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Meet The Jury

A seat at the Customer Happiness Awards Jury table is strictly by invitation. We invest time each year in creating a vetted list of recommendations of professionals who are subject matter experts and enjoy indisputable authority on their topics of expertise. It is our endeavour to choose independent practitioners (to the largest extent possible) to avoid any conflict of interest.

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Mohamed Al Banna Group CEO & Founder
Lead Ventures, Dubai
Proven senior roles and achievements in sales, businesses development and business growth. Over a decade of experience in managing AED 1.2B real estate portfolios as the youngest team leader in the organization in addition to leading and managing business affairs for royal family members in the UAE. Group CEO & Founder of Lead Ventures, a growing group of consultancy businesses that caters for market demands to support local and international businesses reach higher market share. Partner in businesses of diversified domains including Arts, Interior Design, Exhibitions, Events, Blockchain, construction, F&B and entertainment.
Hani Masgidi VP Business Development & Marketing
Qanawat Fze LLC
Hani is the VP - Business Development & Marketing of Qanawat fze LLC, a sought-after public speaker and entrepreneur with 22+ years of extensive experience in Business Operations, Strategy Development, CRM, Customer Experience Management, Customer Happiness, Sales, Marketing, Social / Digital Media Marketing and Team Management. He has worked in leadership positions in illustrious organizations like Aw Rostamani Holdings, Nakheel, Etisalat, and more. He is a dynamic and resilient expert with integrated business skills in building strong relationships at all levels of business, with diverse services & products towards attracting, retaining & delivering Customer Happiness.
Aseem Kapoor Founder & Chief Executive
ARK People Solutions, Dubai
Aseem Kapoor is the Founder and Chief Executive of ARK People Solutions which was created to partner with organisations wanting to drive culture and business performance through a people-first mindset.
A strong advocate of customer experience, he firmly believes that in a highly competitive and volatile environment, the customer experience is a key defining factor for any organization to succeed. A unique purpose-driven philosophy which is supported by a talented workforce that enables sustained business success helps accomplish this. Building culture, capabilities and the internal people experience are critical aspects to achieve such an outcome.
ARK People Solutions works on and delivers landmark projects within the region covering culture creation, brand experience, learning journeys, people strategy & consulting. With 25 years of experience in Hospitality, Aseem has held multiple senior HR & Talent leadership roles and has been recognized with awards for employer branding, change management & future workplace.
Yugeshree Frylinck Chief Experience Officer
The CX Group, South Africa
Yugeshree Frylinck is the founder of The CX Group, which is a leading management consulting, coaching and training business that specializes in Customer Experience. Her business is entrenched in keeping abreast and ahead of what matters to the customer always. She is committed to assisting businesses with understanding their customers and taking them on the journey of “outside-in” thinking. She has worked with leading brands to close the gap between their CVP and customer expectation and assisted them by aligning the essence of their customer strategy and promise.
She resigned from an executive position as Chief Experience Officer in 2017 to start her own business called The CX Group. She was driven to educate Africa’s corporate leaders to understand and adopt critical respect and commitment to Customer Experience. Her experiences have allowed her to work across industries, exposure to various leaders and business maturity levels.
Prof. Jeevan D’Mello GDArch, CMCA, AMS, LSM, PCAM, DAS, CEO
Zenesis Corporation, Dubai
Popularly known as the ‘Father of Community Management in the Middle East’ Jeevan is the pioneer of the CM industry in the region. An architect by profession, he set up the region’s biggest CM company for Emaar Properties and Nakheel Community Management which is responsible for managing iconic communities in the UAE.
An author of four books, a US-accredited, Dubai and Bahrain RERA-authorised lecturer, in 2008 he became the first certified CAI professional in the region earning the CMCA, AMS, LSM and PCAM credentials. He received a doctorate in Educational Management at Azteca University, Mexico and serves as their visiting Professor of Real Estate. In 2011 he received the CAI's 'Rising Star Award' and in 2014 the prestigious 'President's Award' in the USA.
A regular on the international speaking circuit, he has spoken in conferences and workshops around the world. He is a board member of the US-based CAI and also served as the inaugural President of the CAI-ME.
