Conference Speakers

Ali Aljaberi

Founder, WIDIAN

Ali Aljaberi is the inspiration and founder behind the first Abu Dhabi-based luxury perfume brand, Widian AJ Arabia. A UAE brand with international vision, Widian, which means "valleys" in Arabic, and proudly marries a contemporary Arabian spirit with the heritage of traditional perfumery techniques.

Combining a chemical engineering and a Master’s Degree in Management from the Paris-Sorbonne University, Ali also worked in the energy industry before leaving the corporate world and pursuing his passion for fragrances. 

"Your perfume is your unspoken personality", and since 2004 Widian played an inspiring role in the middle-eastern olfactive scene thanks to its sensitivity for sustainability & unique creative approach. 

Ali Shahid

Senior Manager, Kearney

Ali Shahid is a Senior Manager with Kearney, a global strategy consulting firm with 12+ years of experience in consulting as well as industry. He is part of the Consumer and Retail Industry leadership with in depth expertise in beauty & personal care sector. Kearney is a leading management advisor to leading consumer and retail firms. In the Middle East, Kearney advises across both private and public sector clients and is also one of the few strategy consulting firms with a dedicated Consumer Industries and Retail Practice

Amanda Rushforth

Board Director, Azraq

Having seen first-hand the deterioration of the shorelines due to plastic pollution, Amanda has become an advocate for plastic-free oceans, wardrobes and food chains. She has since been plastic water bottle free for 5+ years and push to maintain a plastic-free household as much as possible.

Amanda has worked alongside Natalie Banks, a fellow ocean warrior and the founder of Azraq, a volunteer-run not-for-profit entity in the UAE, for years in an unofficial capacity, before joining the organization as a member of the Board of Directors in January 2020. Founded in September 2018, Azraq, which is registered with the Community Development Authority, has been on the front lines of ocean conservation in the United Arab Emirates with exceptional groundwork and education of the community, actively involved in beach and ocean clean-ups and mangrove tree planting days as a part of the organization’s fight for cleaner oceans. “I wanted to be part of an organisation with credible commitments that bring about real change.”

Amna Abbas

Consultant, Beauty & Fashion, Euromonitor International

Amna Abbas is Senior Analyst at Euromonitor International in the UAE. An expert on Beauty and Fashion in the Middle East, she focuses on analyzing topics such as beauty and personal care, personal accessories and eyewear, apparel and footwear, consumer health and luxury goods within the retail landscape. Her professional interests include understanding the continuing dynamics of beauty and fashion within the Middle East region, with keen interest in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. Along with regular interactions with major global and regional beauty and fashion industry players, she has been proactive contributor to articles and interviews through various platforms such as exhibitions, TV, radio and press media on the same such as Beautyworld, CNN, Forbes, Euro News, Dubai Eye, Gulf News and Images Retail ME. 

Amna has been active in the field of market research intelligence for more than a decade, bringing with her rich insights on the region.

Amy Poulton

 Business Development Specialist, Croda

Amy is Business Development Specialist for beauty care covering the EMEA region at Croda. After getting a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from Newcastle University she started working in cosmetic chemistry, later also gaining an SCS Diploma in Cosmetic Science. She has worked in cosmetic formulation for FMCG companies in the UK, P&G and Walgreens Boots Alliance across a variety of different products and brands. At Croda she works within the beauty care team looking at hair care, skin care and sun care technologies helping customers across the EMEA region find the perfect products for their projects and understanding how Croda can help them now and in the future.

Anisha Oberoi

CEO & Founder, The Secret Skin

Anisha Oberoi started her corporate career in Hospitality and Fashion prior to joining the Ecommerce industry in 2014 as part of the founding team that launched Amazon Fashion in India and Australia, before moving to UAE in 2019 to launch the online vertical of Bloomingdales Middle East.

Antoine de Riedmatten

Global Business Unit Director, Fine Fragrance | General Manager IMEA, Eurofragrance

Antoine held different leadership positions across departments and countries during his near 30 years at Firmenich.  At Eurofragance, he manages the Fine Fragrance category and IMEA region.  Antoine holds an Economics degree from the University of Geneva.

Bunga Ghassani

International Sales, Light Tree Ventures

Bunga Ghassani is the International Sales of Light Tree ventures, the biggest company specialized in Research, Development and Manufacturing of Light Therapy Devices for beauty, sports, medical and wellness. As an International sales, she is responsible to help companies to develop and launch their LED Light Therapy products by understanding what their needs and giving advises as well as some new ideas to them, especially in beauty and wellness market.

