Dr Ayesha Abdullah
Managing Director, Science Clusters, Dubai Healthcare City
Ayesha Mohammed Abdullah is the Executive Director of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC). Ayesha is an 18-year veteran of the healthcare and engineering industries. Dr. Ayesha Abdullah plays a key role in realizing DHCC’S strategic objectives. She is responsible for strategic planning and operations, development of education and research vision, new businesses, and managing strategic partners. In her previous position as Chief Officer at the Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality (CPQ), Dr. Abdullah was responsible for establishing and maintaining healthcare standards within DHCC. She also played a key role in establishing CPQ as a premier regulatory body in the healthcare industry. Dr. Abdullah holds a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering and a PhD and M. Phil in Strategy Management/ Planning Studies.
Marwan Abdulaziz
Director of Business Development, Dubai Healthcare City
Marwan is responsible for the Business Development activities at Dubai Healthcare City which largely focuses on attracting and retaining leading healthcare providers. Holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas, USA, Marwan started his career with Dubai Aluminium as a Business Analyst in 2003. Marwan moved on to DuBiotech, the life sciences business park in Dubai, in 2006 as a Sales Manager where he was involved in attracting many life sciences companies, including Pfizer, MerckSerono, Qualiphar, and many more.
Dr Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama
Executive Director, Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality
Dr. Abdulkareem is responsible for the independent regulatory body that governs all clinical and non-clinical operations at Dubai Healthcare City. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in general medicine from the UAE University and a Master’s degree in Healthcare Management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dr. Abdulkareem began his career with Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) as Business Development Manager. During his tenure, he gained industry-wide recognition for developing key strategies and initiatives to position DHCC as the world’s first integrated healthcare free zone. In 2007, he was appointed Executive Manager of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research (DHFMR), responsible for driving the institution’s goal to promote resurgence in scientific discovery in the Middle East.
Dr Laura Salasco
Executive Director, Operations, Dubai Healthcare City
Laura started her career in 1989 at Unilever, where she worked for 17 years covering a number of positions in both functional and general management. During the last 6-7 years she was based in the Venture Capital division, where she was the founder of two Unilever-branded start-up consumer services companies as, respectively, Operations Director and Chief Executive Officer. Previously she worked in Corporate Affairs, Corporate Quality and Research & Development. Since 1997, in parallel with her main roles, Laura developed her expertise in Business Excellence. This led to 10 years’ experience as EFQM Excellence Award Assessor and culminated in joining the Executive Board of the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) in 2007, as Director of Awards & Partnerships. |
