Outliers Builders Summit

Harsh Sajnani is the Founder & CEO of Kingpin, an AI powered revenue engine that helps global brands and distributors find, approach and convert new buyers at scale globally.

Before Kingpin, Harsh built a fashion distribution business from the ground up – scaling it from zero to over $10M in revenue within four years, managing 35 brands across 150 accounts in 22 countries, all while remaining self-financed and inventory-free.

Kingpin was born to solve the bottlenecks he faced in their existing business. In less than two years, the platform has empowered distributors of 200+ brands to connect with 4,000+ buyers across 75 countries, including major labels like Guess, Reebok, Skechers, On Running, and Billabong.

Outside Kingpin, Harsh enjoys travelling, participating in communities like Entrepreneurs Organisation and training for Iron Man races around the world.

His Excellency Dr. Munir Eldesouki is currently the President of KACST.

His 22+ years of experience spans the spheres of R&D, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, where he played influential roles at different levels as seasoned researcher, inventor and leader setting national strategies, policies, and regulations, driving execution and shaping Saudi Arabia’s R&D, innovation, and ICT ecosystems.

As a government official, His Excellency Dr. Eldesouki played several leadership roles holding senior positions in the Saudi government, such as the Assistant Minister of MCIT.

He is also the Chairman of the BoT of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Award to honour inventors and talented individuals, Chairman of the BoT of Almarai Award for Scientific Innovation, Chairman of the BoD for the Saudi-WEF Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and member of a number of boards including the BoT of Hevolution, the Governing Board for Global Research Council (GRC) as Vice-Chair, Ilmi Science Discovery & Innovation Centre as Vice-Chair, the Saudi Space Agency, the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, the Premium Residency Centre, the General Organization for Military Industries, the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information, the Riyadh Charitable Science Foundation, and the King Salman Science Oasis.

In recognition of his scientific excellence, he received several awards such as the King Abdul-Aziz Order of Merit Excellence Medal of the First Class and the King’s Prize for Inventors, and was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in the USA.

Gustavo Smidt is the co-founder and CEO of Cloutfit.ai, an AI platform that connects creators and fashion brands to turn influence into measurable sales.

Formerly Chief Product Officer at Namshi and VP of Product at Property Finder, he brings almost two decades of experience leading product and growth teams across the GCC and global tech ecosystems, including Google and OLX.

Gustavo also played a key role in building and scaling Virgin Mobile in the UAE from the ground up, shaping its digital experience and go-to-market strategy.

Born in 1972, Dr. Bassam is a Kuwaiti Qanun player and academic.

A graduate of the Higher Institute of Musical Arts (2000), he earned his Master’s with distinction (2007) and Ph.D. (2011) from the Higher Institute of Arabic Music in Cairo, specializing in Qanun performance.

Dr. Bassam has performed with leading Kuwaiti ensembles, including the Higher Institute of Musical Arts Ensemble, the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters Ensemble, and Kuwait State Radio Ensemble. A winner of first place in the 2007 Arab States Broadcasting Union competition for his composition Sama‘i Hijaz, he has organized and taught workshops in Turkey alongside maestros Khalil Karaduman and Göksel Baktagir.

Dr. Bassam is the author of Khalil Karaduman’s Method in Qanun Performance and has served as Head of both the Arab Music and Instrumental Departments at the Higher Institute of Musical Arts in Kuwait.

Mohammed Islam is the Host and Founder of Saudi Arabia’s leading English-language podcast. A passionate communicator, he combines over a decade of brand development expertise with a mission to amplify authentic voices from the region.

Through compelling conversations, Mohammed highlights stories of progress, ambition, and transformation reshaping global perceptions of the Kingdom and its people.

Dr. Sara Althari is Founder and Managing Partner of The Althari Group (TAG), a strategic advisory firm focused on catalyzing investments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Sara served as the inaugural Managing Director of the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sector at the Saudi Ministry of Investment as well as Senior Advisor to the Saudi Minister of Investment. Sara co-founded the Catalyze Saudi platform, a conduit to engage the world’s most influential VC/PE investors with KSA, and established a policy research unit at the Misk Foundation.

Sara was a research scientist at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a visiting scholar at the Broad Institute of MIT/Harvard. She holds a DPhil in Medical Sciences from the University of Oxford and a BA from Wellesley College.

Rayouf Alhumedhi is an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners, where she works on the firm’s consumer and vertical AI roadmap.

Rayouf also leads Bessemer’s design thesis, building communities with designers and driving the firm’s investment efforts in the space. Graduating from Stanford University with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Product Design, Rayouf has also worked in consumer insights at Netflix and Adidas.

In her work at the intersection of culture and design, Rayouf created the headscarf emoji, which has been recognized by the Cooper Hewitt and Smithsonian Musuem.

Ibrahim Muslimani is a Syrian musicologist, percussionist, and cultural entrepreneur. He founded Nawa Band in 2009 to revive the muwashahat and qudud traditions. He later established the Nefes Foundation for Arts & Culture and Spaces of Music Production.

Ibrahim is a recipient of the UK Global Talent Visa, endorsed by the British Academy, in recognition of his contributions and achievements in preserving and reviving Aleppo’s traditional music. His work spans research, performances, and collaborations across Europe and the Middle East, including the albums Breaths from Aleppo (2024), Wasl Book & album (2021), Wajd: Songs of Separation documentary film (2018), and NAWA – Ancient Sufi Invocations & Forgotten Songs from Aleppo (2014). He continues to lead projects that connect musical heritage with cultural dialogue and social healing.