Having a passion and interest in light therapy devices, makes her capable to give a tailored advise to each client. Graduated with a master degree in business administration, she always looks for opportunities and think out of the box. She likes to keep herself challenged by traveling as a solo traveler. So far, she has learned about many different cultures in 38 countries and traveling has broadened up her perspectives. This experience helps her to understand each market and client better.

Caroline Bassoni

Regulatory Affairs Director, Cosmed

Caroline Bassoni has recently joined Cosmed as Regulatory Affairs Director, bringing 20 years of experience in the cosmetic industry, mainly within Johnson & Johnson, IFF -International Flavours & Fragrances and Boots on various product categories : skincare, hygiene, suncare, perfumes.

As part of Cosmed, the trade association federating around 1000 French cosmetic companies, Caroline together with an expert regulatory team represents, defines and defends the cosmetic sector positions and interests within various French and EU organizations and commissions to anticipate and shape the future.
Caroline develops and promotes as well Cosmed scientific expertise and guiding tools (regulatory monitoring, training...) at EU and international level.

C.Khyara Ranaweera

Founder & Managing Director, The Conscious Consultancy

Entrepreneur from a young age and seasoned marketer with experience globally, Khyara swapped the luxury lifestyle clients for working with purpose-led businesses. As the Founder and CEO of the first impact-led marketing consultancy in the UAE and the first positive luxury agency in the UK Khyara helps brands find their purpose in their marketing strategy and works with brands that are striving for impact and growth in more than just profit or sales.

Dominique Brunel

Co-founder, NEZ

Co-founder of Nez, a media and consulting group specialising in the field of olfactory culture, together with Jeanne Doré and Mathieu Chévara, Dominique Brunel is a "hub", meeting and connecting people from the olfactory world. He is in charge of partnerships, communication and sales management for all Nez activities. 

Jo Malone CBE

Founder, Jo Malone

Jo Malone CBE has been described as an 'English scent maverick' and the woman responsible for creating some of the world's most loved fragrances.

Having founded one of Britain's most famous fragrance brands in the Nineties, Jo Malone went on to sell her eponymous company to Estée Lauder before creating a second line - Jo Loves - in 2011. Renowned for pairing unusual ingredients and creating versatile fragrances which can be mixed and blended to create unique scents, Malone's name has become synonymous with luxury and indulgence.

Kate Zadah

Founder, Mantelpiece PR

Kate Zadah is a well-known name in specialist, full service PR, exclusively within the realms of health, beauty and aesthetics and has been for over 20 years. Founder of award-nominated PR agency Mantelpiece PR for over 15 years, Kate puts almost two decades of experience, unparalleled passion and vision into every single project and encounter. Such a wealth of experience gives Kate her infallible gut instinct and exceptional ability to steer businesses firmly towards success. Her strategic and thoughtful approach to brand work provides clients with confidence, counsel and the resulting clarity and triumph. If you ever wonder what magic is behind the names, products, treatments and clinics of those in the winners’ circle, call Kate for a confidential consultation.

Kristina Lasenko

Founder & CEO, iChooseBest

Kristina is the founder & CEO of iChooseBest, the first emotionally intelligent AI-driven smart shopping ecosystem. Prior to launching her own venture, she held different leadership positions across EMEA and Emerging markets and helped hundreds of businesses to build relationships with their consumers during her 12 years at Google and Meta. 

Kristina's mission is to transform the way we connect: from transactional relationships to meaningful ones, and she does it through building ecosystems, communities, and disruptive technologies. 

Kristina is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Hub71, Founder of UAE Future Innovation Founders, and Advisor of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. 

Lauren O'Connell

Beauty Editor, Cosmopolitan Middle East

American beauty expert, Lauren O’Connell, is the Beauty Editor for Cosmopolitan Middle East magazine and a science geek. Or geek chic as she likes to say. Lauren has a Bachelor of Science in bio-mechanical engineering, a Master of Science in nursing, and a memorable way with words. She is a New York Film Academy certified broadcast journalist. In addition, she has trained extensively as a TV Presenter under the tutelage of Gareth Davies, creator of the Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars television programs.

Lauren frequently interviews celebrities and beauty brand founders, including Huda Kattan, Mario Dedivanovic, and Charlotte Tilbury. In December 2021, she moderated the fireside chat at the Futr World summit in Abu Dhabi between Michael Ward, CEO of Harrods, and Kerem Atasoy, Vice President of Farfetch. She regularly hosts live events for Cosmopolitan ME in the GCC region.

Always thinking outside the box, Lauren combined her passions for beauty, wellness, and science to create skincare and makeup ingredients-focused content with a cosmic twist for her social media platforms and website, Planet Lauren. 

