GEC NEWS WIREBrought to you by Global Enterprise Connect and organized by Enterprise Channels MEA, Catalyst awards 2018 patronised by the Ministry of Economy celebrated its 4th edition this year on 14th March at the Burj Al Arab Hotel. Carrying forward its legacy, it honoured the trailblazers of the industry who have been empowering the brand recognition of their organization with their unwavering commitment and passion. Held in conjunction with the Future IT Summit 2018, the event witnessed some of the path-breaking innovations by CIOs from diverse industries. The event not only honoured the Catalysts but also provided a business-to-business platform for technology providers to showcase their innovations.
The Top 10 IT company awards received tremendous amount of nomination in its second edition. The winners were –
| Organization |
| Spire Solutions |
| ScreenCheck ME |
| NetApp |
| Veeam |
| Sophos |
| Oma Emirates |
| TechSource |
| StorIT |
| Dell EMC |
| Exclusive Networks |
The Catalyst Awards recognized CIOs from the Middle East, Africa and Turkey region who have mastered the art of innovation and emerged as true business enablers of modern organizations. Going by the fact that digitization has left no sector untouched, Catalyst Awards brought in new sectors this year – Legal & Judicial Affairs, FMCG, Services, Power & Utilities and Facility Management.
Catalyst CIO
| CATEGORY | NAME | ORGANIZATION |
| IT Man of the Year – UAE | Esam Alfalasi | Ministry of Economy |
| IT Man of the Year – Qatar | Mubarik Hussain | Petroserv |
| IT Man of the Year – Oman | Abdullah Hamood Khalifa Al Raqadi | Ministry of Health |
| IT Man of the Year – Bahrain | Abubakar Arshad | TRA |
| IT Man of the Year – KSA | Mohammed Ali Mahnashi | Ministry of Finance |
| CIO in Retail | Kumar Prasoon | Al Safeer Group |
| CIO in Banking & Finance – Smart Platform | Sivakumar V | Dubai First |
| CIO in Banking & Finance – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard | Hasan Isam Naser Muhi | Kuwait Finance House Bahrain |
| CIO in Banking & Finance – Core Banking | Ahmed Albalooshi | Al Baraka Banking Group |
| CIO in Banking & Finance – Corporate Banking | Ramesh Varma | Al Masraf Bank |
| CIO in Banking & Finance – Digital Banking | Nitin Bhargava | Mashreq Bank |
| CIO in Banking & Finance – Foreign Exchange & Remittance | Surendra Shetty | UAE Exchange |
| CIO in Real Estate & Construction – Commercial | Mario Foster | Al Naboodah Group Enterprises |
| CIO in Real Estate & Construction – Residential | Ahmed Al Ahmed | Nakheel PJSC |
| CIO in Real Estate & Construction – Holding Company | Ajay Rathi | Meraas Holding |
| CIO in Real Estate & Construction – Service Provider | Mohammad Shahzad | RDK Group |
| CIO in Healthcare – Unified Communications | Aliasgar Bohari | Zulekha Hospitals |
| CIO in Healthcare – Automation | Ali Ghunaim | Canadian Specialist Hospital |
| CIO in Healthcare – HIS | Mohamed Gamal Abdelmksoud | Al Zahra Hospitals and Clinics |
| CIO in Hospitality | Rabih Merhy | Rotana Hotels |
| CIO in Oil & Gas – Procsessing & Refining | Adam El Adama | ADNOC Sour Gas |
| CIO in Oil & Gas – Services | Shumon A Zaman | Lamprell Energy Limited |
| CIO in Aviation | Ersin Inankul | IGA Turkey |
| CIO in Education | Firoj Kumar Rauta | Skyline University College |
| CIO in Media & Broadcasting | Ronald Dsa | OSN |
| CIO in Telecom | Ali Saleh Mohamed Al Ali | Thuraya Telecommunications Company |
| Government CIO | Hussam Juma | Dubai Customs |
| Government CIO | Mohammad Khaled Al Hassan | Regulation & Supervision Bureau |
| Government CIO | Farid Farouq | Dubai World Trade Centre |
| Government CIO | Ahmed Mohammed Kajoor | Dubai Municipality |
| Government CIO | Dr. Ayad Aldaijy | Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture |
| Government CIO | Noor Ali Al Noman | Sharjah Department of e-Government (DeG) |
| CIO in Transportation & Logistics – Blockchain | Adam Lalani | Tristar |
| CIO in Transportation & Logistics – Digital Transformation | Ahmed Askar | Al Sahraa Group |
| CIO in FMCG – UAE | Lasheen Ummar | Masafi |
| CIO in FMCG – Oman | Saket Wagh | Enhance Oman (WJ Towell Company) |
| CIO in Automotive – Oman | Dileep Somani | OTE Group |
| CIO in Automotive – UAE | Sebastian T Samuel | AW Rostamani Group |
| CIO in Capital Markets & Investments | Ashith Piriyattiath | Al Masah Capital |
| CIO in Legal & Judicial Affairs | Arul Jose Vigin | Dispute Resolution Authority |
| CIO in Power & Utilities – Consumer | Venkatesh Mahadevan | Dubai Investments PJSC |
| CIO in Power & Utilities – Business | Fahad Deshmukh | Jazeera Emirates Power |
| CIO in Services | Akshay Lamba | Deloitte |
| CIO in Facility Management | Javeria Aijaz | Farnek |
Catalyst Channel
| CATEGORY | NAME | ORGANIZATION |
| Branding | Faisal Mohamed | ScreenCheck ME |
| Visionary Marketer | Nadia Jawad | AGC Networks LLC |
| Corporate Communications | Manisha | Finesse |
| Strategic Marketer | Mallika Sharma | Exclusive Networks |
| Enterprise Marketing Storage | Manju Mathew | StorIT |
| Enterprise Sales | Hiren Bhatia | Finesse |
| Visionary CEO of the Year | Sanjeev Walia | Spire Solutions |
Catalyst Vendor
| CATEGORY | NAME | ORGANIZATION |
| Branding | Daniela Harczi | NetApp |
| Enterprise Marketing Channel | Nagham Halaby | Veeam |
| Integrated Marketer | Urvendrasinh Gohil | Sophos |
| Enterprise Marketing Security Services | Binoy Koonammavu | ValueMentor |
| Enterprise Marketing Networking | Ignatius Avinash Emanuel | Rittal Middle East |
| Enterprise Marketing Infrastructure | Carly Stephens | Pivot3 |
| Emerging Marketer | Melita Rodrigues | Oma Emirates (All 4 One Planners) |
| Strategic Marketer | Neethu Paul | Epicor |
| Innovative Marketer | Gillian Elson | Mimecast |
| Sales – Emerging Market | Shahnawaz Sheikh | SonicWall |
| Enterprise Marketing Storage | Santosh Varghese | Toshiba |
| Enterprise Sales | Mohammed Tamimi | Rubrik |
| Enterprise Marketing Security | Manal Abi Rafeh | Fortinet |
| Visionary Marketer | Hassan Hamadani | Pure Storage |
| Marketer of the Year | Haidi Nossair | Dell EMC |
