Reimagining our Region
Reimagining our Region is a PwC Middle East podcast hosted by Amal Larhild and Patricia Keating. It connects the dots in business through expert insights on economic transformations, emerging technologies, and sustainable growth strategies. Each episode offers perspectives on the forces shaping the Middle East and practical takeaways for navigating the region’s evolving business landscape. Full episodes are also available on the PwC Middle East YouTube channel.
Episodes
What do consumers want from their retail experiences?
The retail landscape in the Middle East is evolving rapidly as consumer demands shift. Hosted by Patricia Keating, episode 1 of Reimagining our region, looks into the key forces driving this transformation: trust, data security, sustainability, and AI. Our guests, Roy Hintze, Partner at PwC Middle East and Ayman Beydoun, CEO of Brands for Less (BFL), explore how brands are adapting to th
How is Spacetech more than just Mars missions?
90% confidence: GCC CEOs bet on resilience amid uncertainty
What’s driving GCC CEOs’ confidence amid global uncertainty? In this episode, we break down why 90% expect revenue growth in the next year and how resilience, digital transformation, and economic diversification are shaping the region’s business momentum. Stephen Anderson, PwC Middle East’s Strategy Leader, unpacks bold growth forecasts, evolving workforce challenges, cybersecurity threat
Climate tech and ESG: Shaping the Middle East’s sustainable future
What does effective ESG implementation look like in today’s business environment? In this episode, our host Patricia Keating is joined by Vijaypal Singh Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD. Together, they explore how companies are aligning sustainability targets with long-term business planning, and the role finance, policy, and technology are playing
Decarbonising the Tech sector in the Middle East
Can tech grow without increasing its carbon footprint?In this episode, Amal Larhlid speaks with Ahmed Ameen Ashour from Microsoft about the path to a greener tech sector. They cover Microsoft’s carbon negative goal, the role of sustainable data centres, and how AI is improving energy efficiency. The discussion also highlights the challenges of legacy systems and the value of partnerships
Is Agentic AI the missing link to a more sustainable construction industry?
The construction sector makes up to 12% of GDP across the Middle East, yet digital adoption remains relatively limited. This episode focuses on how to close that gap. Amal Larlhid speaks with Le Tilahun and Ahmed Khafagy to explore the structural blockers, the role of external players and how Agentic AI changes the game. Agentic AI is not another dashboard, it takes action, reduces rewor
Circular economy: Waste as the beginning of something new
The World Economic Forum describes the circular economy as “an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design.” Unlike the linear model that creates waste and drains resources, circular systems return materials to the production cycle. Products and by-products are reused, recycled or repurposed — ideally powered by renewables. In this episode, Amal Larhlid s
Banking of the future: How AI, sustainability and talent are redefining Saudi economy
What’s changed in the CEO agenda? Reflecting on insights from the 28th PwC CEO Survey, Faisal AlOmran, CEO of Saudi Investment Bank, joins Faisal Al-Sarraj, KSA Deputy Country Leader at PwC Middle East, to discuss how leaders viewed AI, sustainability and people. With the 29th PwC CEO Survey launching tomorrow, the conversation offers an early view of how CEO priorities are evolving.
Saudi Arabia’s next AI leap: From infrastructure to industrialisation
In this special LEAP 2026 edition of our podcast, Faisal Al Sarraj, our Country Senior Partner for Saudi Arabia, and Bivek Sharma, our Chief Technology & AI Officer, discuss what it could take for Saudi Arabia to become an AI superpower, from infrastructure and sovereignty to AI industrialisation, agentic AI and measurable business outcomes.
