WBS UAE Alumni Network Event

We are excited to announce that our next event will focus on the topics of career progression, coaching, talent management and executive recruitment.

Our panel will discuss how to navigate the competitive jobs market and equip you with tools and advice you need to achieve your goals.

The panel will be facilitated by Konstantina Dee, Alumni Careers Manager at WBS and will include: Manal Al Soori, Gaetan Deshais and Shadi El Farr. They will be joined by Dr. Hamad Buamim, Regional Chair of the UAE Alumni Network and Sarah Pymm, Director of Global Alumni Engagement at WBS. This will then be followed by networking and lunch.

Open to the Warwick Business School community who live or work in United Arab Emirates, this will be a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with WBS in person in Dubai.

Please note that this event is taking place in person, there will not be an option for virtual attendance on this occasion.

Please note that filming and photography will take place during the event to be used across WBS and Warwick communications channels. If you would like to be absent from the recordings, please get in touch with our organising team on the day.

If you have any questions around the event, please don't hesitate to reach out to the team at alumni@wbs.ac.uk.

To book your place, please click the blue 'Register' button above.

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The panel will be facilitated by Konstantina Dee, Alumni Careers Manager at WBS and will include: Manal Al Soori, Gaetan Deshais and Shadi El Farr. They will be joined by Dr. Hamad Buamim, Regional Chair of the UAE Alumni Network and Sarah Pymm, Director of Global Alumni Engagement at WBS.

Manal Al Soori

Senior Vice President Human Resources, Emirates Group Recruitment

Manal Al Soori is a prominent Human Resources leader with over twenty years of expertise in steering HR operations across the Emirates Group. In March 2024, as Senior Vice President of Recruitment, she now oversees the Group's recruitment strategies to attract and secure top talent globally, enhancing Emirates' position as a leader in the global aviation industry.

Previously serving as the Vice President of HR for Emiratisation and People Experience, Manal was instrumental in strategically delivering HR services that enrich the employee journey from hiring through retirement. Her visionary leadership in organisational transformations has been pivotal, particularly in aligning HR initiatives with Emirates Airline's digital transformation goals. She has significantly contributed to fostering cultural integration and advancing strategic talent management initiatives. One of her key projects was implementing Artificial Intelligence digital Interviews for key volume roles to enhance and improve the candidate experience during the airline's ramp-up phase.

Manal's HR career started in recruitment management, where she led robust teams and developed innovative recruitment strategies to bolster the Group's competitive edge internationally. She also held the UAE National Career Development Manager role, developing key career progression and succession planning programs for Emirati staff.

She has an Executive Diploma in Digital Leadership from Warwick Business School, a Diploma in Business Management from the University of Bradford School of Management, and a Higher National Diploma in HR from the Higher Colleges of Technology. Manal is pursuing her Master's in Business Admin from Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Manal's educational foundation underpins her strategic and operational leadership.

With her deep commitment to leadership development, organisational design, and strategic planning, Manal drives the Emirates Group's HR initiatives forward, ensuring the attraction and retention of top talent and supporting the company's ambitious growth objectives in the competitive aviation sector.

Gaetan Deshais

Co-Founder, Thomas Thor

As a Co-Founder of Thomas Thor, Gaetan Deshais leverages his MBA and physics background to provide recruitment and consulting services to highly regulated industries in the Net-Zero economy. With over 13 years of experience in this field, he has developed strong business management and HR skills, as well as in-depth knowledge of nuclear and renewables sectors.

His mission is to help clients and associates achieve excellence and value in their projects, while also supporting the UAE's drive to diversify away from oil and gas. Gaetan has successfully identified, recruited, and relocated senior experts from all over the world to the UAE, partnering with them to ensure quality and delivery.

Shadi El Farr

Partner, Heidrick & Struggles

Shadi El Farr is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles' Dubai office and regional managing partner of the Financial Services Practice in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Throughout his 18 years with Heidrick & Struggles, Shadi has engaged in more than 250 leadership and board searches and assessment exercises and is one of the sector's longest-serving consultants in the Middle East. He has contributed to the leadership acquisition and development of leading multinational and regional financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, and the private capital and family group domains.

Shadi joined Heidrick & Struggles from an international executive search firm where he covered family groups in the GCC. He began his career in a management consulting firm where he worked on organization development projects with regional government entities.

Shadi earned an MBA from the Lebanese American University and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the American University of Beirut. He is also a certified human resource professional and a certified and trained Hogan assessor.