Michelle Boyd joined the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 2011 and was recently promoted to the position of Chief Global Events Officer. Previously she was Director, Middle East, Africa and South Asia Events and led key events such as the International Petroleum Technology Conference and Exhibition (IPTC), the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), and SPE’s contribution to Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC).

Before SPE, Michelle was head of conferences for Reed Exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and executive director of conferences and training for IIR, now Informa Group. She holds a BA degree from the University of New England and a MA degree in communication management from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Nadia Al-Hajji is Deputy CEO for Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company, leading PIC’s business development and mega projects sector. She was also a WINNER in the Energy Woman of the Year Award at this year’s Middle East Energy Awards.After spending about 24 years working in Kuwait National Petroleum Company leading technical services departments two of its 3 refineries, as well as leading the process design for Clean Fuels Project and Al-Zour refinery project. Nadia spent over 2 years playing a lead role in the new oil sector company (KIPIC) startup phase, setting the company’s strategic plans and medium term performance and optimisation. As Deputy CEO for KIPIC, she was responsible for the worlds largest LNG import terminal and also lead the world scale petrochemicals plant to build Aromatics and Olefins project in addition to an FCC block, along with integration project with the Al-Zour refinery.

Nancy is the Founder and CEO of iSAW, international Strategic Accelerator for Women, an organization aimed at accelerating gender equality worldwide, using award winning digital technology capabilities to enable women’s organization and corporations to have a greater reach and bigger impact.

Prior to iSAW, Nancy spent 27 years in information technology in High-Tech and Energy industries, as a senior leader running major global IT programs and activities. She is an expert in IT Competitive Intelligence Benchmarking.

Nancy has been involved in women advancement initiatives for over a decade. Along with the women’s organizations she co-founded, she co-launched a corporate IT Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) program. She has been a keynote speaker on “Women in the Workplace” in Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Bahrain, United Kingdom, United States and on virtual forums across 50 countries.

Pinar Yilmaz is Advisor Upstream External Projects, Business Development, at ExxonMobil Exploration Company. She is responsible for coordinating upstream geoscience external activities with universities and research centers globally for ExxonMobil business regions, manage interfaces with professional societies and ExxonMobil, and enhance network & relationships with partners. She joined ExxonMobil in 1980, working in different technical assignments in research, production and exploration functions.

She received numerous awards for her work from both the professional societies and organisations. These include American Association of Petroleum Geologists Honorary Membership Award (2010), Distinguished Service from Association of Brazilian Petroleum Geologists (2009), President’s Award, ExxonMobil Exploration Company (2008), and Hamilton College Science Medal (2006).

Dr. Anissa Bendjeriou-Sedjerari is currently R& D Portfolio Manager at KAUST Catalysis Center (KCC, Saudi Arabia). She received a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Science and Technology of Montpellier (France). She occupied a post-doc position at Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon (ENSLyon, France) and CALTECH (Pasadena, USA) followed by different research scientist positions at CNRS (Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, France), and then at KCC. In 2018, she was appointed Center Liaison Officer to ensure successful and sustainable partnerships with the industry. She has broad expertise in materials science, organic and organometallic chemistry, and specifically in the designs, characterizations, and applications of heterogeneous catalysts in the Oil & Gas industry. Her research portfolio applied to the industry encompasses a range of projects such as Oil to Chemicals, Green & Blue Ammonia, Carbon Capture & Valorization, Hydrogen Production and Storage, E-fuels, Plastic Recycling, etc.

Besides, she is an active member of the MEPEC (Middle East Process Engineering Conference and Exhibition), GDA (Gulf Downstream Association) and ADIPEC (Abu Dhabi International Progressive Energy Congress). She is also involved in women programs with Aramco (LEWAS-GRWx) and promote female scientists’ not just at KAUST but also in the Middle-East in order to empower Women in Oil and Gas Industry, one of the challenge of the Saudi Vision 2030 program”

Salma Al Hajeri is the Vice President for Non-Operated Assets for MENA & Russia at Mubadala Petroleum. Salma is responsible for overseeing the performance of the non-operating JVs and directing the portfolio of MP in MENA and Russia regions. She has more than 20 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry. Salma joined Mubadala Petroleum in 2012, and prior to that she worked at ADNOC - Onshore as a Reservoir Engineer.

