United Arab Emirates

John Illingworth – Sales Director – Bitmovin

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John Illingworth is Sales Director Middle East & Africa for Bitmovin, a company providing software products that solve complex video problems for leading media companies worldwide.

With career foundations at the highest level of aerospace electronic engineering, John switched over to the world of video under account management and sales in the UK CATV industry before moving to Dubai 10 years ago. Prior to Bitmovin, John has had extensive experience in various commercial roles at companies including Teleste, Technetix, Irdeto and Verimatrix. His work with industry’s leading broadcasters, system integrators, telcos and OTT platforms has led to world-class streaming solutions, enjoyed by millions of viewers in the Middle East and Africa. He has extensive knowledge on fiber optics, RF networks, and anti-piracy technologies.

Kinda – Director Media Partnerships – Twitter

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Kinda Ibrahim is Twitter’s Director of Media Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa and Turkey . Her team focuses on accelerating Twitter’s push for content partnerships across the news, politics, sports, TV and entertainment verticals through working with key publishers to prioritize Twitter as their first and immediate platform to reach and engage with their audience across Twitter’s live, public platforms. Kinda has over 18 years of international experience in digital media, marketing and analytics acquired in both the Middle East and North America. She joins Twitter from Microsoft where she was the Editor-in-Chief responsible for English MSN Arabia. Prior to that she led the media operations division at Yahoo Maktoob. Previously, she played an instrumental role in shaping the digital and data strategy at companies such as EMAP Middle East, the Yellow Pages group and the National bank of Canada.

Moon Baz – Head of Entertainment Partnerships, MENA and Turkey – Facebook

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Moon Baz is the Head of Entertainment Partnerships for MENA and Turkey at Facebook. Moon works closely with strategic media publishers supporting them to leverage the Facebook tools to maximize mutually beneficial objectives. Prior to joining Facebook, Moon was a freelance consultant supporting different strategic clients in the region including Deezer MENA, Vue International and GCAM Saudi Arabia. Moon was a Business Planning Manager at MBC group across the online platforms, VOD, mobile services and distribution. Before that, Moon was a management consultant with Booz & Co, where she supported projects for the firm across the Media industry. Moon holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the American University of Beirut.

Ramakrishnan Laxman- Senior Vice President, Marketing- Eros Now

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Ramakrishnan Laxman is Senior Vice President, Marketing at Eros Now. RK as he is popularly known as, is a Digital management professional with over two decades of experience in setting up Digital Businesses for Media companies in India. In his current role as Eros Now, RK is helping Eros Now carve a niche for itself in the dynamic and ever evolving OTT space globally. He has in the past worked with leading media companies such as ABP Group, Star News, Mid-Day Multimedia, and part of the star-tup team of Publicitas Digital in India. RK is an alumnus of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and Columbia Business School.

Rolla Karam – SVP – OSN

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Karam brings over two decades of broadcast experience in the MENA region. A content connoisseur, she drives OSN’s content and channel optimization, segmentation, and localization, through analyzing the audience’s behavior using meticulous measurement.

Karam works closely with OSN’s content team in the creation of engaging day to day experiences for the consumers and other audiences through careful curation of content. She plays a key role in catalyzing fruitful and exclusive partnerships with major regional and global studios, leading OSN’s success in acquiring premium content on first and exclusive basis. Karam’s expertise has supported OSN in securing the best shows first. Moreover, Karam is the driving force behind the launch of OSN Originals to serve the ever-evolving tastes of people in the region.

Prior to joining OSN, Karam worked with household names including IFLIX, Intigral. Previously, she spent a decade leading marketing and sales at Prime Pictures and Transworld Television.