Leila Jerdea

Founder & CEO, HASH Beauty & Laylah Design

Driven by her passion for art & beauty, Leila founded Hash Beauty & Laylah Design. She owns a wide collection of niche perfumes and oils from across the world, finding it as one of her treasures, always admiring the hard work behind each bottle and always happy to tell the story of each single scent she owns. She has over 12 years of consulting experience in Strategic Management, Business Process Management, Marketing & Organization Transformations for worldwide Vertical Business, Luxury Goods, Cosmetics & High Niche Fragrances Producers & Retailers.

HASH Beauty, inspired by Arabic coffee, was nominated as one of the Emirati Brands in Paris conference in 2019, representing UAE culture. Laylah Design is inspired by textures & perfumes, creating oriental fashion with certain fluidity, always thriving to be unique, elegant and exquisite.

Leone Goldspink

Managing Director, Light Tree Ventures

Experienced Managing Director with over 10 years experience working exclusively in the Beauty Industry across Australia and the UK. Highly skilled in Networking and Communication, International Finance and International Corporate Tax and Laws. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a Post Grad focused in both Business, Laws and Chartered Accounting from Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australia.

Lisa Lee

Vice President & Head of Business Development, Perfect Corp

Lisa Lee, Vice President and Head of Business Development at Perfect Corp., leads a team responsible for multiple functions: Business Development, BU Management and Business Analytics.

Lisa joined Perfect Corp. in 2015 when the company was first founded. She continues her passion in assisting clients to embrace digital innovation and expanding businesses in the Beauty AI/AR arena.

Malini Ohri

Founder and Creator, Saanté Selfcare

Malini Ohri is a trained health and beauty consultant, Reiki master, reflexologist, Aromatherapist and Ayurvedic practitioner, who grew up surrounded by precious blends rooted in ancient Indian wisdom concocted by her mother. Saanté Selfcare is the result of Malini’s 45 years of experience in the beauty and wellness industry, and her lifelong passion and knack to understand ailments and heal people. Built on a legacy of 3 generations of women, who believe in taking a holistic approach to beauty and selfcare, Saanté’s energized products are infused with rare adaptogens and potent herbs that work on a deeper level to activate, regenerate, and restore the skin and hair.

Malini preserved and perfected healing remedies rooted in Aromatherapy, Ayurveda and Reiki through decades to create products that are clean, natural, and devoid of toxic chemicals, and work on all levels in the body to promote overall balanced healing.

Mishti Ohri

CEO, Saanté Selfcare

Mishti feels honoured to be a part of a third-generation business—a passion that has been honed by her grandmother and re-identified by her mother before her. Through them, she learned from an early age that slow beauty is the cleanest form of selfcare. She also had firsthand knowledge of the harmful effects from the toxic chemicals present in many of the skin and haircare products available in the market. Saanté became the brand that filled that void for her. She made it her mission to re-invent, restructure and strategically position the brand to meet the nuances of the new age conscious market that she understood only too well. From rebranding, creating social media content and giving the brand an online presence and visibility, Mishti has helped Saanté transform from a homegrown brand into a global one.

Michel Chauvin

Account Manager, LMR Naturals by IFF

Michel Chauvin is Account Manager for LMR Naturals by IFF, where he oversees business development in Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East. Having spent most of his career working in the US, Michel built a solid knowledge on natural raw materials used in the Flavor, Fragrance & Aromatherapy industries. Michel holds a MSc in International Business Management from Griffith College Dublin and a master’s degree in Business Studies from ISG, Paris. Having an international background, he fluently speaks French, English, Bulgarian and German.

Natali Kelly

Founder, Natali Kelly Clinic

Natali is passionate about beauty, and she has infused this passion into the creation her high-end clinic. Proud to always have her finger on the pulse of new beauty developments, Natali will be offering the newest and most innovative procedures on the market, with a menu that covers everything from anti-wrinkle injections to skin rejuvenation treatments to cosmetic dermatology.

Natali became a Registered Nurse in 2004 and quickly refined her skills through gaining experience in all aspects of non-surgical injectable techniques and cosmetic dermatology. She is now an experienced and meticulous injector with a discreet roster of celebrity clients and a niche speciality in dermal fillers. Her area of expertise is in amplifying her clients’ natural beauty and takes care to personalise each treatment with a pre-procedure medical lifestyle consultation which helps her to ascertain her clients’ exact requirements.

