23 Apr 2026
Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa
CIO Summit 2026
Kuwait
Register Now become a sponsorThe CIO Playbook: The Rise of Agentic Systems
Celebrating 5 years of thought leadership, the IDC CIO Summit – Kuwait returns on 23 April 2026 in Kuwait City as Kuwait’s premier gathering of technology decision-makers.
Kuwait’s digital economy is entering a new era of intelligence, autonomy, and accelerated innovation. With strong investments in AI, cloud, and data infrastructure, enterprises are moving from pilots to large-scale, value-driven AI deployments. The draft Kuwait National AI Strategy (2025–2028) aligns closely with Kuwait Vision 2035, reinforcing national momentum toward AI-led growth.
Across the META region, AI spending is set to reach USD 25.9 billion by 2029. As this investment rises, CIOs face increasing pressure to prove the business impact of AI initiatives. The focus is now shifting to agentic AI—systems that can autonomously decide, execute, and learn. IDC’s 2025 research shows that 40% of organizations are already investing in agentic AI, with 44% piloting use cases.
Backed by solid digital foundations and a skilled workforce, Kuwait is well positioned for this next phase. But success will require strong leadership, trust, and governance to ensure responsible and scalable AI adoption.
The IDC Kuwait CIO Summit 2026 will bring together top CIOs and technology leaders to explore how organizations can harness agentic AI for measurable impact and build a digital future rooted in innovation, resilience, and trust.
Yousef Al Mazeedi
Yousef Al Mazeedi is the Director of Information & Communications Technology at the Capital Markets Authority of Kuwait, with over 20 years of experience in information technology and more than a decade in executive leadership roles.
He leads large-scale digital transformation initiatives, focusing on IT governance, cybersecurity and information security, enterprise systems, AI and data analytics, and strategic technology planning. Throughout his career, he has successfully led and overseen the implementation of key regulatory and enterprise platforms, including ERP and XBRL systems, enabling enhanced regulatory oversight, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.
Yousef has also played a pivotal role in establishing and advancing institutional governance frameworks, leading multi-disciplinary teams in the successful implementation of international standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISO 20000. He actively contributes to strategic and governance committees, including digital transformation, information security, business continuity, and XBRL steering committees.
He holds several professional certifications, including Senior Lead Implementer for ISO 27001 and ISO 22301, as well as CCNP and CCVP.
Mai B. AlOwaish
Essa Haidar
Essa serves as Chief Technology Officer at Ooredoo Kuwait, where they lead strategic planning, development, and implementation of cutting-edge technologies to drive innovation and enhance the company’s telecommunication infrastructure. With 20 years of experience in the telecom industry, Essa has a proven record in managing large-scale network deployments, 5G rollouts, and the integration of next-generation technologies such as IoT and AI. Previous to their role as CTO of Ooredoo Kuwait, Essa was Director of Radio Access and Network Planning, where they successfully launched 5G, 4G, and 3G Networks, IP and Transmission works, including end-to-end management of Ooredoo Radio Network evolution, country-wide. They also played a key role in the continued development and execution of strategic objectives driven by Ooredoo Group, with its recent strategic announcement of establishing the largest Tower Company in the MENA region, which feeds the demand for environmentally friendly solutions and sustainability. Moreover, Customer Experience was at the heart of their strategies deployed for Network Anomaly Detection using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for critical use cases, to deliver seamless performance on all application levels.
Salem Almulaifi
Salem Almulaifi is Advisor to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, State of Kuwait, where he contributes to shaping the national digital economy agenda. He focuses on enabling innovation through regulatory modernization, secure digital infrastructure, and scalable technologies. With deep experience in both government and private sector advisory roles, Mr. Almulaifi plays a key role in aligning economic development strategy with emerging technology adoption—especially in AI, cybersecurity, and trade enablement.
Dr. Dari Alhuwail
Dr Dari Alhuwail is an Associate Professor at the Information Sciences Department in the College of Life Sciences, Kuwait University, an Adjunct Faculty member at the College of Medicine at the University of Dundee, and an Advisor to the Minister of State for Communication Affairs, with a significant experience in digital health, digital transformation, strategic leadership, and data governance. Dr. Alhuwail is a Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics, a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association, a co-founder of the Kuwait Health Informatics Network, and a member of the Kuwait Health Informatics Association. He also is a Health Informatics Consultant, Data Security Officer, and a member of the Data Governance Council at Dasman Diabetes Institute. He served as a member of the Digital Health Technical Advisory Group at the World Health Organization. Dr. Alhuwail obtained his Ph.D. in Information Systems with a specialization in Health Informatics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Arizona. He has over 15 years of working experience in industry and various labs around the world. Recently, he won the Jaber Al-Ahmad Prize for Young Researchers in the field of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Expert Perspectives
Hear from global thought leaders, visionary CIOs, and celebrity speakers redefining technology, leadership, and innovation in Kuwait.
IDC Keynote: Building the CIO Roadmap for the Agentic Era
Ranjit Rajan | IDC
Vice President, Research (META)
Ranjit Rajan
Event Sessions
Thursday, April 23 2026 9:00 am | Location:
IDC Welcome Address
Thursday, April 23 2026 9:35 am | Location:
IDC Keynote: Building the CIO Roadmap for the Agentic Era
Insights
Discover thought-provoking articles from IDC analysts, strategic partners, and end-user speakers. Explore expert viewpoints on the latest tech trends, real-world transformation stories, and forward-looking insights shaping the digital future.
AI Infrastructure: The Foundation of the Agentic Era
The world is entering a defining moment for digital infrastructure. Artificial intelligence has moved from experimentation to ubiquity, and with it, a new operational paradigm is taking shape — one where agents rather than applications become the primary engines of digital value creation. This is the dawn of the agentic AI era, and its success depends on one thing above all else: robust, intelligent, and scalable infrastructure.
Matt Eastwood
IDC
SVP, WW Research
read more
Getting Your Data AI Ready
It has become a common refrain – getting data governance right is key to a successful AI strategy! This conventional wisdom is very true, but it is not a new problem. For as long as I have been involved in IT, both as an analyst and as a CIO, companies have struggled with wrangling the various data sets across the applications running at the organization.
Bob Parker
IDC
SVP, Software and Services Research
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Vision to Reality: How Governments are Empowering the Middle East’s AI Future
IDC predicts that AI will have a cumulative global economic impact of $19.9 trillion by 2030, driving 3.5% of global GDP growth. Governments will play a strategic dual role – both shaping policies for secure, impactful, and responsible adoption of AI across industries, and acting as major buyers of AI to transform public programs and services, enhancing operational efficiency and achieving mission outcomes.
Massimiliano Claps
IDC
Research Director
read moreVenue
Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa
Al Ta’awun Street, Kuwait, Kuwait City 13036, Kuwait