UOWD Advisory Council

HE Ms Heidi Venamore is a Senior Career Officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was previously the Assistant Secretary of the Counter Terrorism Branch. She had also served overseas as Ambassador of the Australian Embassy, Amman, the Head of Political/Trade Branch, Australian High Commission, London and as a Deputy Ambassador for the Australian Embassy, Baghdad In Canberra She has served as Director, Sea Law Section, Legal Branch and Director, Iraq Task Force.

HE Ms Heidi Venamore holds a Master of Law (International Law) from the University of Cambridge (2001), a Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Law from University of Queensland.

Mr Mahmood Al Bastaki is Chief Operating Officer and Board Director of DT World, an entity that is aiming to digitize the cargo flow information across global supply chains. An expert in e-governance solutions, he served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dubai Trade before taking up his current position.

Mr Mahmood is also the former Acting Director of E-Services of the Dubai E-Government where he formulated the then E-Government Strategy. He managed critical projects such as the governmental Electronic Payment Gateway “ePay”, Unified Contact Center “AskDubai”, and Web Hosting and Management Platform “eHost”

Mr Mahmood was appointed an Advisor for the Dubai Expo 2020 bid team. He is a Member of the Board of Directors in the International Chamber of Commerce - UAE and Former Chairman of the Customs & Trade Facilitation Commission. He is a Member of The UAE National Committee of World Trade Organization. He was the president of the Chartered Institute of logistics and Transport - UAE Board of Trustees.

Mr Mahmood is a graduate of Mohammed Bin Rashid Leadership Development Program & Dubai World Leaders Program in association with Wharton School of Government in Pennsylvania, USA. He holds a bachelor’s degree of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Oregon Graduate Institute, USA.

Mr Shayne Nelson is the Chief Executive Officer (Group CEO) of Emirates NBD. He has an extensive banking career with experience in various roles. Prior to joining Emirates NBD, he served in Singapore as the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Private Bank. He was also the Chairman of Standard Chartered Saadiq Islamic Advisory Board and a Board member of Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd.

Mr Shayne’s previous high-profile positions in the banking arena include Regional CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Middle East and North Africa, Chairman of Standard Chartered (Pakistan) Limited, and Chairman of the Banking Advisory Council to the Board of the Dubai International Financial Centre. He also held the position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Malaysia Berhad.

Mr Shayne is a member of the Board of Directors of Emirates NBD Capital, Emirates Financial Services, DenizBank A.Ş. (Turkey), International Monetary Conference, a Founding Member of the Higher Colleges of Technology Industry Advisory Council and a member of the Advisory Board to the University of Wollongong in Dubai. A Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Mr Shayne is also an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers.

Mr Greg Worthington is the Chief Operating Officer for the Arabian Radio Network. He has extensive media experience with over 25 years sales, marketing and management in radio, television and press. Greg has worked extensively in media in all major Australian capital cities in key executive roles and since 1998 has worked with media companies and their radio networks in over 20 countries.

During his time with Austereo (Australia's most successful FM radio), Mr Greg was deployed to key markets to develop local and national marketing initiatives to grow revenue and ratings for the group. Mr Greg commenced his media career in Australia in newspapers with Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd and moved to Austereo Radio. In 2003, he began consulting to media organisations across Asia and Europe to help them maximise revenue opportunities and brand development.

He is instrumental in developing new sales/ marketing management, client integration systems and strategies for radio networks around the world. Mr Greg specializes in multi-platform delivery concepts and execution. Other areas of specialisation include internal processes to ensure best revenue gains, brand development, as well as market presentations and training.

Mr Adam Malouf is the Chief Asset Sourcing Officer for the Knowledge Fund, the Dubai Government's sovereign wealth fund that generates sustainable returns across a number of sector investments, where he is responsible for sourcing, executing and managing all investments. He has been in the MENA region for 17 years, previously holding senior roles (COO and CFO) with HSBC and a multi-family office in the Dubai International Financial Centre, and before that as Deputy Head of Banking with the Australian subsidiary of Arab Bank plc. His areas of specialty include: financial services (banking, private equity, funds management), real estate, education, healthcare and technology.

