Agenda

Agenda

Agenda

CIO Summit Saudi Arabia

Day 1

8:00AM

Registration & Networking

8:30AM

Event Opening

8:40AM

IDC Welcome Address

Jyoti Lalchandani

Jyoti Lalchandani

Head of WW Events & MD – META, Central Asia, India, IDC

8:50AM

Opening Address: Government Affiliation

9:05AM

IDC Quanta Announcement

Adam Harris

Adam Harris

Vice President, Digital Product Management-IT, IDC

Matthew Eastwood

Matthew Eastwood

Senior Vice President, Enterprise Infrastructure, Cloud, Telecom, Security, Developers, Channels and Enabling Technology, IDC

9:15AM

IDC Keynote: Scaling AI for the Agentic Future: Closing the Enterprise Gaps

As Saudi Arabia accelerates its Vision 2030 digital transformation agenda, agentic AI is emerging as the defining force reshaping how enterprises operate and compete. With global IT spending at its strongest growth since 1996 and enterprise AI spend projected to reach $1 trillion by 2029, the infrastructure is ready — but execution remains the critical gap.

This keynote will draw on the latest IDC research to help CIOs navigate the agentic shift: from deploying and managing agents at scale, to agentifying core business processes, to building the cross-functional leadership needed to turn AI ambition into measurable outcomes. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for leading their organizations into the agentic future.

Matthew Eastwood

Matthew Eastwood

Senior Vice President, Enterprise Infrastructure, Cloud, Telecom, Security, Developers, Channels and Enabling Technology, IDC

9:45AM

End User Panel: Leading the Global AI Stage: Saudi Arabia’s Vision for AI Excellence

Saudi Arabia has set out an ambitious target: to become a global AI powerhouse. Backed by a national investment of $100 billion tied to Vision 2030, the Kingdom has built its own Arabic-language model, developed sovereign data infrastructure, and structured global technology partnerships on its own terms. Saudi has already been ranked one of the world leaders in government AI strategy, and its AI talent base has grown faster than almost any other market globally. This panel brings together the Kingdom’s national policy leadership and its leading CIOs to discuss what makes this model work in practice and what the rest of the world can take from the way Saudi Arabia is building its own path to AI leadership.

Moderator

Matthew Eastwood

Matthew Eastwood

Senior Vice President, Enterprise Infrastructure, Cloud, Telecom, Security, Developers, Channels and Enabling Technology, IDC

Ahmad Abu Hameedeh

Ahmad Abu Hameedeh

Director of Digital Enterprise Architecture, Confidential

10:05AM

Security for Autonomous Systems: Risks and Countermeasures

10:24AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

10:25AM

High-Performance Compute and Networking: Building the Backbone of AI-driven Enterprise

10:44AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

10:45AM

Governing AI at Scale: From Experimentation to Enterprise Control

Most organizations have already invested in AI. Very few have control over it.

As AI adoption accelerates, the challenge is no longer experimentation; it is governance, cost accountability, and the ability to scale AI across the enterprise with confidence. At the core of this challenge lies a critical foundation many organizations underestimate: data readiness. Without unified, reliable, and accessible data, AI initiatives remain fragmented, limiting both impact and scalability.

This executive session explores how leading organizations are moving beyond isolated pilots by strengthening their data foundations and introducing a structured, AI-Native operating model one that enables them to govern, measure, and truly own their AI strategy at scale.

Amr Abou Reslan

Amr Abou Reslan

Regional Director, UnifyApps

11:04AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

11:05AM

Last Mile Decides Your Mileage

This session explores how enterprises can bridge the “last mile” of AI—the critical gap between experimentation and real business impact. It highlights how stronger data foundations, governance, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and operating models can help organizations move beyond isolated AI pilots and build scalable, secure AI capabilities that drive growth, efficiency, resilience, and trust.

Ali El Kontar

Ali El Kontar

Cloud Practice Leader, NTT DATA

11:14AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

11:15AM

Delivering Predictable Outcomes in a Probabilistic Era

AI has changed the speed of business. It has also raised the stakes for trust, control, and execution. This session will provide a glimpse into how trusted innovation and decades of proven experience can ensure resilience & control in the AI era, for systems, workflows, and environments that cannot fail in an enterprise.

