Endorsers

Media Partners

Speakers 2017

  • Arif Husain Al Marzooqi

    Head of Products Conformity Assessment Section Dubai Central Lab Department - Dubai Municipality

    Mr. Arif Husain Al Marzooqi was appointed as Head of Products Conformity Assessment Section in Dubai Central Lab Department (DCLD) of Dubai Municipality effective December 6th, 2015.

    Graduated from UAE University with Bachelor Degree of Science Major Geology in the year 2000. He joined the Municipality in 2000 as a Field Studies Researcher Assistant, and was later promoted to the post of Acting Head of Research and Standardization Management Office. He was later appointed as Head of Research and Standardization Management Office in which he was looked after the Standards development for testing and products specification for conformity assessment.

    He was promoted in 2012 to the post of Acting Head of Inspection and Certification Section. Mr. Arif chaired a number of committees in Dubai Municipality such as the Technical Approval Committee, Development of Dubai Soil Profile Mapping Committee, Concrete Sustainability Team and participated as active member in a lot of other committees such as Strategic Transformation Management Team of DCLD, Establishing International Center for Halal Products Accreditation and Certification Team, Certification Advisory Committee, Certification Technical Committee, DCL Internal Auditor Team and DCL Awards and Innovations Team. He was also instrumental in winning some more than 10 local, regional and international awards for DCL and Dubai Municipality, and have a big role in making DCL/Dubai Municipality Conformity Mark available and existing in more than 22 countries around the world and development of more than 70 standards for testing and products specification.

  • Lionel Lemay

    NRMCA Executive Vice President, Structures and Sustainability

    Lionel Lemay is Sr. Vice President, Sustainable Development for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA). He manages programs to assist producers, contractors, and designers transform concrete manufacturing and construction to improve overall sustainability of the concrete industry. Mr. Lemay manages programs to educate concrete industry professionals, engineers and architects on the proper use and design of concrete for buildings, parking areas, roadways, and other applications. He works on developing standards and specifications with a focus on performance-based specifications for concrete. He has written numerous articles on concrete construction and is co-author of the McGraw-Hill book Insulating Concrete Forms for Residential Design and Construction.
    Mr. Lemay is a Registered Professional Engineer and Structural Engineer in the State of Illinois. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional. Mr. Lemay is a Certified Association Executive. He is a member of the Construction Specifications Institute. He is a member of the American Concrete Institute and serves on ACI committees 301, 332 and 560. He is chairman of the American Society of Civil Engineers Concretes and Cementitious Materials Committee. Before joining NRMCA, Mr. Lemay was Managing Director of Promotion for the Portland Cement Association and before that he was Director of Engineering for the Chicago office of Hansen Lind Meyer, Inc., a national building design firm. Mr. Lemay holds a Bachelors and Master’s degree in civil engineering and applied mechanics from McGill University in Montreal, Canada

  • Tien Peng

    NRMCA Vice President, Sustainability

    Tien Peng is National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s (NRMCA) Vice President, Sustainability. Based in Seattle, he advises decision makers on energy, resilience, and building code adoption and legislation. Mr. Peng monitors and provides input to building code, standards and green protocols. This includes the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED rating system, Green Globes, and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). For the past two decades, Mr. Peng has been an architectural designer, builder, and process management consultant. He has also been involved in codes and standards as a means to ensure buildings and facilities are safe, healthy, and energy efficient. He facilitated the creation of the LEED Homes rating system for the as well as current versions of BuiltGreen, the Evergreen Development Standard. Mr. Peng currently serves on the consensus body of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Green Globes document and ASTM’s E60 Sustainability and E06 Building Performance committees.
    Mr. Peng holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Houston and a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His professional accreditations include LEED AP BD+C, Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (CSBA), Certified Green Professional (CGP) from the National Association of Home Builders, Project Management Professional (PMP), and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB).

  • Fida Mohammed Alhammadi

    Head of Research and Building Systems Section, Building Department - Dubai Municipality.

    Fida holds a Bachelor degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, from the United Arab Emirates University, 2013; she has a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from University of Sharjah.
    Fida is certified as LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE, Certified Concrete Professional Middle East (CCPfME) , NRMCA CFT, NRMCA CFME, and BREEM ASSOCIATE. Fida is also an approved Trainer From Local and International entities.