Mr Malouf has been a non-executive director for over 20 years, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is the Chair of the Middle East Advisory Committee for the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Non-Executive Independent Member, Board Finance and Risk Management Committee at The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, board member of a family conglomerate in Dubai, and board member of a financial technology company based out of Abu Dhabi and the US.

Mr Vinay Changarangath is the Senior Marketing Manager of the Rivoli Group. He is an analytical marketer with a passion for technology, with over 10 years of cumulative experience of handling luxury brands, international fitness chains, sporting goods, lifestyle/fashion apparel brands, digital start-up concept in the region.

He was previously the Marketing Manager of the Fitness and Lifestyle Division at Al Ahli Holding Group and Assistant Marketing Manager at Timberland, The North Face, Vans, Adidas - Sun and Sand Sports (Gulf Marketing Group).

Mr Vinay holds a Master of Business in International Business from the University of Wollonging in Dubai.

Prof Mohamed-Vall M. Salem ZEIN was appointed President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) in January 2015, a role that sees him focused on driving initiatives to strengthen the position of UOWD as a leading academic institution in the UAE and the wider region. Prof Salem joined UOWD in 2004 and has since worked alongside the 320 employee-strong staff body in a number of leadership roles, including Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences and a ten-month period as Acting President of the University.

Prof Mohamed Salem received his PhD from the University of Montreal (Canada) in 2002 and is a recipient of IBM’s Centre for Advanced Studies PhD fellowship and the “Bourse d’excellence de la Francophonie” from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Current roles and memberships include:

• President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai
• University of Wollongong Pro Vice-Chancellor Middle East and North Africa [PVC(MENA)]
• Member of the UOWD External Advisory Council
• Founding member of the Council of Deans of Engineering in the UAE

Mr Robert Ryan is currently the Chief Executive of IMB Ltd, one of Australia’s largest mutual banks. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he held the positions of Deputy Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of IMB.

In 2018, he was appointed as the Deputy Chancellor of the University of Wollongong and is a member of UOW Council and Chair of the Finance and Resources Committee. He is also the Director and Chair of the Governance Committee of Australian Settlements Limited and Director and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of The Flagstaff Group.

Prior to joining IMB, Mr Robert held the positions of Managing Director at Australian Resources Limited.

Current roles and responsibilities within UOWGE are:

• Director of the UOW Global Enterprises Board
• Member of the UOWGE People & Remuneration Committee
• Chair of the UOWD Ltd Board
• Member of the UOWD External Advisory Council
• Member of the UOWCHK Board of Governors
• Member of the UOWCHK Investment Advisory Committee

Ms Marisa Mastroianni is the Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of UOW Global Enterprises. Ms Marisa is an experienced CEO and non-executive Director. Previously, Ms Marisa has held senior financial and executive roles in the maritime, health, retirement and aged care sectors.

Ms Marisa currently serves on the Boards of NRMA Ltd and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District Board. She is the Chair of NRMA’s Audit & Risk Management Committee.

Current roles within UOWGE include:

• Chair of the UOWGE Diversity and Equity Committee
• Director of the UOW Global Enterprises Board
• Director of the UOWC Ltd Board
• Director of the UOWD Ltd Board
• Member of the UOWGE Nominations Committee
• Member of the UOWC Ltd Academic Board
• Member of the UOWD External Advisory Council
• Member of the UOWD Academic Board
• Member of the UOWD Ceremonial & Honorary Awards Committee
• Member of the UOWCHK Board of Governors
• Member of the UOWCHK College Council
• Member of the UOWCHK Investment Advisory Committee
• Member of the UOWCHK Property Advisory Committee