Ram Chakravarti

Ram Chakravarti

Chief Technology Officer, BMC Software

11:24AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

11:25AM

Scaling Enterprise AI with Trust & Confidence: Modernizing Core Foundations for the Agentic Era

Enterprise AI has moved beyond experimentation; the real challenge now is scaling it securely, reliably, and cost-effectively across the organization. This session, led by Cloud4C leadership, explores the critical foundations that determine AI and agentic readiness—modern infrastructure, trusted data, AI-driven pre-emptive and proactive cyber defense, and robust operational governance. It will offer practical insights to help technology leaders identify gaps, strengthen enterprise resilience, and move AI from promising pilots to sustainable production at scale.

Rakesh Reddy

Rakesh Reddy

Regional Director (MEA), Cloud4C

11:34AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

11:35AM

Next Generation Enterprise Networks (Network as a Service)

Hatem Elkady

Hatem Elkady

Chief Executive Officer (MEA), Nile

11:44AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win AI Smart Glasses!

11:45AM

Powering the Future of AI: From Oscillation to Orchestration

11:54AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win Smart Glasses!

11:55AM

Advisory Council Felicitation

12:10PM

Tea / Coffee & Networking Break

Engage, Explore, and Network—Where Technology Meets Unforgettable Moments!

12:25PM

Technology Focus Group Session – Cluster A (Parallel Tracks)

12:25 pm Start of Session Raffle
Arrive on Time, Walk Away a Winner —20 Cabin Bags Up for Grabs!

Track A1

12:30PM12:40PM

From Data Protection to Data Resilience: A Strategic Approach

Marwan AlHuthail

Marwan AlHuthail

Senior Enterprise Sales Manager, Veeam Software

12:39PM12:40PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:40PM12:50PM

Why Your MFA Is Failing Both Your Customers and Your Fraud Team

Waleed Marji

Waleed Marji

Regional Sales Manager, Thales

12:49PM12:50PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:50PM1:00PM

AI Observability: End-to-End Observability for Generative AI, Agentic, and LLM Workloads

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track A2

12:30PM12:40PM

Surviving the Agentic Wild West: Move Fast Without Breaking Things

Islam Saber

Islam Saber

Senior Solutions Engineer, Netskope

12:39PM12:40PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:40PM12:50PM

Future-Proofing the Enterprise IT Portfolio

Ahmed Tarek

Ahmed Tarek

Director, Sales Engineering, EMEA, Incorta

12:49PM12:50PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:50PM1:00PM

Modernizing for Autonomy: How Migration and Platforms Enable Agentic AI

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track A3

12:30PM12:40PM

Data Sovereignty in the AI Era: Securing Enterprise Data and Maintaining Control

Faris Suleiman

Faris Suleiman

Presales Manager – KSA, Egypt, Levant, FileOrbis

12:39PM12:40PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:40PM12:50PM

From Experimentation to Impact: Why Engineering Must Become AI Native

Ehsan Shariff

Ehsan Shariff

Managing Director, Nagarro

12:49PM12:50PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:50PM1:00PM

Securing Communication for Generative & Agentic AI

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:26PM

Technology Focus Group Session – Cluster B (Parallel Tracks)

12:25 pm Start of Session Raffle
Arrive on Time, Walk Away a Winner — 20 Cabin Bags Up for Grabs!

Track B1

12:30PM12:40PM

Data Resilience to Keep Your Business Running

12:39PM12:40PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:40PM12:50PM

Evolution of the SIEM for the AI Era

Ibrahim Omar

Ibrahim Omar

Solutions Advisor, Omnix

Alexandru Savin

Alexandru Savin

Senior Enterprise Sales Executive, Druid AI

12:49PM12:50PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:50PM1:00PM

Building Networks for AI Workloads

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track B2

12:30PM12:40PM

Bridging the Strategy-to-Execution Gap: How AI-Powered Portfolio Intelligence Accelerates Vision 2030 Outcomes

Stephen Fernandes

Stephen Fernandes

Chief Growth Officer & Head of Middle East, Planview

12:39PM12:40PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:40PM12:50PM

Embracing the Future: Leveraging AI and ML in Cloud Environments

12:49PM12:50PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:50PM1:00PM

Copilot-First, Future-Ready: AI-Led Contact Centers Revolutionizing Customer Experience!

