GLOBAL DUBAI TEA FORUM

Ahmed Bin Sulayem

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
DMCC

Ahmed Bin Sulayem is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC and has driven its growth from a start-up of 28 member companies in 2003 to the world’s leading free zone in 2022 with 22,000 member companies from 180 countries, employing over 80,000 people.

Tasked with enhancing commodity trade flows through Dubai, DMCC has introduced to the market a number of value-added products and services under Mr Bin Sulayem’s leadership. In 2022, DMCC has been named the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’ by The Financial Times fDi Magazine, for a record eighth consecutive year.

Mr Bin Sulayem oversaw the exponential growth of the DMCC Free Zone master development in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), a 200-hectare business and residential community in Dubai of over 100,000 people living and working across 87 towers. Mr Bin Sulayem also oversees the development of DMCC’s latest real estate project; the much-anticipated Uptown Dubai district.

Mr Bin Sulayem currently serves as the Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) and the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX).

The Kimberley Process officially appointed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the first and only Arab country to Chair the Kimberley Process in November 2015. Shortly after, the UAE Ministry of Economy officially appointed Mr Bin Sulayem as the UAE’s Chair of the Kimberley Process for 2016.

HE Abdullah Ahmad Mohammed Al Saleh

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy
UAE

HE Abdullah Ahmad Al Saleh has held the position of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy since September 2020.

He has 29 years of experience in the federal government, where he worked as a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 13 years. He worked at the UAE Embassy in Washington DC (1993-1998), and the UAE Embassy in Paris (2000-2003) in addition to other departments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was assigned to work in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the period between 1998-2000. He joined the Ministry of Economy in 2004 as Assistant Undersecretary for International Economic Relations (2004-2006), then Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs (2006-2008), then Undersecretary for the Ministry of Foreign Trade (2008-2013), then Undersecretary of Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs until 2020.

He is a board member of the UAE Gender Balance Council, board member of the Emirates Council for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain, board member of Emirates International Accreditation Centre, and a member of advisory boards for some colleges and universities in the country.

Recently he was appointed as Chairman of International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), the world's first halal international accreditation network, heading the list of top halal food exporters.

He holds a BA in political science from the United Arab Emirates University (1990), and a master's degree in international politics from the American University in Washington, DC (1997).

Saeed Al Suwaidi

Director of Agri Commodities
DMCC

Appointed to the role in January 2022, Saeed is responsible for driving the strategic growth and expansion of DMCC’s soft commodity portfolio and related ecosystems. With vast experience in international supply chains, logistics and FMCG digital business models, Saeed leads the operational management and commercial teams at both the DMCC Coffee Centre and DMCC Tea Centre. He is also tasked with engaging DMCC’s growing number of local, regional and international members in the agriculture commodities sector.

Sanjay Sethi

President and Tea Consultant
Gundlach Packaging DMCC

• Professional tea taster for the past 39 years
• Family involvement in tea industry since 1949
• Closely associated with the tea industry since 1984 as a second-generation tea professional
• In Dubai for the past 32 years involved with the tea trade in different capacities
• Extensive experience of evaluating consumer tea markets in terms of quality, blends and packaging in the entire Middle East, Russia, CIS, North Africa and Pakistan
• Sourcing and professional tea tasting experience of tea produced from India, Sri Lanka, Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh, PNG, China, Vietnam and other tea producing countries
• Director: Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DMCC): August 2004 to March 2012: from conceptualizing, setting up, business development & making the Tea Centre successful
• April 2012 to present: President: Gundlach Packaging DMCC & Tea Consultant

Mohit Agarwal

Director
Asian Tea Group

Mohit Agarwal comes to us with over 30 years of experience in the tea industry.

He owns the single largest fully certified bio-organic tea plantation in the world, Cha de Magoma which is in Mozambique and is also one of the biggest tea producers in Assam owning several tea estates spread across the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra valley.

Mohit has also set up buying, blending, and packing operations in all major tea growing centres of the world and his companies are now present in Kolkata & Coimbatore (India), Mombasa (Kenya), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Fuzhou (China).

A tea taster by profession, he is well versed in tea cultivation and is an expert in tea manufacturing.

Anil Cooke

Chairman
Ceylon Tea Road Map

Anil is Chairman of the Colombo Brokers’ Association (CBA), a committee member of the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) and Director of the Sri Lanka Tea Board. He is Chairman of the CTTA’s Ceylon Tea Road Map 2030 initiative, a unique grouping that brings together stakeholders of the Sri Lankan tea industry value chain. He is a founding member of the CTTA E-Auction Steering Committee and a member of the Promotion and Marketing Committee of the Sri Lanka Tea Board and serves on committees of other industry initiatives.

