Partha is the CEO and Co-founder of Vantage Circle. He has over two decades of expertise in product and executive management. Partha has a proven track record of scaling great businesses and was instrumental in developing and launching 99acres.com.

He gained remarkable expertise in various industrial verticals when he worked for Aricent, Hughes Software Systems, and Bharat Electronics. He has gained deep insights in unlocking employee productivity using employee recognition and engagement through his experience with several companies and HR departments. His strategic skills in a learning and entrepreneurial environment, where complexity can require a dive into the content and creativity, problem-solving skills and intelligence are maximally utilized.

Partha is a strong believer in being able to have an impact together with a team. He leads the company with innovative flair, a reason why Vantage Circle enjoys a sustained competitive position in the market. Under Partha’s leadership, Vantage Circle has become a globally recognized HR Tech company, establishing itself as one of the leading Employee Rewards and Recognition SaaS-software in India, UAE and North America.

Mr. Hussain Dawood is a philanthropist and investor who serves as the Chairman of Engro Corp. Since 2006, he has stewarded the Company to solve pressing issues through businesses in petrochemicals, energy, telecommunications infrastructure, and food and agriculture. He has played an instrumental role in instituting high standards of corporate governance and a values-driven culture; core to his style of governance is a passionate belief in perpetuating a strong value system that focuses on Character and Good Manners. Based on these, Engro Corp intensely focuses on investing in the growth potential of its people and businesses – this entails competency in leadership development, upskilling and reskilling, and international partnerships, ultimately contributing to the growth of Pakistan.

Mr. Hussain Dawood also believes in the criticality of human development to the progress of a country; for this reason, he chairs the Board of the Karachi Education Initiative, a not-for-profit entity that sponsors KSBL (Karachi School of Business & Leadership), a business school striving to build effective and ethical leaders. These beliefs are further perpetuated through the philanthropic arm of the Group, The Dawood Foundation (TDF), which has established several educational projects to inspire social change, most recent of which is the TDF MagnifiScience Center, a first-of-its-kind interactive science museum for people of all ages. He is also on the University Leadership Council in the UAE.

Mr. Hussain Dawood is a member of the World Economic Forum and is a recipient of the Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) Award. His complete list of directorships includes Dawood Hercules Corporation, Engro Corporation, Dawood Foundation, Karachi Education Initiative, and KSBL. He holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA and is a graduate in Metallurgy from Sheffield University, UK.

Oshba Mubarak is the Head of Training & Development and People Performance Management at Abu Dhabi Housing Authority., In her capacity, she is responsible for leading Digital learning, Talent Development agenda and succession planning activities across the company.

her background experience 23+ years comes from different industries in UAE from Banking and finance, Real estate and Government sector.

Oshba started her career in 2001, as a Professional banker through her hard work and dedication in 2006, she became one of the first younger UAE Female Bank Manager leading the team more than 50 employees across the regional branches. In 2012, she has lifted her career concentrating in managing the Human Capital and worked closely with different strategic partners such as McKinsey, Deloitte, Korn ferry and Tower Watson in designing accelerate Talent programs for high potentials. Over her time, she played many key roles in developing and strengthening the company’s position as an employer of choice in the UAE with ENBD, NBAD (FAB), ALDAR properties the real estate sector in general. And continues to push ahead on its transformational growth journey.

Oshba is a graduate of Master degree – Business Administration from Canadian University focusing in Finance. and is a certified professional from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). In addition, she has attended a number of other Executive education programs including Harvard, INSEAD and IMD have all welcomed her hungry mind . last of all, close to her heart she advocates for a greener and more conscious world which led her to became one of an active member of sustainability ambassador at Robert swan mission 2041.

Theuns joined 2U, edX’s parent company, in April 2017, with the mission to establish and lead the enterprise sales division of 2U. Theuns manages a global team selling the industry’s broadest portfolio of e-learning products into the enterprise corporate learning market. Today edX partners with over 900 companies globally, forging industry leading partnerships like Andhra Pradesh in India where the Government of Andhra Pradesh will give 1.2M students access to world class education, enriching their learning and empowering them with education.

Theuns has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of South Africaand has completed Professional Certificates from Oxford, MIT, London School of Economics, Yale, and the University of Cape Town.

