Help us shape better work and working lives in the Middle East

The world of work is evolving rapidly and nowhere more so than here in the Middle East. People professionals are critical to successfully leading organisations through profound change in the workplace and the workforce.

In 2023, we established an advisory committee of senior HR and business leaders from across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They each bring unique skills, backgrounds and expertise and will help to inform and support our vision for better work and working lives in the region.

What does the committee do?

They are expert advisors

Committee members provide expertise and insight to inform our outreach, research and engagement plans and help us ensure our information and activities are always relevant and useful to the people profession.

They are our advocates

Committee members are credible and respected members of the people profession and use their influence to spread the word about our purpose and how we can support the profession.

They understand the local business community

We want to develop a clear voice for the people profession in the region using our substantial library of research material and our global brand to do so. Committee members know the local business community and help us to prioritise key areas of focus and value.

Find out more about all our events, networks, awards and volunteering opportunities.

Get involved

How does it work?

Every two years, our Regional Director for the Middle East invites respected and influential members of the profession to join the committee. Selection is based on experience, past engagement and a commitment to ensuring the committee reflects the diversity of our Middle Eastern membership.

Members are appointed to serve a two-year term after which time they retire, and a new committee is appointed.

The committee meets on a quarterly basis and the meetings are chaired by our Regional Director. We also encourage members to attend and speak at a range of CIPD events throughout the year.

Get involved

Our advisory committee has no vacancies at the moment. Stay tuned for updates on the next recruitment cycle by following our LinkedIn page.

Connect with our team in the Middle East and North Africa.

Find out more

Meet our current committee members

Abdul Raheem

Abdul has over two decades of experience spanning various sectors, including hospitality, retail, real estate, investments, recruitment consultancy and executive search. His extensive track record includes working in complex multinational corporations, semi-government entities, publicly listed companies and family offices across the Gulf region. In his current role as Human Capital Director at Seddiqi Holding, Abdul partners with the Board and Executive Committee to achieve organisational excellence and transform the organisation to be ready for future challenges.

Dr Adrian Waite, Chartered FCIPD

Adrian is a seasoned HR and Talent Leader, Executive and Team Coach who has established and evolved talent, development, leadership, organisation effectiveness and OD functions regionally and globally with brands such as Boehringer-Ingelheim, Cleveland Clinic, APM Maersk, ADNOC, BAe Systems, Virgin Group and Sky Television. Adrian specialises in purpose led performance. He is particularly focused on: team effectiveness systems; leadership performance support frameworks; communities of practice and social learning systems; coaching and mentoring culture; and in the flow of work (ITFOW) learning.

Amr Diab, FCIPD

Amr has worked in various HR roles and industries for organisations including Barclays, HSBC, FGB (FAB), Orange and the British Council. Amr currently holds the role of HR Director for Automotive and Mobility at Al-Futtaim Group. His passion lies in bringing great HR capability and practices to organisations and people in the region. Amr has worked extensively in the Middle East on commercial HR business partnering, talent management, organisational design and performance, and workforce nationalisation.

Deepak S. Shinto

Shinto has been instrumental in setting up human resources functions, managing people projects, projecting change into organisations, building diverse workforces and driving employee growth and business scaling across the globe. Currently, as Director of Human Resources with Hilton Worldwide, Shinto heads-up human resources at the DoubleTree by Hilton Resort and Spa Marjan Island. His expertise as a business partner ranges from cross-cultural cohesion to leadership development, exceptional networking abilities to mentoring young talent, addressing and actioning change to managing projects and, above all, using his business acumen as a tool for strategic organisational growth.

Emma Davies

Emma has a wealth of experience in cultivating a positive workplace culture and promoting employee satisfaction. As Chief Culture and People Excellence Officer at Masafi, Emma oversees the development and implementation of people policies and strategies that promote cultural transformation and effective people management. Emma has successfully led major projects including system implementations, talent management initiatives and behavioural change programmes. She also founded The Evolve People Network, a dynamic network dedicated to fostering professional growth and development opportunities for people professionals in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Emma Seymour

Emma joined Gratiya Advisory as the Senior Partner for Risk Management, Governance and Compliance in 2023. Emma has more than 20 years’ experience in human resources. Her wealth of experience spans the hospitality, facilities management and construction industries, and previous roles include leadership positions at several construction firms in the Middle East. She holds a master’s degree in human resources management from Middlesex University.

Jebin Thomas

Jebin is a senior HR professional with over 20 years of experience in consulting, FMCG and retail. In his most recent role, he leads human resources for multiple brands at the Landmark Group across the GCC, Egypt and Southeast Asia. He has a strong business focus, loves working on projects that drive organisational change and market leading sustainable performance. His core expertise is in organisational transformation and change. His focus areas include strategy articulation, organisation design and development, talent management, capability building, change and communication and driving GCC talent efforts.

Kristian Kollsrud

Kristian is a senior HR professional with extensive experience in HR service delivery. A resident in Dubai for nearly 20 years, he has led complex HR transformation programmes for several notable businesses in the region. Kristian currently manages the HR services and technology portfolio for the Al-Futtaim Group, a leading and progressive family-owned business operating across the automotive, retail, financial services, real estate, education, and health sectors in MENA and Southeast Asia. Before joining Al-Futtaim, Kristian held several HR roles in the Jumeirah Group and developed and led the shared services and HR technology functions.

Mario Bastoni

Mario has a wealth of experience from various financial institutions worldwide. In his current position as Executive Director of People and Development at the Department of Finance - Abu Dhabi, his mandate encompasses all HR related matters. Before this, Mario was Senior Director of Human Capital at the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in Riyadh where he worked to harness exceptional talent and competencies, to amplify the Fund's stature both locally and globally. A common thread throughout Mario's career has been his commitment to fostering organisational and individual growth and resilience, nurturing talent and spearheading HR strategies to deal with nuanced challenges.

Mike Elgin

Mike is currently Head of Talent Management, responsible for leading the Talent Management Department at ADQ. Before this, Mike spent more than eight years at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) where he held senior roles within talent management before taking responsibility for HR in the Capital Markets function. Mike has also held roles in Leadership and Organisational Development at Russell Investments, BSkyB, GlaxoSmithKine and Bluezone HR Solutions.

Rohit Manucha, Chartered FCIPD

Rohit is an executive coach and a seasoned senior HR professional with over 15 years of human capital experience across industry and consulting. He has worked in over 17 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South-East Asia helping organisations align their strategic goals and leading HR transformation programmes. By collaborating closely with boards and top-level executives, he has successfully elevated organisational performance across a wide range of sectors, business maturity stages and operating models.

Abdulmuttalib (Talib) Hashim

Talib is an entrepreneur and Emiratisation and nationalisation expert. He is also the founder of TBH Advisory - a firm dedicated to empowering people and businesses in the UAE to grow successfully - and Myjlis - a community powered platform designed to grow leaders in different industries. Talib was previously an Associate Partner with Global Human Resource consulting firm AON. Through his work, Talib has been instrumental in advising senior managers on the most effective ways to attract, engage and develop their local talent. He has also helped businesses looking to access the market and align with local opportunities and culture.