technology in Helsinki.
Prior to joining WATG, John was chief architect and planner for Arabicon Abu Dhabi, where he was responsible for an extensive programme of building and planning projects in the Emirates. His association with the Arabian Peninsula continued as project director for the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and later as project designer for the interior design of the Sheraton, Qatar.
John was the managing director and partner of the hotel interior design firm DKA in Hong Kong. During this time he was responsible for many projects in the Middle East and Asia ranging from city centre hotels and casino resorts to six-star international hotels.
John’s design approach is to always design with the guest in mind, which has proven to be invaluable in the creation of successful destinations.
Since Joining WATG in 1990 as a creative planner and architect with WATG, John has continued his work in the Middle East with a new era of hospitality projects in Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf as well as in Europe and wider Africa.
Project Experience
- Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- One&Only Royal Mirage, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Mövenpick Dead Sea Resort & Spa, Jordan
- Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Sheraton Hotel Abu Soma, Soma Bay, Egypt
- InterContinental Hotel Amman, Amman, Jordan
- Grand Hyatt Amman, Jordan
- St George’s Hotel, Lebanon
|
- Aqaba Beach Resort, Aqaba, Jordan
- Wadi Rum Safari Hotel, Jordan
- Claridge’s Hotel refurbishment, London, United Kingdom
- LEGOLAND Family Theme Park, Windsor, United Kingdom
- Denia Marriott La Sella Golf Resort and Spa, Denia, Spain
- Hyatt Regency La Manga Golf Resort, Spain
- Hilton International Resort, Mauritius
- St Gallen, Switzerland
- La Sella Golf Resort, Spain
|
Dr Ashley has 30 years’ experience of projects involving environmental management, contaminated land, groundwater quality and groundwater resources. He has worked for long periods overseas, including the Middle East, Far East and Africa. He has specialised in environmental management at industrial facilities and has wide experience of environmental assessment, investigation and remediation works. He is responsible for the co-ordination of the Group’s environmental business, for management of potential Group liabilities for pollution and contamination, and for training under the Group’s ISO 14000 environmental management system. Dr Ashley has written and presented numerous technical papers.
Awards
- Former chair of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (UK branch)
- Former chair of the Geological Society of London Hydrogeological Group
Peter is Head of Geomorphology and Coastal Management at Mott MacDonald with experience of coastal management including field studies, environmental impact assessments, coastal cliff and flood assessments, and production of derivative hazard and ground behaviour maps for engineering and planning considerations. He has an extensive background of working within and providing expert geomorphological and engineering geological input for large multi-disciplinary teams for a variety of major projects.
Dr. Peene is a hydrodynamic and water quality specialist with Applied Technology and Management, Inc. Dr. Peene received his Doctorate from the University of Florida Coastal and Ocean Engineering Department specializing in the development and application of multi-dimensional hydrodynamic models in the coastal and ocean environment. Dr. Peene has work extensively in the field of hydrodynamics and water quality within coastal embayments and estuaries, including work with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) performing hydrodynamic and water quality model assessments of pollutant loading to surface waters within the United States.
Amer A. Moustafa Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Architecture and Design
American University of Sharjah
Amer A. Moustafa is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Design at the American University of Sharjah. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of urban planning and design, city form and urban transformation, and urban development in the context of globalization.
Before coming to the UAE, Moustafa spent over fifteen years in consulting, research, and teaching in the USA both in Massachusetts and California.
He held teaching positions at the University of Southern California, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and California Polytechnic, Pomona, California. Moustafa holds a Ph.D. in Planning from the University of Southern California (USC), a Science Master of Architecture Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
[ Register Now]
· [ Next: Press release ]