Robert is the Director of the Economist Corporate Network based in Dubai and covering the MENA region. Robert works closely with network members to help inform their business strategies through political, economic and operational insight and to connect them with their senior leadership peers.
Robert is a business journalist, editor and publisher with nearly 25 years of experience covering a wide variety of sectors, including hospitality, retail, construction, energy and transport, and a particular interest in human capital management.
He is an accomplished event chairman, moderator and speaker.
Robert completed an MBA at the University of Leicester School of Business in 2012 and holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Nottingham.

Marketa is a Partner at KPMG Lower Gulf, and leads the People and Change Advisory Practice. She has a wealth of experience in the areas of talent management, HR transformation and organization design. Marketa has delivered numerous projects in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UK. Her sector expertise covers retail, hospitality, energy & utilities and the public sector.

Marketa advises senior executives on how to rethink business design to achieve and sustain increased performance, ensuring that structures, processes, systems, and capabilities all support key objectives. She works with her clients to understand and develop the unique critical skills and capabilities needed across the workforce to achieve an organization’s long term goals.
Marketa has led several human capital function transformations, resulting in HC becoming recognized as a strategic enabler, delivering sustainable organizational change and enhancing business performance.

Prior to joining KPMG, Marketa worked in consulting roles with RP International in the UAE and PSD Group in London, the UK.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic, and she is a PRINCE 2 practitioner. She is also certified in psychometric assessments and business culture transformation.

Rebecca is a partner in the MENA employment team of Clyde & Co LLP, based in Dubai and has worked in the Middle East since 2008. Before joining Clyde & Co LLP in 2012, Rebecca was a partner in a large regional firm based in Dubai and prior to that was the head of the European, Asia and Australian employment team in a global financial institution based in London.

Rebecca has particular expertise in employment disputes and has managed high profile employment litigation for clients in the High Court of England & Wales in London, as well as the UAE and DIFC courts. She is a registered practitioner of the DIFC Court. Rebecca also advises on, and undertakes workplace investigations and advises on the employment aspects arising from multidisciplinary compliance issues.

Rebecca advises on all aspects of employment law and immigration issues arising from employment in the Middle East, in a variety of different sectors, with a particular focus on financial services, oil & gas, and education. She advises on issues arising across the employment cycle, from employment contracts and policies, employee relations and incentives, to termination issues and disputes.

Rebecca also advises on the key challenges faced by employers in the modern work environment, including global mobility, working hours, use of social media, the protection of confidential information, and alternative business, incentive and retention structures.

Rebecca is recognised as a Band 1 leading individual by Chambers & Partners and is listed in Who's Who Legal, Management Labour & Employment.

Chambers & Partners report market commentators to have said that Rebecca is "knowledgeable, efficient, practical and a pleasure to deal with" and is recognised for her understanding of "local law and nuances in practice".

She is regularly asked to speak at industry events, in Dubai and abroad, and has contributed UAE chapters to PLC Labour and Employee Benefits multi-jurisdictional guide (2010), Employment and Labour Law, Global Legal Insights (First Edition), Pensions & Retirement Plans, Law Business Research, and Social Media and Employment Law, An International Survey, Wolters Kluwer 2015.

Randa Bessiso believes in the power of education to transform lives for the better. She has been deeply involved with education through her entire career - an interest she attributes to the influence of her upbringing in a family that understands the vital role of education in helping build rewarding careers and fulfilling lives. However, along with education comes the responsibility to use the knowledge ethically and to make a difference – to a family, community or organisation.

A Lebanese national of Palestinian origin, Randa is the founding director of the Middle East Centre for The University of Manchester (one of the world’s top universities), which she established in 2006, following early career success as a Vice President at PROJACS International (professional management and consulting services) and a regional role with the UK e-Universities Worldwide online learning initiative.

Today, under Randa’s leadership and guidance, the Middle East Centre is the largest and fastest growing in the University’s international network, and an acknowledged UK higher education success. In 2017, the centre (which began as the regional hub for Alliance Manchester Business School) was renamed as the University’s Middle East Centre reflecting its increasing profile and recognition across the entire University – one of the largest campus based universities in Europe.

During her career, Randa has garnered many accolades in recognition of her work including listings in the 100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen/Middle East 100 Most Influential Women by Forbes Middle East, in 2014-15-16-17-18. She was also included in the Arabian Business annual Arab Power List 2021 (joining an exclusive group of 100 individuals – Arab women and men across the world - who have all had a significant impact on life in the Middle East and ‘’all have done something remarkable in their field worth celebrating”). She was also named among the 30 most influential women in the Arab World by Arabian Business in 2019.

Today, the Middle East Centre has supported more than 2,800 part-time MBA and MSc students in the region, making it one of the largest professional communities of its kind in the region. Randa has overseen the development of the Middle East team and the launch of a range of educational products, services and initiatives including the Manchester Innovation Award for Emiratis, and the introduction of industry-led MSc programmes.

In addition to founding the Middle East Centre, Randa has played a central role in establishing the Middle East Alumni Association, and built a wide range of collaborations with organisations and professional bodies including IMA, ACCA, CIMA, PMI, Dubai SME, and GM.