Day 1
Wed Nov 26
08:00 – 09:00
60 min
REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE
Wed Nov 26
09:00 – 09:10
10 min
OPENING REMARKS BY MERLIEN INSTITUTE & CONFERENCE CHAIR
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
09:10 – 09:40
30 min
INSIGHTS@2040 – SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MARKET RESEARCH
- Envisioning the insights function of tomorrow in a rapidly shifting world
- Embracing a new mindset - working in the extended eco-system of AI agents as a wider team
- Amplifying the consumer voice and embedding in business decision making
- Building a future-ready insights org – squads, sprints and signal hunters

Sayantan Sarkar
Head of Insight & Analytics, MENAP
Mondelez International
Speaker
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
09:40 – 10:10
30 min
SESSION RESERVED FOR BOLT
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
10:10 – 10:40
30 min
FROM NOTEBOOKS TO AI: THE TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY OF CRM IN THE MIDDLE EAST
- Delving into the shift from manual CRM practices to AI driven personalization
- Bridging data silos and engagement gaps to strategically shape future customer loyalty
- Exploring how AI, personalization and innovation are set to transform customer experiences across industries
- Adapting to evolving customer expectations in an increasingly digital and connected world

Pedro Aguilar Dominguez
Consumer Insights, CRM & Data Lead Middle East
Estee Lauder Companies
Speaker
Networking
Wed Nov 26
10:40 – 11:10
30 min
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
11:10 – 11:40
30 min
OMNICHANNEL GROWS UP: SHIFTING FROM EXPOSURE TO ENGAGEMENT IN A FRAGMENTED WORLD

Sonia Kapoor
Head of Omnichannel Marketing
GSK
Speaker
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
11:40 – 12:10
30 min
EXTENDING BRAND COLLABS BEYOND LIMITED TIME OFFERS:
- Unlocking enduring value & growth via sustained brand collabs.
- Exploring actionable strategies and innovative frameworks for cultivating brand alliances that resonate.
- Navigating pitfalls and understanding the critical watchouts and common missteps that can derail brand collaborations.
- Understanding the anatomy of a Champion Collab

Mohamed Soliman
Head of Marketing - Al Kabeer
Savola Group
Speaker
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
12:10 – 12:40
30 min
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF INSIGHTS IN PURPOSE-LED CAMPAIGNS – SOCIAL IMPACT & MEASUREMENT
- Measuring multi-platform impact of purpose-driven campaigns using integrated metrics
- Comparing social listening data with traditional brand tracking to capture authentic sentiment
- Optimizing campaign strategies by linking social impact insights to consumer behaviour and brand equity
- Quantifying ROI by connecting social impact outcomes to business performance metrics

Falak Jalil
Head of Marketing
Al Ghurair Foods
Speaker
Networking
Wed Nov 26
12:40 – 13:40
60 min
NETWORKING LUNCH BREAK
Panel discussion
Wed Nov 26
13:40 – 14:55
75 min
INTEGRATING AI IN MARKET RESEARCH: SPEED, SKILL, AND SAFEGUARDS
- Accelerating insight generation with Gen-AI tools that streamline data synthesis, trend detection, and reporting
- Ensuring quality and integrity by combining AI efficiency with human oversight for contextual accuracy and bias mitigation
- Upskilling your teams to critically use and evaluate AI outputs—building new competencies, not just new tools
- Embedding responsibility by establishing ethical guardrails for data privacy, transparency, and culturally sensitive insights

Ayushman Roy Choudhury
Regional Head Market & Shopper Insights & Analytics – MENA
Arla Foods
Panelist

Priyanka Bhargav
Group Insights Head, Consumer Research & Senior Director
Flipkart
Panelist

Kausar Jahan
Head UX/CX Design
Road Transport Authority
Panelist

Sonia Kapoor
Head of Omnichannel Marketing
GSK
Panelist
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
14:55 – 15:25
30 min
KEEPING ON THE CONSUMER PULSE: HUMAN EXPERIENCE MEETS AI AT SCALE
- Showcasing Nestlé’s Consumer Pulse program which blends continuous human insight with the power of AI to drive agile, real-time decision making
- Effectively leveraging AI to enhance—not replace—the human experience in understanding consumer and shopper needs
- Embedding consumer-centric insights across all business functions, not just marketing
- Exploring practical examples of scaling empathy and responsiveness across a global organization

