GCC Tech Talks

Welcome to our Summer Edition podcast series   - fresh conversations, new perspectives, and more practical insights from leaders across the region. What’s in this episode? In this episode of GCC Tech Talks,  ⁠Tom Stroud⁠  and  ⁠Sye Rahman⁠  sit down with  Raphaël Peyret  — a seasoned Chief Product Officer, former Google product leader, startup operator, and fractional product advisor now based in...

What’s in this episode? In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, ⁠Tom Stroud⁠ and ⁠Sye Rahman⁠ sit down with Taiyab Ghafoor  — a people-first operator with a background spanning the UK and the Gulf, from retail and leadership roles to now running an e-commerce toys startup as COO. This one is a deep dive into operational leadership, culture, and what it really takes to build teams that thrive plus where...

What’s in this episode? In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, ⁠Tom Stroud⁠ and ⁠Sye Rahman chat with Leina Essakalli — a data scientist and AI transformation leader with a rare background spanning biomedical engineering , bioinformatics at Harvard, and scaling AI across healthcare in the UAE. Leina shares what it really takes to make AI work in high-stakes environments: data quality, trust, regulatio...

What’s in this episode? In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman sit down with Faisal Ali , an Emirati Group CIO with a career spanning IBM/Microsoft, government, and the private sector. We talk about how tech leadership has evolved from the early days of infrastructure (yes, physical firewalls and dot-matrix printers) to today’s reality: AI moving at a pace that punishes slow...

What’s in this episode? In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman are joined by  Omar Abdellaoui to unpack the real startup lessons founders learn the hard way  from trust and validation to building an MVP that doesn’t become an expensive distraction. Omar shares his journey (startup → corporate → building in Dubai) and what he’s learned about launching in the UAE/GCC ecosystem:...

In this episode of GCC Tech Talks,  Tom Stroud  and  Sye Rahman  sit down with  Sumit Srivastava,  a transformation leader who’s spent decades across Silicon Valley, Canada, and beyond  and recently returned home to Dubai. We unpack the GCC’s pace of execution, the AI data center boom (and whether some of it becomes “dead investment”), and the real tension leaders face between speed, governance, a...

In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, we take a different angle: less tech, more talent — and what it really takes to build teams in the UAE’s fast-growing financial ecosystem. Tom Stroud  and  Sye Rahman  are joined by  Oscar Orellana-Hyder , founder of a boutique recruitment firm focused on DIFC and ADGM, to unpack how the market has evolved - from regulation and compliance hiring, to the end of “f...

In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman sit down with Richard Steward — a transformation leader with 35+ years advising CEOs on large-scale digital and AI-led change. Most digital and AI transformations don’t fail because of the tech — they fail because of unclear leadership, slow decisions, and misaligned priorities. We cover: • Business-first thinking (technology second)• Cl...

In this episode of GCC Tech Talks, Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman sit down with Mark Primett , a project and programme manager who has led complex digital transformations across fintechs, financial services and large organisations in the GCC. Mark shares what project management really looks like on the ground: from moving to Dubai and building a career in delivery, to starting the Project Management Co...

Most “digital transformations” don’t fail because of the tech – they fail because of culture, governance and how decisions actually get made in the organisation. In this episode of GCC Tech Talks , Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman sit down with Ezzeddine , a digital transformation and sustainability leader with 25+ years’ experience across banking, utilities and the GCC, to unpack what real transformatio...

We’re launching a new podcast exploring real stories from the GCC’s technology and innovation leaders – cutting through the hype to get into what actually works, what doesn’t, and everything in between. Our Intro Episode – “GCC Tech Talks: Who We Are and Why We’re Here” features hosts Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman talking about why the GCC needs more real talk on tech and innovation, and what you can...

This intro episode of GCC Tech Talks by 7Dxperts , recorded in Dubai, sets the scene for a podcast focused on real stories from the people actually building technology, data and digital products across the GCC. No buzzwords, no fluffy panels – just operators talking about what works, what doesn’t, and everything in between. Hosts Tom Stroud and Sye Rahman discuss: • Why the GCC needs more real tal...