Middle East & Africa

Board of Directors

Each year ACTE members have the opportunity to vote for fellow members to serve on the ACTE Board of Directors. The 2007 election period is now open. The successful candidates will hold office from July 2007 through December 2010. The ACTE Board of Directors is responsible for the global strategic direction and financial well-being of the association.

Corporate Member Candidates

Dilly Talib Gova
Senior Travel Manager - EMEA
KBR

Although new to the ACTE family, I believe that I can bring value as an ACTE Board member for ‘Middle East and Africa’ I can voice the visions of ACTE which is to strengthen the membership base globally and provide education in a completely new market in which I am very active.

I was born in the Belgian Congo, now Zaire. I was schooled in Belgium and Switzerland and graduated from University Libre de Bruxelles having majored in Commerce & Business Management.

Having been brought up in different parts of the world gave me a taste of travel at a very early age, thus no surprise that I am so firmly rooted in the travel industry.

My extensive professional experience spans from working in Africa, North America, Europe and now Middle East.

Worked for Belgian Airlines “Sabena” in Central Africa and Brussels responsible for major accounts Worked for Columbus Travel, Montreal, Canada as manager responsible for major clients. Started my own business in Montreal, with a focus on corporate travel. Joined KBR, London in 1994 as Travel Coordinator and was quickly promoted to Travel Manager, responsible for all the travel functions of the UK and Africa.

Major Achievements:
- Tendered, negotiated and implemented single source travel supplier for the whole of KBR UK
- Negotiated and implemented preferred hotel program resulting in major savings for the organisation
- Successful multi-level company policy implementation
- Instrumental in the implementation and running of the KBR travel departments in Hassi Messaoud – Algeria and Dhaka – Bangladesh.

I bring with me a huge amount of experience with a structured approach to business. I have benefited not only the organizations I work with but also third parties.

I now manage travel for KBR in the Middle East with an overview of UK and Africa.

Supplier Member Candidates

Ali Al Rais
General Manager
Qatar Airways

My career of 23 years in the Travel & Tourism Industry has seen me work in varied roles and countries, which includes 10 years in the Far East and 18 years in various Gulf Countries and my experiences span both the operational and as well as the commercial side of the airline business.

I joined Qatar Airways in 1997, seeing it as an exciting and rare opportunity to join an Airline in its infancy and be part of its growth and expansion under a CEO with a unique vision.  Over the past 10 years,  I have seen not only Qatar Airways grow from strength to strength, but also been witness to the tremendous growth in the Middle East, reflected in all sectors of the economy, with our industry at the forefront of innovation and change.

A question that is frequently raised – Is this pace of growth sustainable over the long run. I am very confident that this region will continue to play a key role in the travel and tourism industry and corporate travel will be a key driver of this growth. 

Corporate travel is something very close to my heart, as my belief is that this sector is the key to driving growth and profitability in our industry and requires special care and attention, especially in the Middle East, where there is still a lot of awareness to be built – especially with regard to environmental issues and more transparency in operations.

I feel that the that goals of ACTE fits very well into the need of the hour in this region;

• Drive change through continuous improvement
• Identify Industry issues
• Provide Clarity through education
• Build solutions and best practices
• Reach Consensus through open discussion

And I look forward to working with colleagues around the world to share and exchange ideas in this global network society that is our world today.

Imran Changezi
Director of Global Sales, Corporate
Jumeirah Group

Imran is a seasoned hotelier with extensive experience of the Arab region. He initiated his taste for the hospitality industry in his teens (17 years old!!) when he secured a summer break traineeship at the Hyatt Regency in Riyadh. The traineeship expanded into a full-fledged position at the front office where he juggled full-time work and study for several years.

He returned to his native Pakistan to continue his studies, which included a second stint of juggling full-time work and study during a management traineeship at the Sheraton Karachi. In 1996, this led to his first management position in the industry with the Avari group as Front Office Manager (probably one of the youngest one at an age of 21!). He returned to the Middle East in 1997, heading front office operations at a boutique corporate property, the Dubai Park Hotel.

Presently working with the Jumeirah Group since 2000, he joined the pre-opening sales team as Corporate Sales Manager at what was then called, Emirates Towers Hotel. Since then, Imran has moved up the ranks and has worked as Senior Sales Manager – Corporate at Burj Al Arab, before moving on to sales in Jumeirah at group level.

Imran played a significant role in establishing the Key Account Management structure at Jumeirah, acting initially as a Key Account Corporate Sales Manager for the Gulf region and moving up to Assistant Director of Corporate Sales for the region in 2004. He is currently Director of Corporate Sales – Global for the Jumeirah Group, a role he has held since 2006.

A native of Pakistan, Imran is married and has a six-year old son- his link to daily sanity! He is an avid reader on a wide variety of subjects including politics, history and biographies and a keen follower of golf (learner) and cricket. Imran is currently preparing for his enrolment in MBA programme with the London Business School.

Silke Macke
Executive Assistant Manager
Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea, Jordan

Firstly I would like to state that I am honored to have been nominated for the position of ACTE Middle East & Africa Regional Board member. I have had the privilege of working in the hospitality industry for the last 17 years and have held strategic positions. My journey has taken me through various international hotel companies and operators; countries and continents (Europe, Asia, Northern America and Africa); and now for almost three years the Middle East has become my home with Kempinski Hotels, currently based in Jordan.

