Gina Dillon
Gina Dillon Creator and Admin: Freecycle Abu Dhabi + U.A.E. Housemaids on Facebook Gina is an American from a town half way between St. Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee which means one thing: She is a expert on BBQ. Her other love includes creating social good. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston with a B.A. in Community Development and a Masters in Critical & Creative Thinking/Social Innovation. Gina loves innovation that makes a difference. In the USA, Gina developed a non-profit which taught college girls thinking skills. Gina also taught Critical & Creative Thinking/Innovation. In the UAE, Gina has developed four Facebook groups with a following of 60,000 members. FreeCycle Abu Dhabi: encourages reuse, recycle, rehoming by posting a pic of the things they no longer want or need on FreeCycle. FreeCycle has over 25,000 members in Abu Dhabi and was created in 2014. UAE Housemaids: Connects housemaids and sponsors for employment, educates on UAE labor laws, promotes fair treatment of housemaids, a platform for Q&A. UAE Housemaids has over 15,000 members. It is a secret group which is only visible to members. It was established in 2014. Abu Dhabi Kids: Discussion of topics related to children, events for children, the sharing of ideas and the sale of second-hand kids products. The group has over 6,000 members and was established in 2015. Khalifa City Community: is an open group that is used as a community posting board. The group has 10,000 members. Presenter at...
Omar Saif Ghobash
Omar Saif Ghobash Omar Saif Ghobash was appointed Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Russian Federation in 2008. He began his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat at the UAE Mission to the United Nations. Prior to his appointment in Moscow, Ghobash founded The Third Line, Dubai’s first international contemporary art gallery showcasing artists from the Middle East. He is a founding trustee of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, which runs with the support of the Booker Prize Foundation in London. Ghobash also sponsors the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation in memory of his father, Saif Ghobash, who was the UAE’s first Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Ghobash recently authored a book entitled “Letters to a Young Muslim” that has been highly acclaimed and enthusiastically debated. Presented at...
Gavin Fenn-Smith
GAVIN FENN-SMITH Founding Partner at the River Group Gavin is a Founding Partner at The River Group. He has twenty years experience as a advisor to CEOs and senior executives, and as an expert in leadership and organizational development. He has consulted to organizations across the US, and has worked in many countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Before forming The River Group, Gavin was a Senior Partner at Equinox Organizational Consulting. He was a co-founder of Kemp and Watson, a nonprofit consulting firm that is now part of The River Group. He is a member of the Board of Saroga, the nonprofit leadership forum, which creates leadership development solutions for nonprofit executives. Earlier, Gavin was a founding member of the London office of Mercer Delta Consulting (now part of Oliver Wyman), and the Boston office of Smythe Dorward Lambert, a change management firm. Gavin holds an MBA from Warwick Business School and a BA (Hons) Political Science from the University of East Anglia. He lives in Massachusetts, USA. Th River Group publishes an annual CEO study by the River Group is called EXCHANGES. After years of consulting to CEOs, the study formed the hypothesis that there would be many common experiences among leaders making that transition to the role of the CEO for the very first time. The River Group had in-depth conversations with 75 CEOs during 2015. These CEOs worked for organizations large and small, public and private. In the study Gavin asked the CEOs: “How prepared were you?” “What were the biggest surprises?” “What are the best and worst parts of the job?” “In what way is the job different from other leadership roles?” Presenter at...
Sean Graham
SEAN GRAHAM International Business Development, CreatorUp! Sean Graham has lived within cultures and entertainment from around the world. With a degree in Cognitive Sciences and Psychology, he’s led student diplomacy programs, efforts to document the 2010 revolution in Cairo, and after a few years of film, music video, and digital content in LA & SF Sean now heads CreatorUp! operations in India and the UAE, hosting workshops with platforms, brands, and educational institutions like YouTube, L’Oréal, and GEMS. Digital media trainer at...