Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi is the Minister of State for Government Development and the Future in the UAE Government, a ministerial portfolio created in 2020 with the aim of advancing government development and enhancing the UAE’s readiness for future challenges and opportunities.

H.E. Al Roumi is also the Chairwoman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources and the Chairwoman of the Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation, and Vice Chair of the World Governments Summit Organization. She is a member of several boards, including the Emirates Competitiveness Council, the Frontline Heroes Office, the Dubai Future Foundation, and the Arab Government Excellence Award.

As part of her government portfolio, H.E. Al Roumi is focused on developing government talent and enhancing government employees with future skills by launching the largest transformational initiative for the new generation of employees. As part of her Ministerial role in leading the future portfolio, H.E. works to institutionalize designing the future in federal government entities to enhance their readiness for future trends.

H.E. Al Roumi served as Secretary General of the “Preparation for the Next 50” Committee. She also led efforts to develop the “UAE Centennial 2071”, a comprehensive and long-term vision spanning five decades which constitutes a roadmap for government action with the aim of enhancing the country’s reputation and soft power. H.E. Al Roumi headed the executive team to launch the first Government Summit in 2013. In 2016, H.E. Al Roumi held the position of Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing, the first ministerial position of its kind in the world introduced by the UAE government.,

H.E. Al Roumi served as the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet, where she oversaw multiple strategic programs and initiatives, including the coordination and follow up on executing “UAE Vision 2021”. H.E. Al Roumi was also appointed at the United Nations as a member of the UN Foundation Global Entrepreneurship Council (GEC) in 2015, making her the first Arab member to hold that position.

She also made to the Young Global Leaders (YGL) list with World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2012. H.E. was also listed among the World’s Greatest Leaders in 2017 by Fortune magazine in recognition of her accomplishments, making her the only Arab figure on the list. In 2021, the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Agile Governance recognized H.E. on the 50 Agile List among the world’s most influential people leading agile governance to achieve radical transformations.

H.E. Al Roumi holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration (EMBA) from the University of Sharjah and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University. She is also a graduate from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development.

Sanford R. (Sandy) Climan is CEO of Entertainment Media Ventures, Inc. Founded in 1999. EMV is active in media investment and strategic advisory work, with a particular focus on innovative technologies and entities currently impacting the traditional boundaries of business, media, and entertainment. He is an investor, producer and considered a media visionary. Throughout his career, Mr. Climan has held senior management positions in the media and entertainment industry.

He previously served on the senior management team at Creative Artists Agency and was the co-founder of CAA’s corporate practice. Sandy has held senior executive roles across the entertainment industry, including Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Worldwide Business Development for Universal Studios, executive positions in production and distribution for MGM, and as the first CEO of 3D filmmaking pioneer 3ality Digital.

His productions include “U2 3D,” the first digital live-action 3D film, and “The Aviator,” for which he was awarded a Golden Globe and a British Academy Award. He has been an active venture investor and advisor, and has served as a bridge between Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the financial industry, and global corporations. He serves on several charitable boards, including the UCLA School of Theatre Film & Television and the American Cinematheque.

Mr. Climan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science degree in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Harvard College.

Lars N. Minns is currently the Chief HR Officer for Mercedes-Benz, North America with responsibility for the US and Canada serving the organization since March 2015. He currently leads the organization in designing, implementing, and executing HR strategies that directly align with the company’s strategic objectives for the Sales, Marketing, and Distribution of Passenger Cars, Vans and parts in the United States and Canada. Under his leadership, the organization is undergoing one of the largest transformations in the automotive industry in its pursuit to be the most desired electric luxury brand in North America.

Prior to joining Mercedes-Benz, he served as the Sr. Mgr. of Talent Acquisition for The Home Depot’s At Home Services commonly referred to as the “Do it For Me” business. He led his team in executing talent acquisition strategies for the company’s fastest growing business segment.