Nathalie Templer

Perfumer, Expressions Parfumees

"I did a science baccalaureat in high school and then studied chemistry at the Univeristy of Vesailles. From there I went to Le Havre to obtain a Licence and Master's degrees in organic chemistry and perfumes. I completed my studies with a Foqual DESS that I obtained in Nice, alternating work and study. The company where I worked during my studies hired me when I finished. It is where I became familiar with all the departments - production, quality control, GC/MS laboratory, SMQ, etc. After that, I worked in the analytics department of a Top 10 company. I then had the chance to work abroad in the United Arab Emirates where I set up the company's laboratory.

Expressions Parfumees hired me in 2016 to manage the perfume creation lab, and allowed me to try my hand as a perfumer in 2017."

Odile Pelissier

Senior Vice President, Creation & Development, Global Perfumery

Odile is celebrating 30 years in the perfume industry. She joined Firmenich in 2000 in Paris. Since then, she has successfully led consumer fragrance and fine fragrance global accounts and moved to development where she led globally one of the biggest category of the company. 

Naturally positive and always willing to learn and share, Odile has travelled the world to meet consumers and work with clients. After several years in Singapore, she's now settled in Firmenich global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Passionate about people and fragrance, Odile leads  Firmenich Perfumery Creation & Development teams globally since 2016. Her scope includes the global leadership of creation, development, formulae management, perfumery school, laboratories and digital transformation. 

Olimpia Mascolo

Account Manager, Co-founder, Anfasic Dokhoon

Olimpia co-founded Anfasic Dokhoon, a trendy brand inspired by Arabian incense. In 8 years she established Mohamed Hilal Group network of 75 stores across the region focusing on attention to detail. Her obsession for Oud has evolved from product development to conservation initiatives to promote cultivated Agarwood and reforestation in Vietnam with the Aquilaria project. Her passion for training and education inspired the ‘Art of Perfumes’ workshop series, empowering women in local communities initiating them to entrepreneurship in the perfume industry in cooperation with Sharjah Business Women Council. Her mission in life is to inspire through the language of scents, respecting humanity and nature.

Philippine Couriere

Fine Fragrance Perfumer, Symrise

Philippine is a passionate fine fragrance perfumer with over five years work experience in the Middle East. Meticulous, organized and process driven with the flexibility to adapt to any project brief or work environment. Strong understanding of the perfume business as well as the artistic demand. Did fundamental, on the ground research in the Gulf region (KSA, Kuwait, UAE) as well as in India. Have worked in Europe and the USA, did various market insights studies. Now based in Dubai, creating for Middle Eastern Brands, as well as for international groups like l’Oreal, Puig, and LVMH.

Quentin Douce

Co-founder, Shimmers

Quentin is a passionate leader with more than 15 years’ experience for major players in the luxury and cosmetic field. He developed and implemented successful global brand strategies for L’Oreal, LVMH, La Prairie before becoming a partner at Ykone to support the digital transformation of many brands in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

With an innovative spirit, Quentin co-founded in 2021 Shimmers, an incubator to support influencers, artists and content creators in developing, launching and growing their own brand. Shimmers is already collaborating with talents in Europe and the Middle East on brands launching in 2023.

Rawya Catto

General Manager, CPL Aroma’s Middle East

Rawya Catto is the General Manager for CPL Aroma’s Middle East organization. With over fifteen years in the industry, she now leads a team of fragrance professionals with a proven track record of success stories, and fosters a creative environment for talented individuals.  

Roland Altenburger

CEO, Member of the Board, LUZI

Roland Altenburger is a co-owner of LUZI AG in Dietlikon, Switzerland, is a member of the Board of Directors of this very company and has been leading it since 2018 as CEO Switzerland together with Mr. Jürg Koller as Co-Managing Director.

As the son of a perfumer, he has known olfactory strips since his earliest childhood. As a result, he has developed a passion for the fragrance industry, which he still uses every day in his work.

Rosa Estévez

Deputy Director, UK Government-Department for International Trade

In her current role, Rosa is supporting UK exports and investment in her lead areas, including film, high end TV, fashion and cosmetics. She is also the Co Chair of the UK Government Trade Advisory Group, informing Trade Negotiations, including UK & Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement. She also has experience working on Trade Policy developing the first UK Trade Policy Playbook in 2019. At the UK Department for Transport, Rosa was the Chief of Staff of the Transport Minister from 2010 until the end of the UK Coalition Government in 2015. She worked closely with Ministers including RH Theresa Villiers and Baroness Kramer. Also at the UK Department for Transport, Rosa led negotiations for the UK at the EU Transport Council of EU Transport Ministers. As Head of EU Negotiations, Rosa supported UK Ministers to deliver highly critical policies, including on transport security and safety and cyber security. Rosa lives between London and Spain with her family, in her spare time she enjoys reading & running, film & music festivals.