Haitham Khalil leads Corporate Operations across Central Eastern Europe and the Middle East region at Zendesk. He is a seasoned regional strategist & business leader focused on accelerating technology and startup growth in MENA.

His leadership roles at YouTube, Google, and Meta were instrumental in executing high-impact expansion strategies. At YouTube, he pioneered content partnership expansion and launched initiatives across Egypt, the Levant, and GCC, driving MENA to become the second-largest YouTube market in EMEA. At Google, he led the New Business Development Expansion Strategy into key emerging markets, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Morocco. He also co-led major regional initiatives at Meta focused on supporting Startup Ecosystems.

Haitham brings a strong entrepreneurial perspective, having founded and invested in multiple regional startups. He leverages this combined experience to deliver tailored solutions that resonate with the region’s diverse client base.

Nadim is an experienced investment banker who joined Goldman Sachs in 2021 to lead M&A and Tech sector coverage in MENA, after more than seven years at Morgan Stanley across EMEA and MENA. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business and a background in Electrical Engineering from McGill University.

Nadim has advised on landmark transactions including Tamara’s $2.4Bn financing facility, Mubadala’s $860m offering in du, the $15.5Bn sale of Aramco Gas Pipelines to BlackRock and Hassana, IPOs of Yahsat, ADNOC Distribution, and Emaar Malls, as well as high-profile deals for McLaren, GEMS Education, Savvy Gaming Group, and GlobalFoundries, underscoring his expertise in complex financings, IPOs, and cross-border M&A.

Tewfik is the Chief Product Officer at Lean Technologies.

Previously, he served as CPO at Rain and as General Manager of Personal Banking at Monzo in the UK. A seasoned leader in product management and development, Tewfik brings extensive experience across the financial technology sector.

Before his tenure as GM, he held the role of Director of Personal and Paid Banking at Monzo Bank. Earlier in his career, he also held significant positions in product marketing and development at Facebook.

Tewfik holds an MBA from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Sandeep Bakshi is the Head of European Investments at Prosus Ventures, where he leads sourcing and execution of transactions and oversees the expansion of the firm’s portfolio across the region. He has led investments in companies such as Bilt, Wayflyer, Corti, Luzia and others. He also serves on the Prosus Ventures Investment Committee.

Before taking on his current role, Sandeep was a Director on the Prosus and Naspers Group M&A team, responsible for executing major M&A and growth equity transactions across the organization.

He began his career in M&A at Citigroup in New York and is a Kauffman Fellow.

James is the Chief Investment Officer at ExBorder Partners, a global investment firm specializing in international growth-stage investments with a focus on the MENA and APAC regions.

He brings over 15 years of experience leading public and private market strategies for a prominent New York–based family office, where he managed cross-border portfolios and strategic investments across emerging markets.

His leadership combines deep financial insight, regional expertise, and a strong network across global capital markets.

Malek Almoosa is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Almoosa Health Group, a leading healthcare provider in Saudi Arabia. He also serves as a Board Member of the Health Holding Company, where he is part of the Governance Committee, and as a Trustee of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, chairing its Audit Committee.

In addition, he is a Board Member of Planetree International in the United States. Dr. Almoosa has held several leadership roles, including Board Member of Riyadh’s Second Health Cluster and the Alahsa Local Government Council, Vice Chairman of the National Private Hospitals Committee, and Vice Chairman of Alfateh Sports Club for eight years.

He earned a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Warwick Business School, University of Warwick (UK), as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s in healthcare administration, He has further enriched his leadership expertise through executive education programs at Harvard Business School , Stanford, and INSEAD, and Wharton.

Edward Sullivan is the CEO of Velocity Coaching, where he has advised the CEOs and C-Suite members of Clear, CultureAmp, DoorDash, GEICO, Harry’s, Hinge, Masterclass, Sweetgreen, Webflow, and many more. Velocity has coached the CEOs of 22 Unicorns over the last 10 years, and our clients have raised over $8.5B in venture funding while coaching with us.

Edward is also the author of WSJ Bestseller Leading with Heart. He also holds advanced degrees from Harvard and Wharton.

Edward’s personal mission is to help people feel more connected to their work and each other, because when they do, they are not just better leaders and employees, but also better parents, partners, and members of society.

George is a highly experienced communications and investor relations professional with a track record of advising some of the Middle East’s best-known companies and investment funds. He has led mandates for 30+ transactions across IPOs and secondary offerings, regional and cross-border M&A, and debt capital markets throughout the GCC, as well as IR strategies for new and mature listed companies.

Formerly Managing Director at Teneo, George currently serves as an advisory board member for Aiiro, an AI-based investor engagement solution for listed companies. An active member of the Middle East IR Association, he regularly speaks at industry events.

Mikey Muhanna is the Founder & Executive Director of afikra | عفكرة (afikra.com) a global movement to reframe the narrative about the Arab World through community events, academy courses, podcasts, and its magazine Daftar.

Starting from a rooftop in Brooklyn in 2014, Muhanna has grown afikra into a global education and media platform with a world-class reputation for creativity and impact and a community of 200,000 people across 30 chapters globally with a robust content library with hundreds of talks and millions of views.

Muhanna also serves as an advisor and trustee for institutions across the Middle East on topics related to cultural production, education, and innovation. Previously, he spent over a decade working at firms like Morgan Stanley and PwC in New York City and leading the MENA-based actuarial consulting firm Muhanna Group.

He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a graduate of Duke University (BS 2007) where he studied Economics and Jazz Piano. Muhanna also taught high-school Algebra in the New Orleans public school system as a Teach For America Corps member and launched the education nonprofit Positive Space NOLA.