Theme: Where Magic Happens

What drives explorers to traverse stormy oceans, or even deserts with extreme conditions. How are certain individuals compelled to persist, and succeed regardless of the odds they face and the hardships ahead?

The answer is Passion: Passion to achieve the impossible; to exceed all expectations; to break barriers; and to translate that desire into success. Making that dream a reality may seem like magic to most.

Well through that passion, magic does happen; it leads to the promised land; that well in the middle of the endless desert; that island in the ocean; that magical moment, place or time in their lives where they finally have a sense of accomplishment, or it’s just a stepping stone to bigger and greater things. In that instant, where magic happens, one has the capability of true greatness.

Institute of Management Technology, Dubai
Institute of Management Technology, Dubai International Academic City
Dubai, Dubayy, 345006
United Arab Emirates

Carol Talbot

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) expert

A best-selling author, a NLP expert, a speaker and a fire-starter, Carol is all of these and more. Through these facets, she seeks to empower and help people help themselves. With a passion to create and enhance people’s energy within so they get ‘fired up’ to take action, she motivates them to break through limitations and fears. She has delivered motivational speeches to large audience across the world at companies such as GE, and Price Waterhouse Cooper. Her goal is to ‘start the fire in you, so you can ignite the fire in others’.

Dr. Mariam Matar

Founder & Chairperson UAE Genetic Disease Association

A pioneer in research into genetic disorders prevalent in the UAE, she has broken barriers aplenty. Becoming the first Emirati woman to become a Director General in the Dubai Government, as well as the first to be appointed Under Secretary of the Ministry of Health, she has been one of the finest public servants of the UAE. Listed among the twenty most influential women in science in the Islamic world, she will no doubt encourage many others to traverse unchartered waters.

Durjoy Datta

Author

The writer of four television shows and more than a dozen novels, his books have been featured multiple times on bestseller lists with award wins for his TV shows. Leaving his 9 to 5 job to pursue his passion for writing, he has no doubt motivated others struggling with their jobs, to go after their dreams and not settle for anything less.

Essa Al Ansari

Fitness Enthusiast | Motivational Speaker

A graduate in hospitality management and working as a marketing executive, he struggled with obesity. Making a decision to change his lifestyle for the better, he lost seventy kilograms and is now encouraging others to follow suit and start living a healthy lifestyle. He is currently working as a businessman in Dubai and is a motivational speaker with his own website ‘www.fitnesswithessa.com’

J. Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash

Human Calculator I Motivational Speaker

Outdoing Excel Sheets, and solving complex mathematical computations may seem like a daunting task to some but not to this seventeen-year-old. By the age of fourteen, he had already broken 28 Limca Book records, 21 in one day, in Mental Maths. Winning the Indian Abacus championship twice and the international championship once, he is a testament to what one can achieve through sheer hard work and effort.

Jarrett Martin

Skydiver at Skydive Dubai

Left fighting for his life, when a speed-flying attempt went awry, he is now paralyzed from the chest down as a result of the incident. But, through his passion for skydiving, he became just one of two disabled people to complete a Base Jump. He is now a qualified master parachute rigger for Skydive Dubai, and an inspiration to many to keep their dreams alive.

Nitin Sharma

Director - Marketing Strategy at UAE Exchange

With a sound marketing skill set that includes brand management, marketing strategy, market research, competitive analysis and consumer insights to name a few, it is no surprise he has created, and managed an array of Indian and global brands across categories. His rich experience, of 18 years, in strategy, brand management and advertising has given him the impetus to excel in categories such as FMCG, consumer durables, financial and also advertising. He is presently leading Global Marketing Strategy for UAE exchange guiding teams in 30 countries across the world.

Noor Shamma

Artepreneur | Founder of Postcard Initiative

The Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Paris-Sorbonne University, and the originator of the Postcard Initiative sweeping through the UAE and beyond. Her aim, is to restore the humanity in communication as the world becomes more connected and less humane with the omnipresence of high connectivity and the dependence on technology. Her Postcard Initiative now has addresses in over 40 countries, and artists all over the world willing to pay to design them. Her endeavor has raised money to prevent blindness and treat eye diseases in under-developed countries.