146th Edition – Zak World of Façades UAE

This will be the 146th edition globally and the 9th edition in UAE which will showcase sustainable innovations and challenges in the construction industry pertaining to the building envelope and will also display latest technological solutions.

Official Page

Speakers and Panelists

Yoann Plourde

Associate Design Leader, Woods Bagot

Associate Design Leader for Woods Bagot and a representative of the Global Impact Group, Yoann embodies a commitment to excellence in sustainable construction. With over 12 years of private practice, Yoann specializes in integrating sustainability into the fabric of architectural...

Ayesha Ahmed

Head of Specifications, Caparol

Ayesha Ahmad is an accomplished architectural Specialist with expertise in EIFS, facade design and Paints & coatings. With over 17 years of experience in the paints & coatings industry, She has worked in on a diverse range of projects, from...

Salah Ziat

Assistant Manager - Sustainability & CSR, Masdar City

Salah Ziat is the assistant manager of sustainability and CSR at Masdar City. He provides expert advice about sustainability and related regulatory and compliance matters. He also participates in corporate social responsibility (CSR) events and initiatives that are aligned with...

Sumaya Dabbagh

Principal, Dabbagh Architects

Sumaya Dabbagh is a Saudi architect educated in the UK. She founded Dabbagh Architects in 2008. Since setting up her practice, Sumaya has completed a number of significant projects that demonstrate her interest in the subtilties of notions of memory,...

Irina Tadello

Marketing Manager, AGC Obeikan Glass

Alina Valcarce

Founder | Design Director, Valcarce Architects

Alina is a visionary leader and Architect, serving as the founder and design director of Valcarce Architects. With an unwavering passion for innovative architectural forms and groundbreaking designs, Alina continuously pushes the boundaries of what is possible in the built...

Mehrdad Yazdani

Design Director - Yazdani Studio, CannonDesign

As Design Director of the Yazdani Studio, Mehrdad has succeeded in bringing a consistent and clear design sensibility characteristic of small design studios to a broad portfolio of significant education, institutional and cultural buildings both domestically and internationally. He has...

Achim Heinzle

Head of Direct Markets - International, Jansen

Achim is responsible for the international markets outside Europe at Jansen AG, Switzerland. With more than 20 years of experience in engineering and management, Achim focuses on technology, sales and marketing at Jansen AG to distribute steel facades, windows and...

Erik Hokanson

Principal | Design Director, AE7

As a Principal and Design Director at AE7, Erik has lead the design of some of the firms most high profile mixed use developments, residential, hospitality and high rise building projects regionally and across the globe. His range of design...

Rosario Maguey

Senior Façade Engineer, Arup

Mercedes Gargallo

Associate Façade Engineer, Arup

Mercedes is a highly accomplished professional in facades and building envelope design. She is a qualified architect with a Ph.D in Architectural Technology. With her comprehensive technical knowledge and understanding of façade systems, materials, and construction techniques, she has seamlessly...

Kenzo Tamada

Area Manager - Middle & Far East, Pellini

Born in Milan, of Japanese origins, he boasts over 10 years’ experience in the indoor and outdoor solar shading sector, during which he has provided assistance and advice to designers in major international projects, as a result of his profound...

Mohamed Adib

Chief Design Officer, Dewan Architects & Engineers

Mohammed Adib serves as the Chief Design Officer at Dewan Architects + Engineers, having joined the firm in 2018. He holds a degree in architectural studies from the AA School of Architecture in London and pursued interior architecture studies at...

Eddy Abou Khalil

Regional Director - Middle East & India, Cosentino

A Mechanical Engineer by vocation with over two decades of experience, Eddy started his career in Lebanon heading commercial roles for manufacturers in the Power generation and HVAC sectors. 2006 saw a change of base to the UAE to handle...

Khaled Raslan

Senior Manager, Vitro Architectural Glass

Khaled Raslan joined Vitro Architectural Glass as the Senior Manager for GCC region back in September 2018. Raslan carries an MBA, and with more than 28 years’ experience in the region, he has extensive experience in the commercial construction, automotive...

