Welcome to the 5th Data Innovation Summit® MEA

Welcome to the 5th
Data Innovation Summit® MEA

The Most Influential Data, AI and Advanced Analytics Event in the MEA Region!

The Most Influential Data,
AI and Advanced Analytics Event
in the MEA Region!

20 – 21 MAY · JW Marriot Hotel Marina, dUBAI

event starts in

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Speak on dis2026^MEA

Buy DIS2026^MEA Tickets

Sponsor dis2026^MEA

Welcome to DIS2026^MEA
Where people come to gain insight into radical ideas, with proven ROI.

Welcome to the Data Innovation Summit MEA. The most influential annual Data, Analytics and AI event in the world, bringing together the most innovative minds, enterprise practitioners, technology providers, start-up innovators and academics, working with Applied Data Innovation, Data Science, Big Data, ML, Applied AI, Generative AI, Data Management, Data Engineering, Architecture, Databases and DevOps, in one place to discuss ways to accelerate AI-Driven Transformation throughout companies, industries and public organisations. With over 50+ MEA and international speakers in this 5th MEA edition, spread across four stages, two workshop rooms, 30+ TIP sessions, and plenty of learning and networking activities in the exhibition area, the MEA Data Innovation Summit is the place to be for all professionals and organisations working with utilisation of data and AI innovation for enhancing customer experience, improve operational processes, enable future sustainability, reinventing business models, or developing data-driven products and services.

Welcome to the Data Innovation Summit MEA. The most influential annual Data, Analytics and AI event in the world, bringing together the most innovative minds, enterprise practitioners, technology providers, start-up innovators and academics, working with Applied Data Innovation, Data Science, Big Data, ML, Applied AI, Generative AI, Data Management, Data Engineering, Architecture, Databases and DevOps, in one place to discuss ways to accelerate AI-Driven Transformation throughout companies, industries and public organisations. With over 50+ MEA and international speakers in this 5th MEA edition, spread across four stages, two workshop rooms, 30+ TIP sessions, and plenty of learning and networking activities in the exhibition area, the MEA Data Innovation Summit is the place to be for all professionals and organisations working with utilisation of data and AI innovation for enhancing customer experience, improve operational processes, enable future sustainability, reinventing business models, or developing data-driven products and services.

With over 1500 practical case studies presented in the past 10 editions and with geo events in Europe, MEA, APAC, and the ANZ region, the event is a worldwide movement, ushering the community of data, analytics, and AI practitioners across functions, companies, industries, sectors, countries and regions to collaborate, benchmark, share and innovate.

We welcome you to explore the event and see you at the event.

request the pdf agenda

buy dis2026^MEA tickets

A Worldwide Movement | MEA Edition

In-Person

Fifth Edition

Two days of Innovation

Limited to 1000 Delegates

Four Main Stages

40+ Sessions

VIP Executive Room

Demo TIP Sessions

30+ Exhibitors

50+ Speakers

In-Person

Fifth Edition

Two days of Innovation

Limited to 1000 Delegates

Four Main Stages

40+ Sessions

VIP Executive Room

Demo TIP Sessions

30+ Exhibitors

50+ Speakers

Explore the Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026 Stages

Data Innovation Summit is constructed so it equally addresses all the elements of data-driven and AI-ready business: data, people, processes and technology. The event is built to be both business and technical, practical and inspirational, realistic and futuristic, educational and exciting, regional and global, live and digital, general and niched, inspiring and influential. It is showcasing some of the best data-driven innovative projects, products, business ideas and technologies, presented by some of the world’s most advanced and innovative organisations in the world. All delegates can attend the keynotes and expert sessions. However, only those with Full Access Passes can enjoy the complete program, which includes keynotes, expert sessions, and exclusive industry sessions.

Explore the agenda and build your own schedule based on topics and sessions you would like to attend across all stages and crash-course workshop rooms.

keynote, opening and closing stage

The keynote presentations are the pillars of the entire conference and the most memorable presentations of the event. As opening plenary talks, they set the tone of the entire conference, tie all themes together and provide excitement on the presentations that are about to come. This year’s keynote list includes visionaries and leading expert names in Data, Analytics and AI.

AI Strategy and Governance Stage

Stage Partner

Strategy stage bringing Chief AI Officers, AI program leaders, and compliance experts together to design and scale enterprise-wide AI adoption responsibly. This year’s focus is on AI operating models, regulatory readiness, and linking adoption directly to measurable business outcomes.

Data Strategy & Governance Stage

Stage Partner

Strategy stage bringing CDOs, strategists, and governance leaders together to align data initiatives with business transformation. Key topics include federated data management, data lakehouse design, data governance, cross-organizational collaboration, data product development, and the strategic use of data fabrics, data mesh, and marketplaces, ensuring resilient and innovative data ecosystems.

