Matt Eastwood is Senior Vice President of IDC’s enterprise infrastructure, cloud, telecom, security, developers, channels and enabling technology research groups. Mr. Eastwood and his team research people, process and technology trends affecting the enterprise technology marketplace worldwide. Mr. Eastwood first joined IDC in 2000 as part of the server team and his responsibilities have evolved and expanded during his tenure. In his current role, he leads a team of more than 100 analysts providing insights and analysis to IT suppliers, buyers, investors, and distributors through more than 75 syndicated research programs. Mr. Eastwood also leads IDC’s BuyerView primary research programs which are focused on defining emerging trends in cloud, developers, service providers, edge, AI and security.

Mr. Eastwood joined IDC in 2000. He provides in-depth market analysis, research, and consulting on all aspects of the enterprise infrastructure marketplace to IT professionals, investors, resellers and technology suppliers. During his tenure at IDC, Mr. Eastwood has led IDC primary research focused on emerging trends in enterprise systems and data centers. This primary research allows IDC to make continuous assessments regarding how customers are deploying and using enterprise infrastructure power digital transformation. Recent topics covered in Mr. Eastwood’s research include: Software Defined Infrastructure, Integrated infrastructure, Convergence, Disaggregated Infrastructure, Virtualization & Automation, Cloud Computing, High Availability, Platform Migration and Datacenter Workloads. Mr. Eastwood also serves as IDC’s lead analyst covering Dell and VMware.

Prior to joining IDC, Mr. Eastwood worked for twelve years as a senior project manager and environmental consultant at CDM Smith in Boston. Mr. Eastwood was responsible for managing the planning and design of large environmental infrastructure projects including wastewater collection and treatment facilities. In addition, Mr. Eastwood served as Operations Manager of the firm’s New England practice.

Mr. Eastwood received a bachelor’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston and earned his MS in Engineering Project Management from WPI in Worcester, MA. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Massachusetts.

Harish Dunakhe leads IDC’s research & advisory practice for the software program in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey (META) region.
He is responsible for a team of research analysts and manages the delivery of insights in IDC’s software program and syndicated research. Harish and his team have expertise in studying technology trends to provide our clients with thought leadership and actionable insights. He is based in Dubai.

Harish has a strong understanding of leveraging technologies to solve business problems in the public sector, travel & transportation, hospitality, IT, and retail. He has significant knowledge of emerging technologies such as blockchain, RPA, artificial intelligence, and cloud. He works with clients to understand the intricacies, opportunities, and challenges involved in their technology transformation journeys.

Harish brings more than 17 years of experience working with leading system integrators and other technology companies across the Middle East, South Asia, and India. Prior to joining IDC, he held senior roles spanning technology sales strategy, program governance, and large account business planning at Global MNCs such as Wipro, DXC Technology, and Sonata Software.

Stef Knaepkens is the Chief AI Officer at Plat4mation, bringing more than 30 years of experience in digital transformation and organizational change. He has led large‑scale IT transformations across industries, including post‑merger integrations, enterprise‑wide restructuring programs, and end‑to‑end ITIL implementations in over 30 organizations worldwide.

Olivia is a Partner Technology Strategist for MEA at ServiceNow, specializing in AI-driven transformation, partner ecosystems, and enterprise innovation across the Middle East and Africa. She works closely with strategic partners and organizations to accelerate the adoption of intelligent workflows and autonomous enterprise solutions. Passionate about bridging business strategy and technology, Olivia helps organizations unlock operational efficiency and deliver impactful digital experiences through AI.

Dr Alexey Sidorov was born with the “Passion for Data” programmed in his DNA.

Alexey started his carrier 30-years ago building volumetric model of radioactive pollution of Chernobyl nuclear disaster Zone with Russian Academy of Science and since then earned his reputation as the strategic adviser in all aspects of Data Management.

Prior joining Denodo as Chief Evangelist, Alexey built and managed enterprise-wide Data Integration platforms for industry giants like Nokia and Deutsche Bank. In the last 15 years Dr Alexey has been helping many companies across 3 continents to Digitally Transform their business with the edge-cutting Data technologies from Teradata and Informatica.

I am a high-impact leader with over 27 years of experience driving international growth and digital transformation for major organizations. I bring a unique mix of business strategy and deep technical knowledge, specifically in Cloud, ERP, and complex systems integration.

Throughout my career, I have specialized in scaling startups into market leaders and leading successful organizational turnarounds. I focus on managing high-stakes negotiations and building the strategic partnerships needed to make Dstation a world-class industry leader.

My Core Strengths:

Growth & Scaling: I have a proven track record of taking small ventures and turning them into market leaders.

