Advisory Board
Meet the Advisory Board
Retail MediaX MENA is guided by an Advisory Board of senior retail media leaders from across the region and beyond — helping shape the agenda and strategic direction of the event, and ensuring it delivers what the industry needs.
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Colin Lewis
Chair, RetailX
Colin is our Retail Media expert. He works directly with some of the world’s biggest brands on their digital commerce and retail media capabilities, as well as helping retailers set up their retail media networks with clients in the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey. Colin is the author of numerous best-practice reports on Retail Media and Digital Commerce, and a columnist for Marketing Week.
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Ian Jindal
Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder, RetailX
Co-founder of RetailX and CustomerX.
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Yara Daher
Partner & Co-Founder, Colosseum Strategy
Based in London, Yara joined HookLogic in 2014 and was instrumental in developing and launching retail media networks for Walmart, Target, Best Buy and other major retailers. She later became head of retail partnerships in the U.S. at Criteo and led retail media for the company in Brazil. More recently, Yara guided a portfolio of European startups in retail media, including the launches of MikMak and Symbiosys. Currently, Yara co-heads Colosseum Strategy and acts as a Commerce Media consultant for the IAB.
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Amit Kumar
Director of Monetisation, Alshaya Group
Amit Kumar
Director of Monetisation, Alshaya Group
Amit Kumar builds data products and end-to-end monetization strategies for large retailers in the Middle East. He is currently building ADNOC Distribution’s commerce media and monetization capability. Previously, at Alshaya Group, he launched Alshaya Media Connect — one of the region’s most diverse omnichannel retail media networks, spanning onsite, offsite and in-store across 70+ brands and 8M+ loyalty customers in the GCC — and led the group’s marketing and digital analytics, driving the shift from ROAS to incrementality across $30M+ in marketing spend. A frequent speaker on commerce media and measurement in MENA, Amit is known for cutting through the hype to focus on what genuinely drives growth.
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Harish Pandey
Chief Business Officer, AdOmega · Head of Growth (MENA & India), GoWit
Harish Pandey is the Chief Business Officer of AdOmega and Head of Growth (MENA & India) at GoWit, helping retailers across the GCC build and scale retail media businesses through onsite, offsite, in-store, and first-party data monetization. With over 16 years of experience across digital advertising, programmatic, and commerce media, he has partnered with leading retailers, publishers, agencies, and technology providers across the Middle East and India. Previously, he led Retail Media at Landmark Group and held leadership roles at Khaleej Times and Times of India.
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Mohamed Mordi
Experience Enrichment Manager – MENA, Arla Foods
Mohamed Mordi leads Retail Media and Experience Enrichment at Arla Foods MENA. With 12+ years of experience across agency and client-side roles, he has built expertise at the intersection of media, ecommerce and customer experience. His current focus is on retail media, consumer engagement and helping brands unlock growth through retailer partnerships, first-party data and more connected omnichannel experiences across the MENA region.
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Oliver Klander
RVP, MENA Brands, LiveRamp
Oliver (Oli), currently serving as the Regional Vice President, MENA Brands, brings over 20 years of rich experience in the advertising ecosystem and has been instrumental in driving growth and fostering innovation in data collaboration between retailers and CPGs. Before stepping into this role two and a half years ago, Oliver served as the Head of CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) at LiveRamp for a number of years, where he delivered LiveRamp’s global CPG proposition. His leadership and knack for becoming a thought leader in the CPG retail space have allowed him to forge relationships with global giants. Oliver has also been a prominent voice in the industry, speaking as a subject-matter expert at various Retail Roundtable events and sharing the stage with leading organisations such as IAB, NXT, Campaign ME and at DMEXCO in Köln. Additionally, he hosts a podcast featuring industry professionals from the AdTech/MarTech space and the CPG industry, named notquite90seconds.com, showcasing his depth of knowledge and passion for the field. Oliver’s mission is to bring innovation and drive transformation in data collaboration opportunities in the MENA region through the use of PET (Privacy Enhancing Technology) to enable data collaboration at scale for retail media.
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Mazen Mroueh
Head of Retail Media & Partnerships, Publicis Media Middle East
Mazen Mroueh
Head of Retail Media & Partnerships, Publicis Media Middle East
Mazen Mroueh is Head of Retail Media & Partnerships at Publicis Media Middle East, based in Dubai, where he leads the build-out and scaling of Retail Media Networks across the MENA region. In this role, Mazen is responsible for shaping Publicis’ retail media vision, partnerships, and operating model, working at the intersection of retailers, brands, data, and technology. He has been instrumental in launching and expanding multiple RMNs across the region, helping transform first-party retail data into measurable, privacy-safe, outcome-driven media solutions. Under his leadership, Publicis has established strategic partnerships with leading retailers, telcos, and technology platforms, including Landmark Group, Majid Al Futtaim / Carrefour, Al Shaya, ADNOC, Tradeling, Omantel, Etisalat, LiveRamp, and Gowit. His work focuses on integrating first-party data, audience segmentation, clean-room environments, and omnichannel activation to deliver closed-loop measurement and demonstrable sales uplift for advertisers. Mazen is deeply involved in advancing retail media standards across the region, advising brands and retailers on monetisation models, measurement frameworks, and ecosystem design. He is a frequent industry speaker, contributor, and award juror, recognised for his hands-on role in building scalable retail media capabilities in emerging markets. His career combines strategic leadership with operational execution, making him a strong advocate for retail media as a core growth engine for brands, retailers, and agencies alike. An endurance athlete and Guinness World Record holder, Mazen has completed over 101 full marathons, reflecting his philosophy of consistency, performance, and long-term vision — qualities that also define his leadership in transforming the future of retail.
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Jessica Usenbor Chief Executive Officer, Omniscient MENA
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Rob Silsbury
Vice President, Marketing & E-Commerce, Alshaya Group