Jackie MacRae
Head of Consumer & Marketplace Insights
Nestle
Speaker

Tiara Aprilita
Consumer and Market Insight Regional Manager MENA
Nestle
Speaker
Networking
Wed Nov 26
15:25 – 15:55
30 min
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
Presentation
Wed Nov 26
15:55 – 16:25
30 min
FROM INSIGHT TO IMPACT: MAKING CONSUMER TRUTHS STICK INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION
A guide to helping insights land, influence decisions, and drive measurable business action.
- Bridging the “insight-action” gap: serving as an enabler of action
- Formats that resonate: presenting insight in ways that speak to marketers, creatives, and C-suites alike (stories, provocations, visuals)
- Metrics of impact: tracking the ROI of insight — beyond “how many attended the debrief”.
- Culture of influence: building credibility and trust for the CMI function across cross-functional teams

Ganesh Sharma
Head of Insights & Analytics
Dabur International
Speaker
Panel discussion
Wed Nov 26
16:25 – 17:10
45 min
REDRESSING YOUR INSIGHTS CAPABILITY & DEVELOPMENT
- Securing roles and maintaining space despite the emergence of tech & IT in insights & analytics
- Performing ¨in spite of¨ resource resets: budgets, layoffs, evolved team profiles, tech onboarding and outsourcing
- Riding the wave: repositioning the value of the function and elevating to your business stakeholders

Ayushman Roy Choudhury
Regional Head Market & Shopper Insights & Analytics – MENA
Arla Foods
Moderator

Ganesh Sharma
Head of Insights & Analytics
Dabur International
Panelist

Jackie MacRae
Head of Consumer & Marketplace Insights
Nestle
Panelist

Burcu Dolunay
Insights & Analytics Director, Global Business Services
PepsiCo
Panelist

Rana Tawfik
Insights and Media Director
AlSafi Danone
Panelist
Roundtable
Wed Nov 26
17:10 – 17:40
30 min
TOPIC 1: SMART LISTENING: HARNESSING DIGITAL CONVERSATIONS FOR MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Parul Arora
Category Insights Lead, Bakery & Beverages MENAP
Mondelēz International
Speaker
Roundtable
Wed Nov 26
17:10 – 17:40
30 min
TOPIC 2: GEN AI IN MARKETING EVALUATION

Priyanka Bhargav
Group Insights Head, Consumer Research & Senior Director
Flipkart
Speaker
Roundtable
Wed Nov 26
17:10 – 17:40
30 min
TOPIC 3: BEYOND THE POWERPOINT: STORYTELLING AND PRESENTING INSIGHTS EFFECTIVELY

Rania Wahdan
Head of Research and Insights
Expo City Dubai
Speaker
Roundtable
Wed Nov 26
17:10 – 17:40
30 min
TOPIC 4: CX METRICS MISUSE: ARE WE MEASURING WHAT MATTERS?
Wed Nov 26
17:40 – 17:50
10 min
CHAIR CLOSING REMARKS AND END OF DAY 1
Day 2
Thu Nov 27
08:30 – 09:00
30 min
REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE
Thu Nov 27
09:00 – 09:15
15 min
OPENING REMARKS BY MERLIEN INSTITUTE & CONFERENCE CHAIR

Andrew Seinfeld
Chief Growth Officer
BoltChatAI
Speaker
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
09:15 – 09:45
30 min
HELPING GLOBAL BRANDS DRIVE LOCAL RELEVANCE
- Showcasing illustrative examples of success / failure
- Identifying strategic differentiators
- Establishing a framework to identify and apply to various situations
- Implementing healthy insights practices to support the journey

Deepti Shah
Smoke-free Portfolio Insights
Philip Morris International
Speaker
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
09:45 – 10:15
30 min
DESIGNING FOR DECISIONS: ADAPTING FINANCIAL PRODUCTS TO DIVERSE REGIONAL REALITIES
- Decoding local priorities: Understanding how cultural and economic contexts shape financial decisions and influence product design strategies
- Adapting to regulation: Aligning offerings with regional compliance landscapes to build trust and drive adoption
- Building digital trust: Tailoring experiences for relationship-based cultures distinct from digital-native expectations
- Designing beyond standards: Addressing gaps in digital literacy, language, and access that traditional UX guidelines overlook

