Ron Thomas

Human Capital Institute

International Country Manager: Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific Region

Ron Thomas is the Managing Director of Strategy Focused Group an international consulting firm based in Dubai. He is a visiting executive faculty member at the Global Human Resources Leadership Institute at Howard University School of Business in Washington, DC. He is also a senior faculty member of the Human Capital Institute, covering the MENA/Asia Pacific & Africa Region.
Ron is the former CEO of Great Place to Work-Gulf and CHRO of Al Raha Group, based in Riyadh. He holds certifications from HCI as Global Human Capital Strategist (GHCS), Master Human Capital Strategist (MHCS), and Strategic Workforce Planner (SWP) as well as New York University. Prior to consulting, he worked in senior level roles for IBM, Martha Stewart Living, Xerox HR Services [HR Consulting] in the US.
He has been identified as one of the top 5 HR/Leadership thinkers in the Middle East by CIPD.  He received the Outstanding Leadership Award for Global HR Excellence at the World Human Resources Development Congress in Mumbai, and was named as one of the 50 Most Talented Global HR Leaders in Asia. As a consultant and management educator, he has worked with companies such as Central Bank of Nigeria, Iran MTNCell, King Faisal Hospital-Jeddah Saudi Electric Company, BASHRM, JLT [Saudi Arabia], Dubai Tourism, American Hospital of Dubai, Dar Al Riyadh, Gulf Bank-Kuwait, Boybyan, Kuwait, CIMB Bank and Singapore Government Civil Service.

Alain De Dauw

Atlas Copco Airpower

VP HR Oil Free Division

Alain joined Atlas Copco as Vice President HR for the Airtec Division in 2012. Atlas Copco is a leading supplier of industrial productivity solutions. The headquarter of Atlas Copco group is situated in Stockholm, Sweden. Atlas Copco is active in more than 170 markets around the world. From 1992 until 2011, Alain De Dauw worked for DHL Express in Belgium and Germany with project based international assignments to Singapore and the USA. Alain has 20 years of service with DHL in various HR functions, including serving as Regional HR Manager for DHL Aviation EMEA between 2000 and 2002 and as Global Mobility Manager for the DPWN Group between 2003 and 2005, a role that was responsible for the international assignment management of 800 expatriates. In 2010 and 2011, Alain was responsible for the relocation of the Brussels based EUHQ to the Global Head Office in Bonn, Germany.

Catalina Schveninger

DataCamp

Chief People Officer

Catalina Schveninger FCIPD, joined DataCamp from Futurelearn & Vodafone where she most recently held the Global Head of Learning and Capabilities role, being responsible for the reskilling/upskilling and learning culture strategy for the FTSE 20 company’s 100,000 employees across 25 countries.
Previously, Catalina was HR Director of T Mobile in The Netherlands. She began her international HR career in 2002 as a member of the Human Resources Leadership Program at GE and held different roles, including the HR Director of GE’s Security EMEA division.
A mother of 2, Catalina is a passionate advocate for the attraction and development of women in organizations and describes herself as a people and HR tech geek. Catalina holds a BA in Journalism and Communications from the University of Bucharest, a Diploma in Management from The Open University, and has lived and worked in six countries.

Martin Lexa

former Alcon, Medtronic, Novartis HR executive

Martin Lexa is the former Chief People & Communications Officer at the world-leading medical solutions company Mölnlycke. He has a long track record of HR leadership in growth companies in the healthcare and medical devices industries in both mature and emerging markets.
A German national, Martin joined Mölnlycke in 2016. Before that, he spent three years within the Novartis Group, first as head of HR Over-The-Counter for Europe at Novartis Consumer Health and then as Head of HR for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Alcon. He also worked at Medtronic for five years, including as VP for Human Resources, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Canada – and at Bristol-Myers Squibb for eight years in different national and international HR leadership roles.

Guille Lorbada

Repsol

Head of New Ways of Working

Guille Lorbada is leading the New Ways of Working division in Repsol, as part of the People and Organization EMD in Repsol. Repsol is an integrated energy and oil&gas global company based in 30 countries.
Guille joined Repsol in 2012 as part of the Learning and Training Division. Before that, he was an entrepreneur, he founded his first company when he was 19 years old and then he has participated in more than 20 innovative projects. He has a PhD in Advanced Management, specialized in corporate entrepreneurship and innovation culture; an executive MBA and a MSc in Telecommunication Engineering.