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track B3

12:30PM12:40PM

Cyber Resilience in the AI Era

Pierre Nassif

Pierre Nassif

Senior Sales Engineer, Commvault

12:39PM12:40PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:40PM12:50PM

AI in Oil and Gas: Driving Efficiency and Sustainability

12:49PM12:50PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:50PM1:00PM

Smarter AI, Stronger Apps

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

1:00PM

For The CIO- By The CIO Tracks

Parallel Tracks

1:00PM1:40PM

Agentic AI in Action: Industry Use Cases and Early Wins

Moderator

Paul Potgieter

Paul Potgieter

Chief Information Officer, NEOM

Filip Nekvinda

Filip Nekvinda

Chief AI & Digitalization Visionary, Petro Rabigh

Bader Aljundi

Bader Aljundi

Director, Digital Transformation and Innovation, Emaar, The Economic City

Sameer Joshi

Sameer Joshi

Director Digitalization, NADEC Foods

1:00PM1:40PM

The CIO Talent Agenda: How CIOs, CHROs, and Business Leaders Are Shaping the Future Workforce

Moderator

Eng. Manal Al-Bawardi

Eng. Manal Al-Bawardi

Chief Information Officer, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)

Tamara Sunbul

Tamara Sunbul

Group Chief Information Officer, Fakeeh Care Group

1:40PM

Felicitation of Session Speakers

1:55PM

Summary & Takeaways

2:05PM

Lunch & Networking

Day 2

8:30AM

Registration & Networking

Early Birds Win Big: First 100 Delegates Win a Dancing Robot!

9:15AM

IDC Welcome Address

9:20AM

Panel Discussion: Growth Has a New Owner: How the C-Suite Is Rewriting the AI Leadership Order

AI fluency has become a top competency across the C-suite, a skill few executives were expected to own even a few years ago. That shift is changing how the leadership team is built and what it delivers. CXOs are now expected to convert AI literacy into real business outcomes: faster growth, new revenue streams, and reinvented operating models, while also recalibrating how they work across lines of business leaders and the C-suite to get there. This panel explores how today’s C-suite is turning AI knowledge into AI-driven results, and what changes in leadership structure and collaboration are needed to make that possible.

9:45AM

Managing AI Adoption: Internal Readiness & Change Management in the Age of AI

Mutaz Salem

Mutaz Salem

Chief Executive Officer, Dstation

10:04AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win an iPhone

10:05AM

Agentic AI for Enterprises: Driving Business Transformation

10:19AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win an iPhone

10:20AM

Agentic Experiences Will Power the Next Digital Revolution

Khaled Moawad

Khaled Moawad

Senior Account Executive, OutSystems

10:34AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win an iPhone

10:35AM

AI-Native Products: Driving Enterprise Efficiency and Informed Decision-Making

10:49AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win an iPhone

10:50AM

Enabling Industries: The Global AI Infrastructure Capacity Build Out

11:04AM

Get Involved, Get Rewarded: Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Win an iPhone

11:05AM

Summit Tracks (Parallel Sessions)

11:05 am IDC Overview

Track A

11:10AM11:25AM

Revolutionizing Customer Experience: Integrating Digital Business Strategies in SaaS (Software as a Service) Solutions

Hyther Nizam

Hyther Nizam

Chief Executive Officer, Zoho Middle East & Africa

11:24AM11:25AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:25AM11:40AM

Modernizing for Autonomy: How Migration and Platforms Enable Agentic AI

Nadeem Qureshi

Nadeem Qureshi

Sales Director, Integra Technologies

11:39AM11:40AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:40AM11:55AM

From AI Ambition to Enterprise Reality

11:54AM11:55AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:55AM12:10PM

The New Resilience Stack: Observability, Autonomy, and Sovereignty for the AI-First Enterprise

12:09PM12:10PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

Track B

11:10AM11:25AM

Building Resilient Security for the AI Era

Saddam Alsad

Saddam Alsad

Senior Sales Manager, Saudi Arabia, Cloudflare

11:24AM11:25AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:25AM11:40AM

From AI Adoption to AI Value Realization: Turning AI Investment into Business Value and Performance Improvement