Amanda Cano
VP, Head of UX and Design
Mashreq Bank
Speaker
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
10:15 – 10:45
30 min
BRIDGING THE GAP: BUILDING SCALABLE RESEARCH ACROSS DIVERSE MARKETS
- Maintaining research and brand consistency across diverse regions
- Building a scalable research practice across cross-functional teams
- Navigating cultural nuances and on-ground realities in emerging markets
- Lessons from growing a research function post-acquisition (Careem & Uber)

Rowan Salama
Head of Product Research
Careem
Speaker
Networking
Thu Nov 27
10:45 – 11:15
30 min
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
11:15 – 11:45
30 min
PHYGITAL 2.0: CX THAT CLICKS, CONNECTS, AND CONVERTS
- Integrating physical, digital, and human touch points into a unified customer journey
- Prioritizing consumer needs over sales by embracing a post-pandemic, customer-centric approach
- Balancing automation with empathy by combining AI efficiency and human interaction
- Measuring impact through CSAT, NPS, adoption rates, and Return on Experience (ROX) across industries

Faran Niaz
Director Customer Experience
Hala
Speaker
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
11:45 – 12:15
30 min
AI MEETS EMPATHY: REIMAGINING FINANCIAL EXPERIENCES FOR BLUE COLLAR MIGRANT WORKERS
- When strategy bows to insights: building business direction from the ground up, not top-down
- Small team, big ambition: leveraging AI and automation to scale research impact without scale
- From data to belonging: how CX becomes a living community that grows with your customers
- Serving the financially excluded: why empathy is not just a method, but a mindset

Richa Gupta Behera
Lead UX Design & Research
MyZoi - Standard Chartered Ventures
Speaker
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
12:15 – 12:35
20 min
SESSION RESERVED FOR GS
Networking
Thu Nov 27
12:35 – 13:35
60 min
NETWORKING LUNCH BREAK
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
13:35 – 14:05
30 min
SCALING SMART: EMPOWERING ORGANIZATIONS WITH A SELF-SERVE INSIGHTS MODEL
- Scaling insights impact without scaling headcount by building internal capability through a structured, repeatable framework
- Identifying commonly recurring project types to target high-demand, low-complexity work suitable for decentralization
- Equipping teams for success with clear, actionable guidelines that enable consistent, self-directed execution
- Demonstrating tangible business value through improved speed, reduced costs, stronger decisions – and a real-world case study that proves the model works

Ashish Verma
Global Director Strategy & Insights
Restaurant Brands International (RBI)
Speaker
Panel discussion
Thu Nov 27
14:05 – 14:50
45 min
DEMOCRATIZING RESEARCH WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS
- Toolkits and templates for scaling research access
- How democratization affects research team structure
- Guardrails to protect quality and validity
- Ensuring a democratisation framework: when and how to apply

Sayantan Sarkar
Head of Insight & Analytics, MENAP
Mondelez International
Panelist

Rowan Salama
Head of Product Research
Careem
Panelist

Ankesh Agarwal
Director – Group Customer Experience
Majid Al Futtaim
Panelist

Deepti Shah
Smoke-free Portfolio Insights
Philip Morris International
Panelist

Faran Niaz
Director Customer Experience
Hala
Moderator
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
14:50 – 15:10
20 min
SESSION RESERVED FOR GS
Networking
Thu Nov 27
15:10 – 15:40
30 min
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
Presentation
Thu Nov 27
15:40 – 16:10
30 min
SESSION RESERVED FOR RTA
Panel discussion
Thu Nov 27
16:10 – 16:55
45 min
EVERYBODY’S PERFECT – YEAH RIGHT, WELCOME TO THE FAILURE PANEL
Had enough of polished success stories and glorified corporate profiles? In our failure panel, distinguished industry leaders will share their biggest mistakes–and what they learned from them! Hear what NOT to do and how to overcome the inevitable mistakes every great leader has made on their path to success.

Rana Tawfik
Insights and Media Director
AlSafi Danone
Moderator

Falak Jalil
Head of Marketing
Al Ghurair Foods
Panelist

Sonal Dawda
Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications
Dubai National Insurance (DNI)
Panelist

Marwen Ben Messaoud
Director of Growth Marketing ME & S Asia
Spotify
Panelist
Thu Nov 27
16:55 – 17:00
5 min
CHAIR´S CLOSING REMARKS AND END OF CONFERENCE

Andrew Seinfeld
Chief Growth Officer
BoltChatAI
Speaker