Analytics & Decision Intelligence Stage

Stage Partner

Technical and strategy stage bringing BI leaders, analytics experts, and business decision makers together to turn data into actionable insights. Focus on augmented analytics, next-generation BI, predictive modeling, actionable dashboards, story-driven insights, decision automation, and maximizing the impact of enterprise analytics.

Machine Learning, Gen. & Agentic AI Stage

Stage Partner

Technical stage bringing applied machine learning engineers, data scientists, AI practitioners, and enterprise innovators together to move from pilots to scaled deployments and embed AI agents into real business processes. This year’s focus is on deploying and scaling generative and agentic AI, multimodal model advancement, agentic workflows, industry case studies, and innovation in ML pipelines.

buy dis2026^MEA tickets

explore the schedule

Meet our 2026 Speakers

Data Innovation Summit MEA speakers dive directly into the topic and focus on the key learning points. Listen to case studies from the best and most innovative names in the industry.

The most influential speakers, right here, from around the world, ready to share their expertise.

That’s right – the most influential speakers, sharing practical strategies and exclusive secrets, with proven ROI!

speak on dis2026^MEA summit

Armin Kech

Director, Lead Data & Records Governance CoE
Swiss Re

Data Innovation
Summit MEA Chairman

Armin is a result driven executive with 18+ years corporate experience in leading and operationalizing Data Management and Data Governance programs in Financial Services (Insurance), Information Technology and Media industries across Europe and the Middle East. He has a strong interest in value creation, operational excellence, and innovation. Armin holds a master’s degree in business informatics from Reutlingen University in Germany.

Armin Kech

Director, Lead Data & Records Governance CoE
Swiss Re

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Keynote Speakers

Kevin Shin

Head of Information Security
Samsung Semiconductor Inc.

Andy Cotgreave

Data Entrepreneur
How To Speak Data

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Stage Moderators

Gautam Verma

Head of Data Enablement
Department of Government Enablement

Faris Al Masri

Data Governance / Data Management and Data Platform Manager
Federal Tax Authority

Martin Mazur

Head of Government Corporate Reporting
Department of Government Enablement

Michael Malek

Director – Data Management

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Speakers

Guillaume Blaquiere

Group Data Architect
Carrefour

Bhargav Pandillapalli

Manager, Data Scientist
Mastercard

Altaf Patel

VP Data Analytics & AI
PepsiCo

Shehla Tanveer

Head of Data and Analytics
Al Futtaim Real Estate

Sreeram Ramesh

Senior Manager – Data Science
Adidas

Selena Baset

Senior Information Architect
Hoffmann-La Roche

Ahmed Alaa

Head of AI Engineering
Easygenerator

Brent Pienaar

Head of Digital Transformation & Automation | Finance Technology
Qiddiya Investment Company

Louis Karam

Head of Analytics and Business Intelligence
C1 Network

Jawad Saleemi

Director AI & Cloud
Telenor;
Assistant Professor
Oslo Metropolitan University

+300 more speakers waiting on you!

request the pdf agenda

see all dis2026^MEA speakers

buy dis2026^MEA tickets

dis2026^mea starts in:

Days

Hours

Minutes

Get closer to radical ideas, with proven ROI!

Get closer to radical ideas,
with proven ROI!

your ticket is the key to all Data Innovation Summit MEA has to offer
– hybrid, knowledge, networking and more –

your ticket is the key to all
Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
has to offer
hybrid, knowledge,
networking
and more

buy dis2026^MEA tickets

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Partners

event co-host partner

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Stage Partners

Machine Learning, Generative and Agentic AI Stage Partner

AI Strategy & Governance Stage Partner

Analytics & Decision Intelligence Stage Partner

Data Strategy & Governance Stage Partner

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Partners & Exhibitors

Become a Partner of The Data Innovation Summit MEA

Tell us a little bit about yourself and we will get in touch

apply to exhibit

Event Supporting Partner

The Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026
Media Partners

Become a Media Partner of The Data Innovation Summit MEA

apply to become media partner

Pictures

All pictures from Data Innovation Summit MEA 2025 can be found here

view more photos

Data Innovation Summit MEA 2026 Official Event app

Agorify

Agorify is a self-service platform for building engaging online and onsite event applications. Through Agorify, delegates will be able to set up their profiles, browse through the schedule, build their own agenda, view live or on-demand presentations, comment, ask questions, vote for favourite questions, take notes, join or create chat discussions, join virtual roundtables, connect with other attendees, schedule meetings, share contacts and much more.