Shukri Eid is a 25-year veteran in the technology and consulting industry with a proven track record of transforming businesses across the Middle East and Africa region.

As General Manager of IBM Gulf, Levant and Pakistan, Shukri is responsible for IBM’s overall business operations, driving business growth and client satisfaction. Prior to returning to IBM, Shukri served as Regional Managing Director for the Gulf region at Cisco, where he drove the company’s digital agenda, competitive positioning, and business strategy.

During his tenure, Shukri held the position of Senior Director within the Country Digitization Acceleration (CDA) team, working with government and industry stakeholders to accelerate the national digitization strategies. He also led a diverse team of senior consulting professionals as the Director of Cisco Consulting Services in Emerging Markets and the Director of Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG).

Earlier in his career, Shukri held senior roles at IBM Global Business Services and PwC, where he led the implementation of high-profile strategies and IT transformational engagements.

Shukri is valued for building results-oriented and enthusiastic teams and has established himself as a thought leader and agent of change in fast-evolving, dynamic markets. He is known for his deliberate, strategic approach to complex challenges, authenticity, and people management skills.

Shukri has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Strathclyde in the UK and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Jordan University of Science & Technology.

In his role as associate research director for IT services and software across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META), Melih drives IDC’s regional research and consulting engagements in the areas of IT services, Cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and intelligent automation.

He first joined IDC in 2012 as a senior research analyst located out of IDC’s Istanbul office, with various responsibilities for the firm’s IT services, cloud computing, software, and telecom domains — both in Turkey and across the wider META region. Between 2016 and 2021, Melih headed the international marketing and investor relations practice at P.I. Works, a global automation and AI software vendor that serves telecom operators.

Now back at IDC, Melih is leveraging his vast experience in the IT services, cloud, software, and telecommunications domains to advise clients on go-to-market strategies, technology marketing and promotion activities, and market trends analysis. He is also driving a wide variety of research and consulting projects across the META region.

Melih has also previously served as enterprise channel and marketing manager at Nortel Turkey and as business development and strategy manager at Netaş, one of the leading systems integrators in Turkey and a former Nortel subsidiary. He possesses a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and received his MBA from Esslingen University of Applied Sciences in Germany. He has worked as a business development specialist at HP and wrote his MBA thesis for the company, covering European retail channel trends and winning strategies for channel businesses.

Ahmed serves as Chief Technology Officer at IBM Middle East, where he advises enterprise clients on leveraging hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence solutions to enable large-scale digital transformation projects. With over that 20 years at IBM, he has held diverse leadership roles spanning complex solution architecture, managing technical sales, and project delivery. He has led cloud-first and AI-driven initiatives, designed complex architectures, and supported high-performing technical teams. In his current role, Ahmed drives sovereign cloud and AI architecture through a co-creation approach with clients, delivering outcome-focused solutions. He also represents IBM at regional forums on digital sovereignty, hybrid cloud, and responsible AI.