Tarek Khattab

Tarek Khattab

Solutions & Services Country Manager, Saudi Business Machines (SBM)

11:39AM11:40AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:40AM11:55AM

Revolutionizing Customer Experience: Integrating Digital Business Strategies

Jon Griffiths

Jon Griffiths

Field CTO, Dynatrace

11:54AM11:55AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:55AM12:10PM

From Innovation to Impact: Leveraging AI on Cloud

Georgy Ovanesyan

Georgy Ovanesyan

Chief Executive Officer, Axidian

12:09PM12:10PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

Track C

11:10AM11:25AM

Building the Future: Turning Data Insights into Impact

Tom Gamali

Tom Gamali

Field CTO & Strategic Advisor, MEA-TRC, Splunk

11:24AM11:25AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:25AM11:40AM

The Agentic Platform for Zero Disruption

Charbel Khneisser

Charbel Khneisser

Senior Vice President, Global Solutions Engineering, Riverbed Technology

11:39AM11:40AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:40AM11:55AM

Building the Agentic Future: From Pilots to Production-Ready Enterprise AI

11:54AM11:55AM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

11:55AM12:10PM

Powering the Future of AI: From Oscillation to Orchestration

12:09PM12:10PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win a Robotic Vaccum Cleaner

12:10PM

Tea / Coffee & Networking Break

12:25PM

Technology Focus Group Session – Cluster A (Parallel Tracks)

12:25 pm Start of Session Raffle
Arrive on Time, Walk Away a Winner — 20 Cabin Bags Up for Grabs!

Track A1

12:30PM12:45PM

Scaling AI Apps & Agents from Pilot to Production

12:44PM12:45PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:45PM1:00PM

Trust But Verify: Implementing a Defense-in-Depth Framework for AI Agents

Nandini Sapru

Nandini Sapru

Vice President (ME), emt Distribution META

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track A2

12:30PM12:45PM

Driving a Secure, Resilient, and AI Ready Microsoft 365 Workplace

Iliass Melgou

Iliass Melgou

META Solution Engineering Team Lead, AvePoint

12:44PM12:45PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:45PM1:00PM

From Firefighting to Foresight: Engineering Calm with AI

Kyle Jourdan

Kyle Jourdan

Head of AI Practice, Qlik

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track A3

12:30PM12:45PM

Memory Shortages – Reshaping the Device Market in META

Umair Riaz

Umair Riaz

Field Solutions Architect, Everpure

12:44PM12:45PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:45PM1:00PM

Key Trends and Insights: Realize Business Value from AI investments

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:26PM

Technology Focus Group Session – Cluster B (Parallel Tracks)

12:25 pm Start of Session Raffle
Arrive on Time, Walk Away a Winner — 20 Cabin Bags Up for Grabs!

Track B1

12:30PM12:45PM

How to Scale Agentic AI Across Your Value Chain

12:44PM12:45PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:45PM1:00PM

Building Networks for AI Workloads

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track B2

12:30PM12:45PM

From Compliance to Competitive Edge: Building an Intelligent, Sovereign Enterprise

Waris Amin

Waris Amin

Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer, Testcrew

12:44PM12:45PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:45PM1:00PM

Cyber-Resilience Journey Maps — In the Age of Data and AI

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

Track B3

12:30PM12:45PM

AI-Human Harmony in the Age of Agentic AI: From Vision to Business Outcomes

Mohamed Assem

Mohamed Assem

Solutions Engineering Director, Global Knowledge

12:44PM12:45PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

12:45PM1:00PM

Smarter AI, Stronger Apps

12:59PM1:00PM

Attend the Track, Ask Questions, Rate Sessions & Stand a Chance to Win an iPhone

1:00PM

Refresh & Reorganize

1:15PM

Partner Felicitation

1:30PM

Voices of AI Innovations Acknowledgement

IDC introduces the AI Visionaries Acknowledgement, a prestigious platform recognizing organizations across the Kingdom that are setting benchmarks in strategic, impactful, and measurable AI adoption. Nominate your organization to be recognized among the region’s leading AI innovators.

2:00PM

Summary & Key Takeaways

2:10PM

Lunch & Close of Summit