Lars spent 10 years with The Home Depot and served in roles of increasing responsibility. Most notably serving as the Sr. Mgr. of Talent Management for Operations, Services, Finance, and IT. He supported all facets of Talent Management helping those business areas in several large-scale transformational efforts aimed at increasing overall operational efficiencies.

Prior to The Home Depot, Lars held various roles in IT consulting sales and recruiting during the .com and Y2K eras.

He is a member of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s Human Capital Advisory Council, Leadership Atlanta and a Board of Trustee of Mount Vernon Presbyterian School.

Lars earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University in Hampton, VA. 

A native of Nassau, Bahamas, he and his wife, Moya reside in Sandy Springs, GA with their three children. 

Michael Fraccaro is a Mastercard Fellow, responsible for advocating for advancements in human capital; deepening industry partnerships to drive our collective commitments to culture and people; and strengthening Mastercard’s position as an employer of choice. Previously, Michael served as the chief people officer at Mastercard for nine years, a period of transformational growth that saw the company more than double its workforce. Michael will formally retire from Mastercard at the end of 2025.

During Michael’s tenure as chief people officer, he was responsible for all human resources functions globally. His dynamic team oversaw cultural transformation, including the launch of The Mastercard Way values, the integration of more than a dozen acquisitions, and the global launch of an AI-driven growth and development platform. He built a leadership system to ensure breadth and depth of talent for short and long-term succession planning and was integral to the Mastercard CEO transition in 2021. He oversaw a comprehensive location strategy with the launch of Tech Hubs in high-growth markets such as India, Ireland and Canada. His leadership has helped forge numerous recognitions for the brand, including “most valued to work for.” In this role, he was a member of the company’s executive leadership team and management committee, and an active participant with the Mastercard Board of Directors.

Prior to Mastercard, Michael spent 10+ years at HSBC in various senior HR leadership roles in Australia and regional headquarters in Hong Kong. He also held senior HR positions in the financial service industry in the Middle East and Australia.

Michael holds a Master of Applied Science, Communication Management from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Bachelor of Education from the Australian Catholic University. He also has accreditation in change management from the Australian Graduate School of Management and attended leadership programs at Duke Fuqua and INSEAD.

Michael serves as Chair of the Board of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and is on the Board of the HR Policy Association.

Achal Khanna is the CEO for SHRM India and Asia Pacific Head for Business Development. SHRM India is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management with more than 2,90,000 members worldwide.

Achal is responsible for leading the India operations of SHRM, as well as Asia Pacific operations including Middle-East. She serves on the global SHRM Leadership Team and is responsible for building the brand, expanding its business and developing professional relationships with government agencies, and other HR and business associations in the region.

Achal has over 30 years of work experience. Prior to joining SHRM, she was Managing Director for Kelly India operations; Vice President for GE; and Country Manager for Polaroid India. She has also worked with Dupont, ITC and Cosmo Group in various capacities.

She is a recipient of the “Best Women Executive in India” award.

Achal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics; a Master’s Degree in English Literature and she is an MBA from Delhi.

Mimi Nicklin is a global leader and personality. An experienced CEO, global bestselling author, well-known keynote speaker and deeply personable coach, with over 18 years of experience across 25+ markets. Her commitment to her craft is both contagious and utterly authentic, capturing audiences instantly.

She is the award-winning and internationally bestselling author of ‘Softening The Edge,’ the Founder of the world’s widest reaching organisational empathy platform www.EmpathyEverywhere.co,and the top 5 rated podcast host of ‘Mimi-YouYou’ show.

Mimi is an experienced organisational consultant & coach, and the Chief Strategy Officer of global branding agency, ALBD. She is a contributor and advocate for the global movement to balance humanism and capitalism in our workplaces.

She has been featured live on BBC News and is frequently featured across the worldwide media including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, The Independent and NBC News. Mimi has 60,000 followers and has trained 12,500+ students in Fortune 500 organisations, focusing on the future of Empathetic leadership.

An inclusive millennial leader, she passionately talks about empathy as the road to higher performance, inclusion and multigenerational team engagement, as well as effective communication & conflict management.