Sameh Megrhi

Founder & CTO, O My Note

Sameh Megrhi holds a Ph.D. in computer vision from Paris 13^th university and has worked in the field of Artificial Intelligence for more than12 years. She started her career as a data science expert in many domains like healthcare, education, and luxury before developing the idea of O MY NOTE.

A B2B platform that can help consumers to find the best fragrance products in seconds. O MY NOTE envisions revolutionizing and simplifying the way we GENZ interact with perfumes, turning the usual perfumes experience in-store and online models the other way around, and increasing GENZ engagement with perfumes.

Sana Choyakh

Founder & Managing Director, Flair & Vision Consultancy

Sana is an entrepreneur, marketing expert, and a UN Women mentor. She is the founder and Managing Director of Flair & Vision Consultancy, a marketing and growth strategies firm supporting startups and SMEs in the Perfume, Personal Care, and Home Care industries.

She is also co-founder of Wing.Studio, a startup with the vision of contributing to solving youth unemployment in the world by helping young people enter the world of work, even if they have no previous experience. 

Sana advocates for women and youth empowerment and she acts toward supporting female and young entrepreneurs to reach their full potential and gain financial independence to participate in the economical growth of their community.

Sandhya Sakhuja

Director, Vedic Cosmeceuticals

With an MBA from the University of Liverpool, Sandhya has some 20 years of experience across various sectors. She has spent 15 years in skincare and retail, including an 8-year stint at FabIndia - contributing majorly to its Body Care Division. In 2012, Sandhya co-partnered with Mohit and has since led Business Development and Product Development at Vedic. She is an all-rounder with in-depth knowledge of the beauty care industry.

Sanskriti Sanjeev

Founder, HAUL IN ONE

"We often fall prey to the idea that beauty is one-sizefits-all. That there is somehow only one definition of what makes us beautiful, but more often that not, those ideals are just that - an idea. There is rarely any truth to a one dimensional view of beauty. I've come across several women in my life, who've had to conform themselves to the elusive concept of what should make them beautiful, who've been afraid to embrace their beauty, as is!

And so, I started HAUL IN ONE."

Sarah Evans

Head of E-commerce & Mobile Product, Chalhoub Group 

Sarah has over 15 years E-Commerce Experience, with 10 years in the Middle East having previously worked for Amazon and Accenture.

As Head of Product, her primary role is to ensure the company’s products meet the needs of its customers whilst defining and driving high-level initiatives that support the business's goals.

Sarah is passionate about building data-driven personalised experiences, building capabilities to deliver the right experiences to the right customer at the right time.

Sophie Lisa Precheur

Co-founder, Shimmers

Sophie-Lisa is a multicultural leader with 15 years’ experience on various luxury brands, across marketing, digital and retail positions. She worked for Global companies such as LVMH, Estée Lauder and Shiseido in France, Singapore and the UK. She also has hospitality experiences with Jumeirah Group in Dub.

After many years in big corporations she decided to co-found her business named SHIMMERS, a brand incubator and accelerator supporting celebrities and influencers to develop, launch and operate their brands, focusing on high value and sustainable brands.
In this new venture she already partners with talents based in France, Dubaï and Saudi Arabia on several projects set to launch in 2023.

Tina Chen

Senior Account Manager, Perfect Corp

Tina Chen has been working with Perfect Corp for over 4 years, mainly in charge of Middle East and SEA market development. She’s an enthusiastic digital beauty lover, devoted working with brand partners for digital beauty/ fashion renovation and digital transformation goals.

Tony Belmonte

Co-founder, Kemchain

A strong experienced, passionate, hands-on, sales & marketing management executive working in the Consumer and Chemical Industries, in companies like Honeywell, Ashland and recently in Lluch Essence. With a strong business acumen, numerous strategy implementation, strong expertise managing multi-cultural teams and dealing with multiple business complexity and customers specificities, he co-founded KemChain in 2022. A SaaS platform that enables a new world without manual data entry to collect all the Regulatory Suppliers documents information with component detail, maintaining data quality and reliability.

Valerie Lovisa

Sustainability Specialist, B Leader & Founder, ABTYS

Valerie Lovisa is a sustainability specialist, B Leader & founder of ABTYS, a purpose-driven consultancy, with the objective to embed sustainability within the fragrance & cosmetic industry.

Xavier Renard

Global Head of Fine Fragrance, Givaudan

Raised in Paris, Givaudan's Global Head of Finance - Xavier - spends his day-to-day leading on the vision, strategy, strategy and growth of the Fine Fragrance unit, decribing his mission as "a very exciting" one, with "a truly global approach."