  • Dirk Kestner

    Director of Sustainable Design - Walter P Moore

    As director of sustainable design, Dirk Kestner provides overall guidance and resourcing to the entire firm, ensuring that all designs incorporate industry-leading expertise in sustainable strategies. His project work, teaching, and coaching throughout the firm and broad-reaching influence in the industry help maintain Walter P Moore’s status as a national leader in sustainable approaches and outcomes.

    Trained and experienced as a structural engineer, Dirk applies his immense passion for environmental accountability in design to elevate the knowledge and expertise of all those around him, creating better results for clients and projects. Dirk guides each team through a client inquiry process that produces bespoke sustainability goals for each project, and then leads the team to achieve those goals.

    He was founding chair of the Sustainability Committee of the ASCE’s Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and is widely acknowledged as a national thought leader in the advancement of sustainable structural solutions. Dirk publishes and lectures frequently on topics that range from durability and deconstructability to salvaged structural steel and life cycle analysis. As a member of the LEED Materials and Resources Technical Advisory Group of the US Green Building Council, he helps guide the important technical criteria of the LEED rating system.

    Dirk is a professional engineer in Texas and Georgia and is a LEED Accredited Professional/Building Design + Construction. He holds a Master of Science in Structural Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and graduated Cum Laude from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

  • Raj Pillai

    Managing Director, Star Worth Infrastructure & Construction Ltd

    Raj Pillai is an accomplished civil engineer with over 25 years of experience in India and abroad. His expertise lies in construction of world class highways, industrial parks and mega residential projects using precast technology. Raj also has in depth knowledge of building materials and building products related to concrete and GFRC.

    Raj has worked at various capacities such as Executive Director, Sobha Ltd, responsible for concrete product division, precast initiative, institutional and international sales and commercial real estate.Prior to joining Sobha, Raj was Vice President, RMC Readymix (A Division of Prism Cement) and was responsible for business development across the country, key account management of Infosys and profit and loss account for more than 60 commercial readymix plants. Raj also worked as Project Manager at Oman as well as with Larsen and Toubro, ECC Group.

    He has received numerous accolades for his exemplary contribution to the India construction industry, the notable ones being ‘ Change Master’ award by Tasmac University and Business-Gyan in 2006, and the prestigious ‘Vishwakarma Award 2012’ by CIDC, a body of the Planning Commission, Government of India. Mr. Pillai was also the Chairman (Bangalore Centre) and Vice President of India Concrete Institute.

    He has presented more then hundred technical papers in national and international seminars, the most recent ones on Precast Construction at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ‘Smart Build’ at Cape Town and ‘Affordable Housing’ at Singapore. Mr. Raj Pillai is also a member of the committee for revising National Building Code 2016. He is the co author of ‘Hand book for Government Engineers’ by Task force Govt. of Karnataka and ‘Handbook of Precast’ by ICI and IIT Chennai. He has also authored best seller ‘Corporate Safari’, on ethical practices.

    Raj Pillai is also an Adjunct Professor (Visiting Faculty) for M Tech students at NMIT Bangalore, a deemed university of repute. He also enjoys a patent on his name ‘Five M of Construction’.

  • Ihab Bassiouni

    Principal Building Studies Engineer Building Department - Dubai Municipality

    Ihab has a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Beirut Arab University and holds a diploma in Advanced Concrete Technology (ACT) from the Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT), United Kingdom. Ihab is MICT (Corporate Member of Institute of Concrete Technology, UK) and NRMCA Certified Concrete Professional (CCPf). Ihab is NRMCA approved Inspecting Engineer, trainer and examiner in the Middle East. Ihab has an extensive experience of around 15 years in Concrete Construction Industry.

  • Sven Asmus

    Global Business Director Admixture Systems Concrete Admixtures, Underground Construction, Cement Additives - BASF

    Dr. Sven Asmus is the global business segment manager for Concrete Admixtures, Underground Construction and Cement Additives in BASF Construction Chemicals, based in Mannheim, Germany. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. Sven also obtained a scholarship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and accepted a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology at Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan. After publishing multiple highly recognized scientific publications, he started his business career in Japan, where he made pivotal contributions to, at the time, novel concrete admixtures which are now state of the art in the industry globally. After various technical and marketing positions in Asia Pacific he spent several years in the central research facilities of BASF. In his current position he is heading a team that develops strategies and marketing concepts for BASF’s concrete admixture business; comprising innovation and sustainable solutions for the construction industry with particular focus on life-cycle- and eco-efficiency-analysis.

