'A Seasoned HR professional with a Bachelor's in psychology.
My expertise lie in C- suite stakeholder management , HR transformation and all HR centers of excellence.
Multiple industry HR experience both locally and internationally such as Dubai Ports world, Pepsi, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi , Etihad Airways , Dubai Airports and Citibank.
Outside of work I am a father of two crazy boys and my hobbies include playing football, playing music, and staying fit/ healthy. '

Dr. Rubina Mahsud is a business educator, corporate strategist, and a researcher with expertise in business strategy and adaptive leadership.
While working for almost a decade in the field of medicine first as a clinician and subsequently in a management capacity, she realized that many problems were associated with leadership (skills, empathy, humility, and empowerment, or lack thereof), strategy envisioning and implementation, and inadequate realization of the resourcefulness of workers’ human and social capital. This deficiency of intricate knowledge led her to pursue a PhD to understand the role of leadership effectiveness and strategic management practices.
Dr. Mahsud focused her research on identifying the determinants of firms sustained competitive advantage. This quest led her to work on the flexible leadership theory (FLT). FLT integrates literature from leadership, human resources, and strategy domains. In her empirical research of 116 Fortune 500 companies confirmed that a firm’s long-term performance depends on balancing efficiency and innovative adaptation simultaneously. This critical balance between two somewhat opposing determinants can be achieved with quality human and social capital (hiring, training, developing, motivating, and nurturing). The role of leadership then becomes that of an architect to nurture and develop the organization’s human and social capital. Leaders can achieve these goals through their direct and indirect behaviors. Leaders’ direct and observable behaviors are task oriented, relations oriented, change oriented, and externally oriented. Leaders’ indirect behaviors are composed of their decisions and actions to enact programs, systems, and structures in organizations that facilitate the achievement of efficiency and innovative adaptation.
During the 2007 financial crisis, witnessing long-standing corporations stumble in business leadership characters and behaviors, Dr. Mahsud realized that leaders and leadership need to be not only skillful but also ethical and moral. This research focused on the need for and importance of ethical leadership behaviors. While working on this research, it became evident that few available measures of ethical leadership were highly correlated with some behavioral aspects of leadership. With coauthors, she developed a new measure of ethical leadership. In terms of number of reads, downloads, and citation count, this research has created a global appeal.

Dana Downey serves as the Assistant Dean and Director of the Career Development Center at NYUAD. She has worked in higher education on three continents, seeking to foster cultures of curiosity and career development. She aims to connect people with each other and with opportunities, build capacity on teams, and lower barriers to access when it comes to options.



Dana is currently pursuing a PhD in Comparative International Development and Education at the University of Minnesota, and holds an MA in Counseling from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a BS from the University of Florida. She has presented at local, regional, and international conferences about contextualized career advising, data-driven decision making, regionally relevant recruitment, and the advantage of global mobility.

As Education Industry Director at Microsoft UAE, Hamad Mattar leads a team focused on driving digital transformation in the education sector and building strategic partnerships to deliver advanced technology and AI solutions. With over 10 years of experience in both government and private sectors, Hamad is an Emirati national passionate about people, creating impact, and continuous learning.

Hamad joined Microsoft in 2012 as an Aspire hire, working as a Government Account Manager where he successfully led sales and business development for multiple sectors, including the UAE Federal Government and Dubai Government. Later, Strategic Programs and Partnerships Leader, Hamad demonstrated his commitment to developing high-caliber national talent by creating the Tomoh Emiratisarion program, which was scaled as a GCC & MEA markets best practice. He has also been instrumental in leading Microsoft Early-in-Career programs and establishing the 'Be the Change' award, scaled to other areas in Microsoft.

In 2021, Hamad was seconded on a special assignment to the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, where he worked closely with the Minister of Government Development & Future as the Director of Special Projects. He led a portfolio of Government digital transformation and skilling initiatives, some of which were announced by the Prime Minister of the UAE.

Hamad holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources Management with Highest Honors from the Higher Colleges of Technology and has completed executive certifications from top institutions such as Harvard Business School, INSEAD, London Business School, Prosci, and Box of Crayons. He is also a graduate of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Impactful Leaders program.

In his new role, Hamad is eager to collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders to make a meaningful impact on the future of the UAE Education sector. As a leader dedicated to growth and development, he is committed to delivering positive change and unlocking new possibilities for students, educators, and communities across the UAE.

An independent professional Emirati, working with Ministry Of Human Resources & Emiratisation as Head of Employment Department from November 2017. My objectives are focused on recruiting and encouraging UAE national to work in the private sector of the country and handling projects and initiatives those raise the Emiratisation in private sector. Additionally, I have 18 years of experience of being involved in and successfully completing 40+ assignments and special projects. I have been involved in managing different projects and evaluating work activities and brining results out. Strategy development of HR function to meet the needs of and expanding emirate work force has been my driving force. I have the honor of being the Team Leader at the First Government Accelerators - UAE Government Initiative 2016/2017.

Sara is an accomplished and results-driven professional with 17+ years of experience in education program management, marketing, and counselling. Sara completed course work for a Master of Arts in Counselling at Haigazian University in Beirut, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Public Administration from the American University of Beirut. Sara also has a professional diploma in Digital marketing in Strategy and planning. Sara is currently serving as the AMIDEAST/UAE Country Director. She has also worked with international companies with a focus on the Education sector such as Microsoft where she utilised marketing mechanisms and working with partners and different stakeholders to enhance the digital transformation journey of different educational entities in the region. She has focused on working on different programs targeting educators, students, and education decision makers. Sara also worked on multiple US State Department programs. She served as the EducationUSA program manager and advisor for 6 years through the AMIDEAST office in Lebanon where she worked on multiple scholarship programs in addition to managing the EducationUSA program. She has extensive experience in the MENA region with a focus on Lebanon and gulf countries. Sara led multiple programs and tasks in a high pressure and time sensitive environment. She has been recognized by the management for extraordinary client focus, detail orientation, industry knowledge, and a “does what it takes” attitude to “deliver exceptional customer service.” Sara has also won several awards throughout her career from Microsoft, the US State department, US Embassy, Lebanon and the “Amideast Presidential Award”. Sara has successfully built different partnerships in the education sector especially in the field of using technology in the classroom and facilitating the educational journey for students.
Her areas of expertise include:
Team Leadership & Coaching, International Education, Digital Marketing, Program Management, Community Outreach, Research & Development, Counselling & Academic Advice, Intercultural Communication and forming partnerships.