Salma holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from U.A.E University, and MEng in Petroleum Engineering from the Petroleum Institute – UAE, and MBA from Abu Dhabi University. Most recently, Salma has been awarded the “Women of Achievement” from LEWAS 2021 – Bahrain.

A versatile leader with 41 years of extensive experience working for Saudi Aramco in HR development, partnership management/advocacy, innovation ecosystem consultation, and industry-university stakeholder engagement. Today, Waleed operates as an independent consultant and is an effective driver of partnerships, champion of D&I, woman empowerment and development. He currently advises the Ministry of Investment in Saudi Arabia.

Mark brings over 40 years of experience in all aspects of the oil and gas industry to nogaholding. Prior to joining the company, Mark served as the Head of Group Chief Executive’s Office working as chief of staff to bp CEO Bob Dudley. Mark stewarded bp’s executive processes and worked directly with the executive team and Board of Directors where he had oversight of investment governance and strategy development.

Previously he has served as a regional president of bp’s North Sea business, in which he transformed the core business to improve profitability by doubling production in a period of five years. Earlier Mark was the Vice President of Operations at bp Azerbaijan, where he was the operational leader for one of bp’s top three global business, accountable for the safe and reliable operation of two mega-fields, that produced one million barrels of oil equivalent daily.

Victoria Baverstock is Chief Wellness Officer of In Sync Wellbeing, an organisation providing evidence-based wellness solutions to individuals and workplaces. Based in Saudi Arabia since 2014, she brings over 25 years’ experience working across a diverse range of industries in the UK and Middle East.

A respected thought leader in health and wellness, she is the first woman to be granted the prestigious role of Global Wellness Day Ambassador for Saudi Arabia. Passionate about raising awareness of preventative health and wellness, with particular emphasis on the impact of mental health and burnout in the workplace, she has received industry and regional recognition for her expertise in workplace wellbeing. Most recently the corporate wellness program she created for Red Sea Global, won Best Employee Health and Wellbeing Program at the CIPD Middle East People Awards in 2022.

Victoria holds a Master’s Degree in Organisational Psychology from the University of Essex, she is a Certified Acupuncturist, Functional Medicine Health Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Master NLP Practitioner, Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher and an ILM and CIMA accredited advanced trainer.

Zein Attar currently serves as the Director of Organization Development at Industrialization & Energy Services Company (TAQA), headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
With a distinguished career spanning over 15 years in the field of Human Resources, Mrs. Attar is a recognized expert in Organization Development.
She launched her career in a pioneering financial start-up, where her early experiences ignited a deep-rooted passion for entrepreneurship and the art of building organizations from their foundational stages. Zein then transitioned to a significant chapter of her professional journey as an HR consultant at Mercer, where she honed her expertise in driving human development and unlocking the untapped potential within individuals to enhance organizational performance.
Zein also plays a key role in representing TAQA in various regional and international forums, where she actively moderates sessions related to trending HR topics, showcasing her expertise as a thought leader in the industry.
Zein serves in a Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) of a reputable company, where she plays an integral role in steering the organizational strategy, further attesting to her strategic acumen and influence in the corporate landscape.

Dr. Rania AlGhamdi is the Director of Talent learning & Potential where she is responsible for strategizing, developing, and implementing employee engagement and leadership assessment & development programs and other key functions such as Performance Management, Career Management, Succession Planning, and wellbeing Programs to name a few. She contributed in multiple organizational initiatives in support of D&I, learning, and person-centered care.

Rania has also served as the HR Services Director at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, in which she directed all daily HR operations and various employee services which include HR support services, government and employee relations. She also developed talent acquisition and retention strategies and implemented key initiatives that focus on enhancing employee experience.