When Theuns is not crafting customized e-learning solutions for L&D professionals, you may find him exploring his new Washington D.C. neighborhood with his wife and children, training for a mountain bike race, or enjoying a glass of delicious South African red wine. 

Christopher Lopez is the Director of the CEO Academy, a SHRM company, the Society for Human Resource Management. In his previous roles, Mr. Lopez served as a key leader for developing the next generation of HR leaders, through SHRM programming, and played a critical, strategic role in building relationships within SHRM and with affiliates to drive SHRM goals and objectives with these key stakeholders. Prior to this role at SHRM, Mr. Lopez was the Manager of Executive Office Operations and the Special Assistant to SHRM’s CEO, Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.

Over the years, Mr. Lopez amassed a wealth of experience in both the for-profit and not-for-profit space. He served as the Operations Manager for TM2 Executive Search, an organization dedicated to capacity building at higher education institutions by identifying, preparing, and building the next generation of educational leaders. Immediately prior to joining TM2, Mr. Lopez joined the Fox Entertainment Group and the 20th Century Fox Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team, where he served and contributed to the foundational build of the company’s D&I initiatives.

Prior to his time at Fox Entertainment Group, Mr. Lopez served as the Program Manager and Executive Assistant to the President & CEO at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), a national organization supporting and representing nearly 300,000 students attending the country’s 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), medical schools, and law schools. He joined TMCF as the Education Policy Specialist and Executive Assistant to the President.

Mr. Lopez earned his Master of Business Administration, with honors, from the University of Miami, and his Bachelor of Business Administration, in Management, with honors, from North Carolina Central University.

Damian is the Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Chalhoub Group the partner and creator of luxury experiences in the Middle East. In his current role, he manages and oversees the talent attraction strategy for Chalhoub Group across all geographies, mounting to over 3,000 new hires per year from frontline store staff to CxO placements. He also ensures that the team utilizes best in class technology, gamification and research to attract and retain the best talent. He also co-leads the DEI agenda (Diverysity, Equity & Inclusion) across the Group with a specific focus on Women in Leadership, Pay Parity and empowering People of Determination.

Damian has spent 24 years in the talent arena, over half of which was based in the Middle East.

His career has varied from initiating and growing 3 separate start-ups to holding senior roles in Fortune500/FTSE organisations such as Capita and IBM as a management consultant.

Damian is member of the Chartered Management Institiute (CMI), holds an MBA and has recently completed an executive programme on Future of Retail with Duke University.

Outside of the office Damian enjoys being out on road on his bike or being out on the water under wind or engine power.

• An accomplished professional business leader with extensive experience in leading and driving transformation from the top of corporate ladder to the execution level on the front line. Hands-on experience with business performance, Strategic Planning, Organization Development, Talent acquisition, Compensation and Benefits, Employee relations, and a full range of HR responsibilities. Proven 20+ years in various industries in different size of companies including Healthcare, FMCG, Building Materials, Oil and Gas, paper board production, and Waste Management.
• Great Exposure in working with different Multi-National Companies in the Middle East.
• Current Role: Group Vice President HR & Shared Services in Mepco – Middle East Paper Company, the Industry Leader of Producing Paperboard in the Middle East.
• Board Member of HIPIT – Higher Institute for Paper & Industrial Technologies.
• Known as a change agent who enjoy leading initiatives, and challenging status que. Marketing education background with outstanding business and leadership profile that support in adding value for the business.

Imad is a HR thought leader who collaborates closely with senior leadership teams, offering a strategic Business Partner Service model. He delivers invaluable support in steering the people agenda amidst rapid business growth, transformations, and start-up phases. With over 15 years of experience in various senior HR management and talent development roles, Imad is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. He is an award-winning HR Leader, having held prominent positions in global and start-up companies across diverse sectors including e-commerce, fintech, oil & gas, aerospace, manufacturing, project management, engineering, and consulting services.

Seasoned Executive with 30 years of experience creating and managing B2B businesses across Europe, USA, Asia, and India. Largely worked in challenger organizations and managed business from early stage to and through mature operations. Leading diverse teams and creating cultures that inspire all stakeholders and creating cascading innovation cycles motivates him.