Karen Bell - Wright Customer and Employee Engagement Advisor, Dubai
Karen Bell Wright is the former Senior Vice President of Retail and Contact Centers for Emirates Airline worldwide. During her 16 years at Emirates, she set the customer service strategy, created and operationally managed the virtual network of seven contact centres across five continents. Karen is strongly focused on customer service and employee engagement and is currently working with customers to deliver the best experience possible. She splits her time between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Carolyn Manyapye VP of Innovation
EMERGE Consulting Services, Dubai
Carolyn is a firm believer that people will always remember how you made them feel, this is why customer happiness is the main driving factor for her success. She is currently working for Emerge Consulting Services, where she is advising customers in the EMEA region on the latest innovative technologies and helping them to digitally transform their businesses. Customer Experience, Employee Experience and User Experience is at the core of her function. She has implemented Customer happiness departments for a few corporations in the EMEA region and has been highly complimented for her work ethic and professionalism. She has worked for organizations such as IBM, Oracle and T-Systems South Africa. Carolyn started her career in project management where she worked on various projects where she established marketing departments; drafted and implemented business strategies; brand positioning; managed multimillion-rand SAP projects and worked on ad-hoc projects for the private and public sector.
Dr. Debbie Kristiansen General Manager - Bahrain IECC
ASM Global (APAC), Bahrain
As an accomplished leader with more than 25 years of experience in the entertainment, events and hospitality industries, Debbie is a CEO with an extensive understanding of public, government and private organizations. Since taking on the role of the CEO of NOVO Cinemas in 2013, Debbie has worked with her Executive team to bring Novo Cinemas to new heights, from a standard cinema experience to an innovative entertainment hub through strategic partnerships, technological advancements, new experience offerings and alternative content opportunities for consumers. Under Debbie’s guidance, further expansion throughout the GCC will see Novo Cinemas enter the newly opened Saudi Arabia cinema market. The impact of Debbie’s leadership is reflected in the multiple awards that have been conferred to her. In September 2018 Debbie was crowned ‘Female CEO Of The Year’ by CEO Middle East Magazine and named as one of the 12 Women of Substance 2018 by Khaleej Times. In 2019, she has been named one of the Top 30 most influential women in the Arab World By Arabian Business and #5 of Top 50 Women in Global Cinema by Celluloid Junkie, Box Office Magazine in collaboration with industry Trade body UNIC.
Dr. Louise Lambert Head of Happiness Research & Policy Design
HappinessMatters.org, Dubai
Dr Louise Lambert, PhD, is a Registered Psychologist (College of Alberta Psychologists, Canada), Researcher and Consultant with 20 years of experience in counselling, mental health, higher education and research, and primary healthcare. She has lived in the UAE for 10 years doing organizational and educational consulting, with clients such as Masdar, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, KAUST (KSA), Teacherly (UK), and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal). She is a prolific researcher in the field of wellbeing and has several peer-reviewed publications in positive psychology and the empirical strategies used to attain greater subjective wellbeing. Currently the Head of Happiness Programming and Policy Design with HappinessMatters.org, she is also the podcast host of “A world of wellbeing” in partnership with Gallup (Washington, DC) and the Global Wellbeing Initiative. Dr Lambert is the founder and Editor of the Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to regional wellbeing.
Craig Lee Independent Advisor & Partner
Kinetic Consulting Services, Dubai
Craig Lee is a trusted senior advisor in business growth and transformation. He helps leaders deliver client-centred change profitably and sustainably. Craig improves business results by challenging leaders to join the dots between brands, leadership, employee and customer experience, creating focused strategy and delivering actionable roadmaps to drive transformation. He advises and coaches C-Suite leaders globally on customer experience, employee engagement, integrated marketing and bringing brands to life. Craig has worked in the financial services, telecoms, technology, education, healthcare and has extensive experience in luxury and premium retail, hospitality and travel sectors. He is an international keynote speaker on Customer Experience and business transformation. Craig is an independent advisor, a Partner in Kinetic Consulting Services, Advisory Board member; he has held positions as Strategy &Transformation Director and Chief Customer Officer. Previously, the Customer Experience and Brand position at Emirates Group. He consults internationally from his base in Dubai, UAE.
Gulneet Chadha Founder
GC Consulting and Licensed Hypnotherapist, Dubai
Bio: With more than 15 years in the field of Human Resources, Gulneet has been empowering individuals and organisations through her compassionate, people-centric approach for her entire career. As a founder of GC Consulting and an expert change management professional, Gulneet has worked with organizations aimed to bring a change in their culture, leadership and transformation of human capital. Her steadfast focus on empathetic and mindful nurturing has led her down this path and inevitably, the establishment of Silver Lining by PD. Gulneet is a licensed RTTⓇ Therapist and Hypnotherapist. She is also a columnist, keynote speaker on mental health issues and Senior Advisor to the Board of “Lead Ventures”. Her phenomenal work helping people was featured in countless publications such as “Khaleej Times” and “Gulf News”. Gulneet also recently won World’s TOP 100 Influencers award for her inspiration, contribution and touching the lives of others by offering mental health support and breaking the stigma.
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