Rania has participated as a speaker locally and internationally in several HR and T&D events. She has completed several certification programs and is a Certified Knowledge Specialist, Certified Employee Performance Management Professional, Certified Leadership Coach Practitioner, Certified Human Resources Professional and a Certified Human Resources Manager, and a Certified Career Services Provider.
Rania is one of the ATD Saudi Arabia Advisory Board members holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Development from Texas A&M University, USA and has completed her Doctorate Degree from the University of Leicester focusing on the knowledge transfer Practices in Healthcare.

Amal ALSubaie is an Oil Accounting Engineer in the Business Development & Optimization Department (B&O) in Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co. (SATORP). She is responsible for the verification and monitoring of the refinery consumption of raw imported products and the final products for exports. She was also a member of the Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) at SATORP.

During her time at SATORP, Amal has served as Assistant Treasurer. In addition to her main duties, she has also served as a member of the medical committee at the company. Prior to joining SATORP, Amal served as Corporate Credit officer in Global and Multinational Corporate Banking at SABB bank. She also served as Financial Planner in SABB investment funds.

Dr. Jenn is an Industrial and Organisational Psychologist who specializes in Diversity and Inclusion, with an emphasis on global generations, biases, and strategic D&I initiatives. She has experience in a variety of industries, including cancer clinical trials, automotive, and manufacturing.

Dr. Jenn has also spoken at the LEWAS conference (2020 “The Psychology of Bias”), been a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney Business School in Sydney, Australia (“D&I in the Middle East”), and has presented at GROW (Gulf Region Organisation for Women) on the subject of bias. This is her fourth time on the LEWAS Committee.

Claudia Janse van Rensburg is currently an Account Manager with ART Hydroprocessing based in Dubai, with an exclusive focus on supporting ART’s Middle Eastern customers. Prior to joining ART Hydroprocessing in January 2018,

Claudia was a Lead Process Engineer at National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (NATREF) where she was responsible for the VDU/CDU, FCC, Bitumen, and Merox Unit process engineering teams. During her time at the refinery, she also worked extensively on the HF Alkylation and VRDS units and was the custodian of various refinery wide optimization initiatives.Claudia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

Maram Al Sabbagh is an Environmental Specialist working for Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco). Maram has been in Bapco for nine years and currently holds the position of the Environmental Coordinator for the Bapco Modernisation Program (BMP), the largest project investment in the history of Bapco, leading the Project’s Environmental and Social team. Throughout her time at Bapco, Maram led a number of environmental initiatives including the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Week Environmental Committee, Bapco’s Green School Awards and Bapco’s Mangroves Nursery and Transplanting Project.

Prior to joining Bapco, Maram worked as a Corporate Sustainability Engineer at Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge), one of ADNOC’s Group Companies, in 2013, and was a Level 2 Environmental Consultant at Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in Abu Dhabi prior to that, in 2010. Maram holds a BSc in Natural Sciences (with a minor in Organic Chemistry and a major in Molecular and Cellular Biology) from University College London (UCL) and an MSc in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London.

Dr. Nour Othman Baqader is a petroleum scientist from Productivity Enhancement focus area, Production Technology Division, at The Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center - Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC), the Upstream Research Center for Saudi Aramco. She graduated with PhD in Protein Biochemistry from University College London, UCL, London, UK; and directly joined Saudi Aramco in 2015. Dr. Baqader’ s research interests on the oilfield chemicals, such as, fracturing fluids, for production engineering applications. Within a short time, she has managed to have several patents, publications, and has lead several promising projects. In 2018, one of her projects was shortlisted as a finalist in Oil Awards as Best Production Technology. In 2019, she was appointed as a Chair of Researcher Development Committee (RDP).