Anil has been closely associated with the development of the marketing strategy for Sri Lanka’s extraordinary range of specialty Ceylon Teas and has guided the production of three short documentary films on Ceylon Tea. He is frequently sought as a speaker at international tea events and is an international judge of the World Tea Master Cup competition.

Anil Cooke is Managing Director of Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC, a leading tea and commodity brokerage in Sri Lanka and National and International Consultants. He is MD of Asia Siyaka Warehousing (Pvt) Ltd, which is the only green certified and largest tea warehousing company in Sri Lanka.

Mao Limin

President - Tea Committee
China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CCFNA)

Mr. Mao Limin, Ph.D. in Tea Science, Certified Business Executive, Senior Tea Taster, is currently President of the Tea Committee of the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CFNA), President of the Zhejiang Tea Industry Association, and the Chairman of Zhejiang Camel Jiuyu Organic Food Co., Ltd. He has been in the tea business for over 32 years, and once represented China as a joint secretary in the ISO Tea Standardization Organization. He is the first person engaged in organic tea production, processing and export in China, and the first person to bring modern matcha cultivation and production technology back to China from Japan. He has been engaging in tea export trade for nearly 30 years and has made positive contributions to the international trade of Chinese green tea.

Machiko Gozen

President
Vendôme Tea Group

Machiko Gozen, 13^th generation of samurai women.

Her grandmother passed on to her the responsibility of carrying the samurai culture of serving humans and she transcended this bushido culture by repurposing tea as tool to deliver mindfulness and empowerment.

The Gozen family organization has grown one of largest organic green tea plantations over the last 400 years in Kagoshima and over the last 40 years in Sri Lanka with Vendôme Tea factories in Japan, Ceylon and France. Machiko Gozen’s focus on the value of tea has helped make the group one of biggest quality tea exporters in the world.

Believing in the power of a cup of tea to elevate the wellness of tea plantation communities, the foundation ‘Femmes du Monde’ was created in addition to the project ‘Tea for Two’ which offers tea to inspire kindness and altruism for each tea sold.

Machiko Gozen wishes to engage with sector leaders to raise the value of tea and spread the Japanese success model of value creation to the world.

David Muni Ichoho

Chairman
KTDA Holdings

David Muni Ichoho holds an MBA (HRM Option) from Kenyatta University, a BA in Economics and Geography from the University of Nairobi and a higher national Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Institute of Human Resource Management (IPM Kenya). He has over 20 years’ experience cutting across the insurance industry, processing, tax and human resources management having held senior management positions in UAP Insurance Co. Ltd., Bank of America (Dallas, Texas – USA), Texas Instruments (Dallas, Texas – USA), Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services, Kenya Forest Services/Kenya Forestry College. Currently, he is the Chairman of KTDA Holdings and also a Director for the 8 KTDA Subsidiaries.

Abdalla Al Amri

Director of Ecommerce
DP World

Abdalla Al Amri, with an impressive 8year background in ecommerce, has proven himself as a respected leader in the industry. His career includes significant roles at renowned international companies, where he honed his strategic business and ecommerce skills. These experiences allowed him to be instrumental in driving digital transformation and further developing his expertise.

Presently, Al Amri serves as the Director of Ecommerce at DP World. In this capacity, he focuses on driving growth and innovation in the digital marketplace through the creation and execution of effective strategies. His valuable ecommerce experience and consistent success make him a crucial asset to DP World and a recognized leader in his field.

Dan Bolton

Freelance Editor, Writer, Podcaster, and Blogger
Beverage Industry

Dan is a freelance editor, writer, podcaster, and blogger who has covered the beverage industry for the past 20 years.

He was a newspaper reporter and editor for 20 years, transitioning to magazines in 1995 as the CEO of the Beverage Bulletin and Patterson's Beverage Journal (Los Angeles). Dan has worked as editor and publisher of Tea Magazine and as editor and publisher of World Tea News (2010-2020), managing editor of STiR Tea & Coffee Magazine, editor-in-chief of Specialty Coffee Retailer, and founding editor of Natural Food Magazine (San Francisco).

He led the successful crowdfunding of Tea Journey Magazine in 2016.He launched the Tea Biz Blog in 2013 and hosts the Tea Biz Podcast weekly (110 episodes).

John Brash

CEO and Founder
Brash

Brash is the result of John’s vision to establish a creative consultancy with a more personal and bespoke way of doing business. He founded Brash back in 2007, and since then he has built a handpicked team of talent who share his vision.