Khalid Shamlawi

Specifications Manager - GCC & Egypt, Jotun Powder Coatings

As the Specification & Business Development Manager at Jotun Powder Coating based in Dubai office, Khalid has successfully specified and worked on several high-profile projects in the GCC region as well as Egypt & North America. With over 13-years experience...

Susanna Noureddine

Head of Facade Engineering, WSP

Susanna holds a master’s degree in Façade Engineering from the University of Applied Science in Detmold, Germany. In her current position as the Head of Facade Engineering she is responsible for technical and commercial design, competition design documents and managing...

Davide Petucco

Head of Contract Development - APAC, Florim

Having a master’s degree in in Civil Engineering from the University of Bologna (Italy), Davide is a registered Professional Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the planning, design and construction management, specialized in cladding solutions. Currently working...

Ben Runhaar

Product & Marketing Manager, AGC Chemicals Europe

Ben Runhaar is the Product Manager for LUMIFLON and ETFE Film for AGC in the EMEA Region. In his over 20-year career, he held functions in sales, marketing and product management in different parts of the world. In 2013 he...

Marina Kindelan

Director - Façades, AESG

Marina is AESG’s Associate Façades Director. Since joining the firm in 2017, she has been involved in a varied range of projects such as the writing of thermal insulation guidelines, a residential development with a GFA of 300,000 sqm. In...

Lars Anders

Group CEO, Priedemann Façade Experts

Lars Anders is the CEO of Priedemann Façade Experts and Façade-Lab Research & Development Center, which accomplishes tasks relating to the façade or building envelope. In this role, He manages and leads along with his managing partners, a team providing...

Kourosh Salehi

Global Design Principal, LWK & Partners

Kourosh Salehi is the Design Director for LWK + PARTNERS. He is a British Architect, Urbanist and educator with over 25 years international experience. He has designed and successfully delivered a range of award winning multidisciplinary signature projects in the...

Agnes Koltay

CEO, Koltay Façades

Agnes Koltay has a Masters degree in Architecture (Hungary, USA) and in Façade Engineering (UK) and worked with award winning architects and multidisciplinary engineering companies before founding Koltay Façades, a boutique façade engineering consultancy firm, in 2011. She is the...

Benjamin Beer

Managing Director, Werner Sobek Dubai

Benjamin has been working as a façade professional for 20 years with projects around the world and long-term positions in Stuttgart, London, New York and Dubai. After building up and heading the Dubai office of Werner Sobek in the position...

Jochen Regenauer

Head of High Performance Products EMEA, Kuraray

Jochen is working since more than 20 years in the construction & glass industry. Now responsible for high performance interlayers like Trosifol PVB & Sentryglas for laminated safety glass in the EMEA region with an focus on architectural applications.

Franck Derouen

Global Segment Director - Architectural, Axalta

Franck Derouen is Business Director – General Industrial Middle East, Africa, Russia, Turkey. In addition to this role Mr Derouen is Axalta’s Global Architectural Segment Director. Mr Derouen has 30 years of experience in the industrial coating industry. Prior to...

James O’Callaghan

Founding Director, Eckersley O'Callaghan

James is a structural and facade engineer with over 20 years of experience. Widely acknowledged as an authority on structural glass, he is perhaps best known for his highly innovative designs for glass envelopes, stairs, bridges and other structural elements...

Osama Abbas

CEO, IBECE Group

A professional with 20 years of extensive experience, and solid technical knowledge, covering the design, specification, construction, testing and commissioning of building envelopes. Mr. Abbas holds dual major degrees in engineering, a Master’s degree in Façade Engineering, and a Bachelor...

Karim Maalouli

Architectural Design Manager, Guardian Glass

An Architectural Design Manager with Guardian Glass, Karim is originally a sales & marketing specialist from Lebanon, he moved to Dubai in 2010 and has since been working with architects, consultants, and developers in the Middle East region on some...

Conference Agenda

April 23
April 24