17 July, 2026: Dubai will play host to a closed-door discussion on 23 July, as Architect and Design Hub (A&D Hub) launches its “Meeting of Minds Series” with a session dedicated to one of the built environment industry’s most sensitive subjects: negotiation.
Ziad Makhzoumi, CEO, Prime Consulting Group & ex-CFO of Arabtec, Keynote Speaker at A&D Hub Launch event
Titled “Negotiation Dynamics: The Most Expensive Conversations in Business,” the session runs from 8 am to 11 am and brings together C-suite representatives from six segments of the architecture and design world, including architecture, interior design, fitout and build, suppliers, property development, and corporate clients. The format is built as a facilitated discussion among decision-makers who deal with these exact issues in their own boardrooms.
Joining the discussion as the event’s panel of masterminds are Amir Al-Shurafa, Head of Design, Danube Properties; Angelica Romanazzi, VP of FF&E Design, Sobha Realty; David Thomson, SVP Development, TFG Hospitality; Chris Barnes, Founder, Broadway Interiors; Kathryn Athreya, Managing Director, DESIGN BY ROAR; Kerem Cengiz, Managing Director, LWK + Partners; Carla Conte, Founder, Brand Creative; Geetha Nayak, Managing Partner, Design Infinity; Nicola Trivett, General Manager, Summertown Interiors; and Deman Sabah, Founder & Creative Director, Dimora Interiors.
Amal Barreto sharing her purpose for A&D Hub
The event will be moderated by Amal Barreto, Founder of A&D Hub, in front of a limited audience of CEOs, Founders, and Directors. Attendance is restricted to C-suite decision-makers from the relevant industries, a deliberate choice that reflects how A&D Hub positions itself in a market already crowded with networking mixers and membership groups.
A&D Hub Launch event brought together 45 CEOs and Founders from the construction, interior,
architecture and build community in Dubai
Guiding questions for the session include what becomes unpaid because a client cannot measure it, when flexibility turns into business risk, and how contracts shape business relationships for better or worse. These are questions that rarely get discussed openly, and the organizers are betting that a smaller, closed setting will draw out more honest answers than a typical industry panel would.
A&D Hub also plans to publish an industry report after the event, drawing on what participants said as a group, the pain points they raised, and the negotiation tactics that came up in the room. The report will be released publicly on the A&D Hub LinkedIn page, extending the value of the closed conversation to the wider industry.
To ensure the discussion reflects a broader range of industry perspectives, A&D Hub is also capturing industry leaders’ initial thoughts on the discussion questions ahead of the session, providing additional perspectives from industry stalwarts Nadine Atta, VP of Design at The First Group and Saif Zaidi, Head of Architecture, Wynn Design & Development RAK, to prompt the speakers’ thinking and enrich the discussion. These insights will be shared with participants and incorporated into the wider conversation, allowing additional thought leadership to inform both the event and the industry report.
About A&D Hub
A&D Hub is a private, professional network for founders, CEOs, and directors in the construction, property development, real estate, architecture, and interior design industries. It gives C-suite decision-makers an invite-only platform to connect on business matters, share market intelligence, and work through issues that cut across industries.
While the organization’s LinkedIn page remains open to the public, members are also invited to join the Private Leadership Circle, a private group hosted under A&D Hub’s LinkedIn page where they can continue discussions, exchange business insights, and collaborate with fellow senior leaders between events.
What sets the network apart is its approach to events. Instead of general mixers or mass invites, A&D Hub curates formats built around facilitated interaction, shaped by what its decision-makers actually want to get out of the room. It is not built as another membership group. Members are selected and invited based on the impact they have made in the industry, and the goal is to take the collective intelligence in that room and put it back to work for the wider industry.
A&D Hub launched on 18 June 2026 with more than 45 CEOs, Founders, and Directors at its inaugural event, backed by three sponsors. The Meeting of Minds Series is one of three event formats the group runs, alongside C-Suite Socials for high-level exchange over dinner, and goal-oriented events built around a specific organizational need.
“Across all three, membership is limited to director-level professionals and above, helping to ensure conversations remain candid and commercially relevant.”
About The Founders
Amal Barreto
Amal Barreto, Founder of A&D Hub | Picture Credit: We On It Studio
Amal Barreto is the Founder of A&D Hub. She spent over a decade working closely with leaders across architecture, interior design, construction, real estate, and manufacturing before starting the platform, and that experience showed her a hunger among senior leaders for a more intentional kind of network, one built around exchanging ideas and market insight rather than simply collecting contacts.
Amal describes her focus as bringing together the people shaping the built environment through curated events, strategic networking, and industry dialogue. With a background in business, finance, and entrepreneurship, she built A&D Hub on the idea that connection is one of the strongest drivers of innovation, growth, and opportunity, and her work now centers on creating conversations that keep industry leaders informed and positioned for what comes next.
Mubeena Mohammed
Mubeena Mohammed, Co-Founder of A&D Hub| Picture Credit: Blue Eye Picture
Mubeena Mohammed is the Co-Founder of A&D Hub. With more than 23 years of experience in management consulting and focus group facilitation, she brings extensive expertise in designing and moderating executive-level discussions. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with senior leaders as a strategic advisor on workplace culture while facilitating leadership workshops, focus groups, and team development initiatives.
At A&D Hub, Mubeena helps curate discussions and event formats that encourage meaningful participation among C-suite leaders, drawing on her experience creating environments where executives can openly exchange perspectives and practical insights.
The 23 July session marks the network’s first Meeting of Minds event since its June launch, and one that organizers expect will set the tone for future discussions across the series.
Follow A&D Hub on LinkedIn.
If you are a C-suite level decision-maker in any of the industry segments, register for the Meeting of Minds Event here.
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