A natural entrepreneur, John is tireless in his enthusiasm and curiosity. His optimistic nature and genuine interest in clients and their business has played a significant role in cementing Brash’s strong reputation in the market.

Before Brash, John spent over two decades working in Executive Creative Director & Creative Director roles with leading London based global agencies leading a variety of accounts, including: Airlines - Austrian, British Midland, Lufthansa, Gulf Air, the F1 team McLaren, Telecommunications - Batelco, Cable&Wireless, Sudatel, Belgacom, Energy - BP, Shell & many global brands including, Tata, Ferrari, Aprilia, Geant Casino, Sainsburys, Sega, Land Rover, Jaguar, BEA (Bank of East Asia), Le Meridien.

Abhiroop Chuckarbutty

President of Africa, Middle East & Turkey
Lipton Teas & Infusions

Abhi spent more than two decades in Unilever and is proud that he started his career and spent his formative years in Hindustan Unilever Limited, the Indian arm of Unilever and a robust business known for its track record of performance and producing CEO’s.

His last role at Unilever was as Vice President Foods & Refreshment for North Africa Middle East. His passion for tea and belief in the bright future of this category made the offer of joining a “corporate startup” like Lipton Teas & Infusions an obvious one.

Abhi truly believes that most answers to business problems lies in going back to the consumer and focussing on creating best in class consumer experiences and then backing that with brilliant basics in the form of repeatable and flawless execution. This belief and approach have seen him turnaround multiple businesses over the last decade and grow the tea business in his region in strong double digits since taking over Abhi believes that his balanced combination of business acumen & people skills is what allows him to do his job well.

Abhiroop is an avid sportsperson. He credits cycling for helping him stay balanced while dealing with the pressure of separating Lipton Teas and Infusions from Unilever and setting it up as a standalone entity over the last year or so.

Dr Sharon Hall

Chief Executive
United Kingdom Tea and Infusions Association (UKTIA)

Dr Sharon Hall is the Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Tea and Infusions Association (UKTIA), a role she took on in 2018.

Her previous roles include Director General of both the Potato Processors’ Association (PPA) and the Snack, Nut & Crisp Manufacturers’ Association (SNACMA), where she gained extensive experience of high-level stakeholder engagement, strategic leadership, communications and issues management. She is currently Vice President of Tea & Herbal Infusions Europe (THIE) and chairs THIE’s EU Green Deal Steering Group and the Plastics & Packaging Working Group. Dr Hall also represents THIE on environmental and sustainability matters at FoodDrinkEurope.

Dr Hall has the honour of being the current Chair of the FAO-Inter-Governmental Group on Tea.

Dr Hall has an honours degree in Applied Biology, a Masters in Science Communication and a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (Plant Science).

Gabriall Christy

Director of Global Tea Procurement
Lipton Tea and Infusions

A global veteran of the tea industry, Gabriall Christy has a reputation steeped in two decades of experience in various aspects of the tea supply chain.

Starting as a production and quality executive in a tea factory more than twenty years ago, Gabriall developed a deep passion for tea leading him to pursue a diverse and successful career in the industry. Gabriall's broad experience encompasses tea buying, tea blending, blend development, sustainability, and resilience in tea sourcing, among other strategic elements vital to the tea supply chain.

In 2014, he relocated to Singapore to manage Unilever's Global Tea Sourcing and Strategic Projects, where he spearheaded the implementation of an end-to-end global tea solution for tea buying and blending, price risk management, and building resilience in tea supply. His remit allowed him to establish a greater presence for Unilever’s tea markets in North Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Europe, North, South and South-Eat Asia overseeing more than half a billion euros in spend. His exceptional leadership abilities saw him arrive in Dubai to establish the Dubai Tea hub, centralizing Unilever’s Global tea operations.

As a master tea taster, Gabriall has co-created blends for some of the world's most iconic tea brands including Taj Mahal, 3Roses, Lipton, and PG Tips. His proficiency in IT enabled him to develop a range of IT solutions for the tea supply chain, notably a linear programming-based tea buying optimizer and Robotic Process Automation to reduce repetitive actions and streamline processes.

As the Director of Global Tea Procurement at Lipton Tea and Infusions, Gabriall is currently focused on driving cost, cash, quality, and sustainability initiatives. He is committed to responsible sourcing and advancing the well-being of both consumers and the communities that depend on tea. He is currently establishing a global tea procurement model for Lipton, the world’s most recognized tea brand, while managing the company's separation from Unilever. Gabriall leads from the front, using his expertise and leadership abilities to drive positive change in the industry, and to shape the future of tea.

