Middle East Beachhead Advisory Board

Mahmoud Haidar

Chair

Mahmoud is a strategy and business advisor, having had operational and consulting experience in Europe, North America and the Middle East and Africa.
 
Mahmoud is a computer and telecommunications engineer, with an MBA in Strategy and Innovation in ICT and another master’s in International Relations.
 
He has an 18-year management experience with Blue Chip firms in technology, finance, services and consulting and he advised government and regulatory agencies in numerous countries.
 
Read Q&As with Mahmoud Haidar

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Eli Khoury

Eli Khoury is a multi-award-winning strategic communications specialist, with considerable experience in branding and communications, particularly in the government sector.
 
Chairman and CEO of Saatchi&Saatchi Levant and Quantum Communications, Eli is acknowledged to have introduced practices that have raised the standard and improved the substance of advertising and brand design in the Middle East.
 
Eli is also co-founder of the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation. Eli has visited New Zealand several time for filming projects, and is keen to support New Zealand companies in developing their marketing and communication strategies.

Ross Officer

Ross Officer is a career banker, with 27 years of experience working in New Zealand, Canada, Vietnam, and the Arabian Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain.
 
He is currently posted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with The Saudi British Bank, a member of the HSBC Group. Ross’ experience has been predominantly in corporate banking, which has given him valuable insights into a wide range of industries.
 
In his current position as Head of Corporate Banking – Western Province, Ross is responsible for the management of his Bank’s team servicing multinationals and large Saudi corporates operating in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia.
 
Apart from his banking role, Ross is also active in supporting cross border trade and investment through an active involvement over many years advising individual companies and government sponsored trade missions, as well as on occasion promoting the cause of regulatory reform while posted in Vietnam.
 
Ross has a Master of Commerce in Economics from the University of Canterbury, and has dual New Zealand and French citizenship.

Dr Shane Reti (QSM), MBChB

Dr Shane Reti is a GP/dermatologist. He is currently the International Programme Director for the Division of Clinical Informatics at Harvard Medical School, a role which includes project managing the Joslin-HMFP-Dubai diabetes initiative, and the licensing of all health professionals in the Emirate of Dubai.
 
He has extensive experience in health care policy and practice, and spent seven years as a Northland District Health Board Director based in Whangarei before being awarded the 2007 Commonwealth Fund International Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice to Harvard.
 
Shane received the Queens Service Medal (QSM) in the 2006 New Years Honours list, for services to medical research, health and Maori education. He retains an academic appointment at the University of Auckland, is provisionally registered with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, and is a US qualified project manager with the Project Management Institute.

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Michael Wilde

Michael Wilde is a business development expert with access to high value regional networks. Michael is General Manager of Manazel Real Estate in Abu Dhabi, a major developer of mixed-use residential and commercial communities around the region.
 
Formerly Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Media City (DMC), he has also held numerous international executive positions including with Price Waterhouse Coopers, British Airways and GE Capital.
 
While at DMC he was responsible for the development of all aspects of the DMC Freezone including infrastructure, real estate, governance and organisational set-up.
 
In 2004, while at Tatweer LKC (Dubai Holding) portfolio, Michael jointly led the creation and development of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) encompassing real estate, organisational and infrastructure development, and the establishment of the Harvard Medical School Dubai Centre, the Dubai Harvard Research Foundation, and the University Hospital at DHCC.
 
Michael is a graduate of Auckland University New Zealand, with Bachelor of Commerce and ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant) qualifications. He is a dual citizen of New Zealand and the United Kingdom, with residency in the UAE, where he lives in Dubai.