KPMG and Strategy& speakers set for digital summit in Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Digital Authority will over the next two days host the inaugural Digital Next Summit, with guests from KPMG and Strategy& to speak at the event.

During today and tomorrow, government agency the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA, which was established to drive the digitalisation of government and public services) will play host to an expected audience of more than 1,200 attendees for the inaugural Digital Next Summit, which will examine how “digital transformation is shaping the way governments across the world are embracing innovative technologies to achieve excellence”

Held under the theme ‘Enabling Government of the Future’, and taking place at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, the two-day summit will see upwards of 40 government, business and expert speakers take to the stage to discuss the key pillars of digital transformation – among them, Strategy& Middle East partner Tarek El Zein, and Wejdi Harzallah and Chi Ngwube, respectively partner and associate director at KPMG Lower Gulf (covering the UAE and Oman).

Among a packed schedule of addresses and panel sessions, Harzallah, who joined KPMG as a partner in October, will on the first day participate in the discussion ‘How is Government Digital Transformation Impacting the Social Structure and Citizens Lives?’, bringing two and a half decades of global industry experience to the table – including two stints in the Middle East TMT, Digital and Public Sector practices of Booz Allen Hamilton/Booz & Co.

Harzallah’s new colleague – Ngwube, who also joined KPMG in Dubai this year after crossing from a six-year stint as a senior manager/principal advisor in the professional services firm’s UK branch – will meanwhile chair the Technology NEXT session on the second day, one of the conference’s four primary tracks together with Cyber Next, Data Next, and GX Next, the latter referring to global framework for government service excellence designed by the UAE.

Finally, toward the end of the second day within the Technology NEXT track (which runs parallel with the Data Next track), Strategy&’s El Zein will deliver a keynote on ‘Emerging Technologies and their Impact on Societies and Business.’ El Zein has been with Booz & Co./Strategy& for the past decade, and serves as a partner in the firm’s TMT & Digital practice, helping among other areas local government entities on designing their national ICT strategies.

“We’re all experiencing an unprecedented digital revolution that is touching every aspect of our lives,” commented Rauda Al-Saadi, Director General of ADDA, who will be present at the event together with over 200 government advisors and policy-makers, including UAE ministers Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh (Minister of State) Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi (Climate Change and Environment), and Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, the world’s first Artificial Intelligence minister.

“Our digital future is being written today with new tools that redefine how we interact with government, with businesses and with each other,” continued Al-Saadi. “At ADDA, we’re leading the digital transformation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by supporting our partners in the government and private sector to deliver services and build ecosystems that enrich quality of life and multiply opportunities for business and personal growth.”