  • Ashraf Biddah

    Managing Director eFORCE Engineering Consultancies

    Ashraf Biddah is the Managing Director of eFORCE Engineering Consultancies located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi UAE and Toronto Canada specialized in assessment of structures and repair and strengthening design.
    Ashraf is the vice president of International Concrete Repair Institute ICRI Dubai Chapter.
    He is Professor of concrete structures, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. Was working as professor of Structure Engineering at UAE University for 10 years then Professor of structural Engineering & Director of Building & Construction Center of Excellence (BCCE) at Abu Dhabi University for 3 years.
    Ashraf graduated from the Civil Engineering Department, Ain Shams University, Egypt in 1989 with Honor degree. Received his Masters in 1992 and his Ph.D. from McMaster University, Canada in 1997 in Seismic behavior of existing and rehabilitated reinforced concrete frames at nuclear power plants.
    Ashraf is member of the Canadian Association of Earthquake Engineering, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSA) in Switzerland, American Concrete Institute (ACI) in USA, International Concrete Repair Institute ICRI in USA.
    Ashraf is a strengthening and repair expert and consulting Engineer. He owns a consulting firm based in Dubai and has several branches in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Qatar and Jeddah. He conducted numerous repair and strengthening projects in Dubai, Jeddah, Cairo, Azerbaijan, Beirut, Doha and Burlington including strengthening design work in Burj Khalifa the tallest tower in the world. During the past twenty years, he conducted research and published numerous journal and conference papers on the subject of repair of concrete structures.

  • Faiz Khan

    Technical Director - Simco Middle East

    Faiz has been working in the assessment of durability and rehabilitation of concrete structures in the Middle East for almost 20 years with experience across all types of construction and market sectors, namely transportation structures such as bridges, ports, airports, industrial facilities such as oil & gas plants, desalination plants, commercial sector structures such as residential and commercial buildings across UAE, KSA and Qatar.
    He specializes in durability planning and development of specifications or new structures and the forensic investigation, condition assessment, rehabilitation design and prediction of remnant life for existing structures, advising clients on the most appropriate and practicable durability enhancement /rehabilitation strategies.

  • David Bowerman

    Regional Business Segment Manager, Admixture Systems & Cement Additives, Construction Chemicals Division - BASF

    David Bowerman has an honours degree in civil engineering and has spent more than 34 years working in the fields of readymix concrete, cement, and, for the last 23 years, construction chemicals. David is a member of the Institute of Concrete Technology having achieved his Diploma in Advanced Concrete Technology in 1991. David is now the Regional Business Segment Manager for Admixture Systems and Cement Additives responsible for Middle East, West Asia, CIS and Africa

  • Osama Hamad

    General Manager - Emirates Beton Ready Mix

    For his 22 years well experience to concrete mix industry, he is known for his executive leadership and guidance for all departments: Production, Operations, Technical, Maintenance, Sales, and other departments over several manufacturing plants. He is responsible for manufacturing activities, effective coordination, synchronization and value chain management of all departments.

    Osama Hamad is also responsible of ensuring effective operation management, managing major cost drivers, stock availability, macro-update on production planning, assessment of work processes, people and technology.

    He ensures alignment of people, process and technology and consistent working towards its synchronization and optimization for effective and profitable working of the company. Responsible also in establishing and guiding the whole team, institute appropriate systems for project execution and ensuring that the team decisions have the tools and information they need to make timely and profitable decision.
    Osama Hamad closely monitored the projects and review and approve changes affecting the accuracy, validity and appropriate supporting documentation and authorization. He ensures control procedures and reporting are performed on a timely basis. HE is responsible for budgeting and credit control, job description, etc. to develop the team.

    Osama Hamad possesses special skills that made him soar high in ready mix concrete field. He possesses good administrative, public relations and management skills to enhance overall operations and be able to delegate responsibility, organize each department and possesses an ability to understand the work of each department.

    “Osama Hamad is a man who knows no boundary when it comes to concrete mix industry service” and because of this Emirates Beton reach to it’s level of success and will continue to succeed for we work together to achieve


    His humble heart made him a best and respected Leader….

  • Basel Mohammed

    Technical Manager - Emirates Beton Ready Mix

    Basel Mohammed holds B.Sc. Degree in Geology & Chemistry from Cairo University 2001, has a total experience of 16 years, Appointed as a technical manager within Emirates Beton in 2017, worked with many concrete manufacturers along the Middle East to produce a wide range of concrete types (steel fibers concrete flooring, screed, light weight concrete).

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