Gabriall has two MBAs, one from UCAM Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia and another from ICFAI Business School, as well as a Bachelor’s in Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge, academic credentials that have equipped him with a unique blend of business acumen, tea industry knowledge, and sustainability expertise, making him a renowned leader in the industry.

Shabnam Weber

President
Tea and Herbal Association of Canada

For almost two decades, Shabnam Weber owned and operated her own tea company in Toronto, Canada. With retail stores and a wholesale business, her company was one of the first of its kind in Toronto. Her passion and love of tea led her to become involved with the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada as a Director, sitting on a number of committees, most notably the Education Committee where she wrote the Tea Sommelier® program.

Shabnam divested from her business’ and took the position of President of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada in 2018. She has transformed the association through the programs and resources it offers members and become an industry leader. She speaks at events around the world and represents Canada on the UN FAO’s Intergovernmental Group on Tea where she sits on a number of working groups as well as being the Vice-Chair of the working group on Smallholders and co-Chair of the working group on Tea and Health.

Through her time as an entrepreneur and her industry involvement for over twenty years, Shabnam has a unique perspective on multiple angles of the business advocating for all. She values the diversity offered by all parts of the tea industry, both in Canada and beyond, and focuses always on the bigger picture. Shabnam is a graduate of the University of Toronto with an Honours degree in Political Science and holds a post-graduate diploma in Psychology.

Dr Thusitha Bandara

Director of Operations (Low Country), Sustainability, Research, and Development
Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC

Thusitha Bandara enrolled in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 2004, and graduated in 2008 obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, following an advanced course module in Crop Science. He enrolled in the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (PGIA), Sri Lanka, for a Master of Science in Environmental Forestry in the Board of Study in Crop Science and graduated in 2012. He has obtained a Master of Business Administration and completed a Ph.D. by researching “Building climate resilience in farming systems in sloping lands of South Asia”. Further, he has contributed his precious knowledge to the Environmental Sustainability Stream through various valuable research and publications.

Presently, he is the Director of Operations (Low Country), Sustainability, Research, and Development of Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC (BTE). He also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Lush Agro (PVT) Ltd., a sister company of BTE.

Mohamed Heiza

Consultant
Tea Industry

Mr Heiza has a vast experience in the tea industry that spans more than 50 years. For many years he has been associated with the Tea Board India, Indian Tea Association, UPASI and the Indian Embassy in Egypt to facilitate Indian tea business in Egypt. He currently renders all services to Kenyan and Ugandan tea companies who want to access the Egyptian tea market.

He has served as Director of the Egyptian Trade Centres in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia between 1974 and 1991. In 1983, he was selected by GATT/UNCTAD, Geneva as a Professional Marketing Specialist with short term missions in Africa & Asia.

In 1992, he started his own business. He was also associated with Dilmah Tea for five years in Egypt. With growing demand for tea from Africa over the past 15 years in Egypt, Mr. Heiza facilitated the import of African Tea (from Kenya and Uganda mainly) by assisting all new tea importers with sourcing tea from Africa via COMMESA concessions.

Mr. Heiza has a BA in Agro-Economics from Alexandria University (with honours) 1971, and an MBA from the American University in Cairo 1992. He has completed professional courses in Tea Tasting from Brooke Bond and Lipton in Kolkata in 1973. From time to time he has visited tea gardens in Assam and South India, auction centers and visits to tea gardens in Uganda and Kenya.

Mr. Heiza currently conducts freelance consultations related to tea in Egypt.

Silke Brand-Kirsch

Vice President – Marketing and Business Development
Glatfelter

Silke Brand-Kirsch is the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at Glatfelter. She joined Glatfelter in May 2020, as a senior marketing professional with extensive global experience and knowledge in all segments of nonwovens and related technical products (i.e. fibers, machinery, batteries, automotive, wipes, hygiene, wall covering, food packaging, filtration).

Prior to working at Glatfelter, Silke was a founding member of the B2B consulting company Schlegel und Partner. She served as Executive Partner and shareholder of this international consultancy. During her tenure, she established the firm as one of the leading consultants in the nonwovens sector. In her role, Silke worked on projects for major nonwovens-related companies and organizations as well as global chemical companies.

Ines Kaempfer

CEO
The Centre for Child Rights Business

Ines Kaempfer brings over 15 years of experience in supply chain sustainability where she has been deeply engaged in child rights, labour rights and business and human rights issues in Asia.

Since 2014, Ines has been serving as the Executive Director and since 2021, the CEO of The Centre for Child Rights and Business (which was known as CCR CSR up to 2020) in Asia, a social enterprise that helps businesses improve their direct and indirect impact on children, particularly in supply chains. In this role, Ines leads strategic design and implementation of overall operations and stakeholder engagement, working closely with major multi-national clients and partners around the world.