She led a team of 14 enthusiastic members and young professionals. Her role was to foster a program that engage young researchers and engineers through activities, workshops and different initiatives. Dr. Baqader skills do not end with her office work, she has also volunteered at several different activities inside and outside of her work such as teaching Petroleum engineering for the young school girls during the summer of 2019. In 2020, She was selected as scientific member for Science 20, S20 in G20 of Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Sara has been in Saudi Arabia since 2012 when she came to do her doctorate study in Environmental Science and Engineering department in King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Prior to coming to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Sara obtained her BSc and MSc in Applied Chemistry from the University of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Zagreb, Croatia.
After obtaining her degree in 2016, Dr. Sara worked in Ali A. Al-Naimi Petroleum Center in KAUST, helping in establishing their laboratories.
In June 2017 she joined Core R&D team in Dow Middle East Innovation Center in Kaust where she is a laboratory leader, safely setting up the new laboratories and is leading technical liaison with KAUST. She has a strong focus on technology, safety and inclusion as she serves as a co-chair in KSA for one of the employee resource groups in Dow, the Women Inclusion Network focusing on establishing inclusive culture, achieve gender parity and drive inclusive leadership to enhance Dow’s performance.

Sarah joined the Secretariat of the World Petroleum Council in 2021. She is involved in the project management of the triennial World Petroleum Congress, the WPC Youth Forum and other smaller events. She also works closely with Boston Consulting Group on Untapped Reserves, the only global oil and gas focused gender diversity study, introduced in 2017, and whose third edition will be released in September 2023. For version 2.0 of the study, WPC and BCG collected extensive data from 2,800 individuals and 50 companies representing 14% of the global workforce and full results can be found here: https://untappedreserves.wpc.bcg.com/

Prior to the WPC, Sarah has worked in event management for over 25 years, highlights of which include working at the World Economic Forum in Davos and being part of the team which set up the biennial SYROIL exhibition, on behalf of Shell Syria Petroleum Development.

Director of Middle East in WIRAM (Women in Reliability and Asset Management) USA, Committee Member in LEWAS (Leadership Excellence for women Awards), Bahrain, Project Manager for strategic Project within OQ RPI, Certified PMP, Certified ILM Level 3 High Potential leadership with 11 Years experience in the Oil & Energy industry. Skilled in project management (implemented medium and large Projects).

Farah AlGhamdi joined Rawabi Holding in 2011 as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team. In 2014, she assumed the duties of CSR & Corporate Communications Manager where she oversees the Group’s internal and external communications as well as managing the Rawabi Holding Brand, in addition to the Youth Empowerment Programs, Community Service and Community Investment programs within her capacity in the CSR department. In May 2023, Farah assumed the role of Corporate Communications and Sustainability Director.
She is also the Chairperson of the Shadow Board of Directors at Rawabi Holding, a board comprised of a group of employees who are willing to positively contribute to the decision-making process by way of offering recommendations and giving their creative input.

Alex Malouf is a marketing communications executive who has spent the last 17 years in the Middle East. Alex has lived across the region, in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. He is the Executive Director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Ceer


A journalist by training and with a cultural mix that is both European and Arabic, Alex’s expertise spans communications and media, public relations and marketing for both multinationals in the energy, technology and FMCG space as well as several Gulf-based government institutions. An entrepreneur in his own right –along with his wife, Alex founded the first business-to-business magazines in Saudi Arabia– Alex’s experience includes corporate communications, media relations and outreach, content development, crisis/ reputation management, and digital/social media. When he’s not putting pen to paper, Alex can be found advocating for the region’s media and public relations industry.


Alex is passionate about promoting sustainability in the communications sector by highlighting the industry’s potential to GCC nationals. He works with not-for-profit organizations such as the Middle East Public Relations Industry to shape and support training and awareness initiatives for both those wishing to pursue a career in public relations.

Eman Sharba graduated on 2015 of master’s degree in chemistry from MTSU of USA . Eman is working currently as water quality in NEOM specializing in quality assurance and quality control of Laboratory and filed . She has an experience as a chemist in Saudi Aramco Total with petroleum and petrochemicals products for 6 years during( 2016 -2021) . In 2018 Eman joined LAB Tech conference as an organizer in sponsorship, and in 2022 she was an organizer with GCA conference as woman empowerment head. In 2023 , Eman joined LEWAS as an organizer committee for the first time . Eman has an ambitious to explore more and extend her experience in LEWAS.