Technical Expertise: I have extensive knowledge of Digital Transformation, SOA, and CRM platforms.

Operational Excellence: I specialize in change management, P&L, and leading teams through complex transitions.

Charles Chebli is a senior executive operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, sovereign cloud, and national digital transformation strategies across the Middle East and Africa.

As Managing Director UAE and Head of AI Cloud MEA at Qualcomm, he leads the regional strategy to position AI as a core economic and infrastructure layer, driving large-scale partnerships with governments, sovereign entities, and global technology leaders to enable next-generation AI ecosystems.

Charles brings a proven track record of building and scaling strategic businesses from inception to multi-billion-dollar impact. During his career, he established and grew one of the region’s most critical AI companies into a global top-tier portfolio, delivering significant revenue growth while shaping the foundations of sovereign AI infrastructure.

He is recognized for his ability to translate emerging technologies into board-level value creation, advising on AI investment strategy, infrastructure economics, and ecosystem development. Through his work, he has contributed in a practical way to the Gulf region’s evolving AI journey, in line with national efforts on economic diversification and digital sovereignty.

Charles holds a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence for Public Services, and is a frequent advisor and speaker on AI as critical infrastructure, enterprise transformation, and the future of intelligent economies.

Ahmed AlRifai is the Group IT Director at Al-Muhaidib Group, a leading Saudi diversified conglomerate operating across retail, FMCG, manufacturing, distribution, and investments. With over 25 years of experience, he leads enterprise-wide digital transformation across multiple subsidiaries, driving initiatives spanning ERP modernization, cloud platforms, data architecture, and cybersecurity.

Ahmed is known for his pragmatic approach to AI adoption—focusing not on hype, but on building the right foundations. He emphasizes modern core systems, trusted data platforms, and the integration of analytics and machine learning into business processes. His leadership prioritizes user adoption, organizational readiness, and tangible business value, ensuring AI is embedded into everyday operations in a responsible and scalable way.

He regularly shares practical insights on advancing AI initiatives incrementally and sustainably, aligned with broader transformation strategies and Saudi Vision 2030.

A recognized technology leader with 35+ progressive experience, known for crafting the
requisite strategic vision to achieve business goals, offering a unique blend of executive acumen,
global team building, and technology solutions development credited with strong ROI and
operational improvement.
A highly creative thinker and analytical problem solver with demonstrated ability to manage
technology projects from planning through execution/completion under pressure of fast-paced
time-sensitive environments.
As the Chief Technology Officer at the King Faisal Foundation, Hazem has significantly
contributed to the building of a responsive technology structure that consistently delivers
results by aligning technology initiatives with strategic business goals; with substantial
improvement to service delivery, standardization, and business/systems performance

Sivakumar Seshadri is the Head of Digital at Confidential Government. Siva has 32+ years of expertise in the insurance industry with, expertise in bringing result oriented Transformation and Digitization for leading insurers across various continents. He has been instrumental in driving a number of digital initiatives across global insurers which helped  them in Digital growth , accelerating revenue, customer norms and market leading combined ratios.

In the recent Past Siva transformed and grew Tawuniya as its Chief Digital officer  and prior to that with Al Rajhi Takaful as its COO, CIO & CDO and a founding management executive , leading the organization to become the largest motor insurer in KSA, Siva previously led Banking & Insurance vertical with global technology organizations such as Infosys , Cap Gemini ( Igate), Tata consultancy Services and LIC of India. His expertise covers Digitalization & Transformation, Building and Growing Ecommerce and Ebusiness,  Insurance Operations, Technology Management and Strategic Consulting

Siva is a ACII and Fellow of Insurance Institute of India and holds a Masters with specialization in Insurance, He is also as CSQA and is a IBM Certified Design Thinker.

Etienne Niken has more than 25+ years’ experience in the IT industry and has been with Commvault a leading cyber resilience company for over 12 years. Currently holding a position of SE Manager – Saudi Arabia and Qatar and a trusted advisor to many. An extremely passionate and results driven individual both personally and professionally. His vast experience in Data Management spanning more than 15 years has led him to see and experience the changes in the industry culminating in a front row seat of expertise backed by his industry skills forming lasting bonds with customers. 

Murad Abu Abed is an AI Field Technical Director at Cohesity, specializing in enterprise AI, data security, and sovereign data architectures across the Middle East. With over 20 years of experience in data management, cybersecurity, and solution architecture, he helps organizations unlock the value of their data while ensuring strong governance and compliance.

He focuses on enabling AI adoption in regulated industries, ensuring data sovereignty, resilience, and security are built into enterprise AI strategies by design.