The past years have shown that the corporate travel market is evolving at a rapid rate and shall continue to do so and ACTE is the platform to bring the various sectors in the industry together. May they be big or small corporations, from various travel sectors and regions, we as business travel executives and professionals can achieve more knowledge and education through the ACTE network.

I am confident that my that my skills and qualifications as a professional in the hospitality industry shall support ACTE in its mission of providing global and regional leadership and specially help and support the growth in the Middle East & African region.

Thank you for your consideration and vote.

Abdullah Abo Khamseen
Executive General Manager
Kanoo Travel

A Saudi National with a degree in Business Management from USA. Started my career as a drilling rig administrator for two years, then joined Kanoo in 1975. I started there as an Administration Manager of the Kanoo Group in Saudi Arabia, later promoted in 1980 to the position of the General Manager Aircraft Handling Division and in 1987 was promoted to be the Executive General Manager of the Kanoo Travel Group, the position that I am still holding. I am member of several Boards and Advisory Councils and have participated in several industry related conferences and work shops, where I am an active participant as a panelist or delivering speeches. I am also a member of the Planning Committee to develop inbound tourism in Saudi Arabia and promote the Country as a destination.

The Kanoo Travel Group is a very diversified Company that was established in 1947 and operates the largest and the most sophisticated business travel management company. In addition Kanoo Travel represents more than 40 worlds leading carriers.

I am married with three children.

Being the Executive General Manager of Kanoo Travel Group which operates in all the GCC Countries and Egypt, I am able to communicate and connect with the various industry players in all these Countries. It enables me to understand the driving forces which shape the industry. Since we operate as the American Express Master Franchisee in the Middle East and North Africa, this has given me the opportunity to widen my contacts and improve my understanding of the regional affairs.

I am an ACTE member since the year 2000 and have been a strong advocate for creating the GCC and Middle East Chapter since then and participated actively in the preparation and launch of the first meeting that was held in Dubai in April 2007. I am convinced that ACTE will operate to create better understanding of all the issues among the industry players and help the Middle East market to mature and enjoy the same progress and sophistication that were achieved in other markets. My objective is to see a market that is more efficient, conscious of the standard of service and the need to innovate,  and this would not be served by a better organization than ACTE.

I am confident that I will be able to contribute in a very effective manner to further the objectives and messages of ACTE. The Organization will benefit of not only my contacts and connections, but also of my in-depth large local knowledge and experience.

Thanks & Best Regards.

Fahim Jalali
Regional Manager; Middle East & West Asia
Hogg Robinson Group

A decade of experience in the travel industry with Dnata Agencies (part of the Emirates Airlines Group) I currently oversee the HRG MEWA Region on behalf of Dnata Agencies for Hogg Robinson Group (HRG).
The same entails management of business ranging from Regional Development (New HRG Partner Recruitment), through to Global and Regional Sales Consolidation, in addition to reviewing of existing HRG Partners and managing matters from IT through to Marketing and Training.

The current HRG MEWA Region amounts to 31 countries that I oversee with 17 appointed partners and an additional 16 un-appointed countries under my portfolio.

A diverse and wide a portfolio as mine has exposed me to all aspects of Corporate Travel Management and I am in the advantageous position today to be able to participate in high level Global Bids, through to talk and train colleagues regards Corporate Travel and all that it entails.

A firm believer in the ACTE Forum I believe I can bring much value to the table with my wide angled perspective of the Travel Industry and indeed the Emirates Group and participated and sponsored in ACTE’s very first ME forum whereby I also sat on a Q&A panel.

Respected and well known throughout the Travel Industry in the Region I look forward to both enlightening and indeed learning from this invaluable Association.

Johanna Mukoki
Managing Director
Travel with Flair

Firstly, I am a young South African, (37yrs old), who has been in the Travel Business for 11yrs and have been through the critical dos with our Travel Industry, from airlines & hotels dropping their commission to introduction of on-line of booking engines. But in spite of these changes, our company has done very well as a Travel Management Company.

I am the Managing Director of Travel with Flair and have seen our company grow from 8 people when we first started in 1995 to over 170 people countrywide. We have a turnover of R600 million per annum and we ran a very well aided machine.

Our travel group, Travel with Flair has also been awarded the Best Travel Agency for 2007 at the Welcome Awards, so that says that we are doing something right in our industry.

We have sort out the best technologies available in the travel industry to give us the competitive edge. I do believe that we can educate both the TMC’s and other travel co-ordinators with what is best in the market because we have done the metamorphosis. We run a paperless back-office and our service levels surpass most of our competitors.

I do believe that ACTE needs a person of colour on the board to give a different and fresh perspective, especially which I am a shareholder and Managing Director of a group that has done so well in this industry. Our group has been awarded a “AAA” rating by empowerdex, which is the highest rating ever given to an empowered Travel Agency.

I have great passion for what I do, and I believe if u love what you are doing, you can only excel.

In my younger days, I was a model, and then I decided to study, was an “A” student through school and got great graded at University. I was the 1st black student to tutor accounting at Rhodes University and you had to get an “A” to be able to tutor.
I studied to be an accountant and I did my articles with KPMG. I do believe that to manage your business well, you need accounting as a base so it has helped me over the years to grow our business.

I have also been a talk-show host on SABC2 running my own business programme called “Women on the Move”. The programme focused on Successful Business Women from diverse industries.

In closing, I am a woman of woman of many talents and believe I have done well with my talents. I was nominated for “Successful Women in Business or Government” award in 2006.