Under Ines’s leadership, The Centre has grown to cover over a dozen key sourcing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where Ines spearheads the development and scaling of innovative child rights and worker wellbeing programmes across a range of industries.

Laila Faridoon

Digital and Business Advisor

Miss Laila Faridoon is a thought leader, public speaker and author. Laila is currently a digital

and business advisor; she advises corporates/boards in their transformation journeys with her strong mix of business and technology skills.

She has 20 years of deep experience in technology, project, and corporate management, she started her career in 2000 as a data analyst, next became IT PMO manager in 2007 and then moved to a higher position, Executive Director of Chairman Office - RTA Dubai for the

following 13 years. She has played the role of a digital advisor to the chairman and the board, led many digital projects and major initiatives on the government level such as Dubai World Challenge for Self-driving Transport.

Laila received a BSc in Computer Science with first class honors from Ajman University, and

then graduated with distinction from the University of Sharjah with an MSc in Computer Science. Her passion for technology and its role in advancing humanity caused her to pursue her PhD currently in the field of Big Data Analytics in King’s College London. She is an active

researcher and public speaker in the field of digital transformation, she has authored many papers and chapters in different books and given many talks globally.

She is passionate about challenging the status quo, leveraging science and technology for the good of the humanity. In addition of being a big advocate for Women in STEM through her different roles and endeavors.

She has been selected among the top 30 women leaders to look out to in 2023 by the NYC Journal and has been chosen as an ambassador of a goodwill in 2019 by the League of Arab

Organization.

Laila has extensive experience in boards management, she served in many regional and

international boards with different roles: PMI UAE Chapter (President), Dubai International

Project Management Forum (President), Hamdan Award for innovation in Project Management (General Secretary), RTA board of directors (General Secretary), UITP Centre

of excellence (Board member) and Dubai Quality Group (board member).

She has authored a book “Looking Forward to the Bright Side” that is based on her own journey in life and gives you a guide on how to transform your life to the one that you want.

Ms. Faridoon has received several awards, the latest being the Middle East Woman Leader in Corporate Management Excellence.

Tariq Al Aruri

Co-Founder and CEO
Tchaba

After receiving his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Reading, Tariq joined the BMW business school in Munich, preparing him to manage his own dealership in Ramallah, Palestine. However, 2 years later, Tariq was forced to leave due to political instability and joined Fortune Promos Seven Bahrain, back then the leading advertising agency in the Middle East. Tariq was later headhunted to Dubai and joined Landor Associates where he managed brand consulting projects across a broad spectrum of global clients, including Burj Dubai, Royal Jordanian Airlines, and Bank of Jordan. This is where he developed a passion for brands and knew that one day, he will cultivate his own.

On a trip to Marrakech, Morocco, in 2005, Tariq stumbled upon a tea boutique and was awe-inspired by the authenticity & freshness of the tea and all the health attributes of the tea leaf when picked and prepared in the right manner. That is when he came to the conviction that his mom, an avid tea drinker of what she thought until then was healthy tea, and millions like her in the Middle East, deserved to enjoy the vast health benefits and lifestyle traits associated with real full-leaf tea. Accordingly, Tchaba Tea, the region's first premium tea brand, was born.

To help build credibility for the brand, Tariq decided to associate Tchaba Tea with some of the world’s leading hotel brands. With its high quality, premium, & localized tea blends, Tchaba became an instant hit with leading hoteliers, the likes of the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and Kempinskis of the world.

After successfully penetrating the regional HoReCa market, serving an average 28,000 tea portions daily through 103 leading hotels and over 300 restaurants & cafes across 13 countries, Tariq wanted to allow hotel guests and millions more to access the same quality of tea and enjoy the same experience from the comfort of their homes.

In 2019, Tariq launched www.Tchabatea.com offering second day LOCAL fulfilment in every GCC country in addition to Jordan and Morocco, with plans to add Egypt and Turkey in 2022, making real tea easily accessible to millions of avid tea sippers and novice tea drinker around the world.

Phil Sharp

Sales Director – Global Accounts
Glatfelter

With extensive experience covering more than forty years in various roles in the tea sector, Phil has a wealth of knowledge relating to the beverage industry.

Possessing a rich academic background in Materials Science & Engineering coupled with a flair for creating and developing commercial opportunities, Phil has played a key role since joining Glatfelter in 2006 to expand the footprint of this innovative and global leading company in the demanding world of engineered materials.