Everyone here built something.

Tarek ElSarw knows the car business in this region, and the campaign data he describes says the region's safest habit is now its most expensive one. He takes apart pan-regional Arabic, the landmark-in-the-background school of localisation, and the day his team handed a Ramadan campaign to AI. His verdict on the tooling is plain: AI is as good as you direct it, and the review step is not optional.

A third year AI module built inside an advertising degree, and a 2023 study of what generative AI did to him

Three practitioners sit down in Dubai and cannot agree on where AI belongs in a business. Tony Evans (returning from Ep 10) says it is the engine and the brain stays human; Nadeem argues it is already becoming the brain; Nigel Hammersley, co-founder of Consentique, keeps pulling the conversation back to what the public actually believes. Wade Eagar settles it with the image the episode is named for: AI is a jet engine twenty times more powerful than anything you have, and companies built before 2022 keep bolting it onto an airframe that cannot take it, while companies built after start with the engine and design the plane around it. Along the way, an RFP that took ten people turned round by three in 48 hours, why cutting 500 call centre roles is a strategy failure rather than an AI win, what one role looks like codified into 58 agents, and the question nobody has answered: who owns your digital twin when you leave.

Media and advertising leader Charles Gabriel (AOL, Disney's Maker Studios, now Akkio) joins Nadeem in New York to unpack why 95% of enterprise AI projects fail. They trace a line from the connection we've traded away to boardrooms bolting AI onto broken processes, and land on a practical truth: the model was never the differentiator. Your data, your people and a human in the loop are. Along the way, pipes then people, build vs buy, agent workflows over agent volume, and why you'll soon be marketing to an AI agent rather than a person.

Host Nadeem Ibrahim plays devil's advocate — defending the craft agencies get right, from the Mad Men era to today — while Sameer and Lawrence make the case for tearing the model down to its studs and rebuilding it around transparency, specialists over headcount, and the one thing AI can't replace: the human element. A conversation for anyone who runs an agency, works in one, or signs the invoice.

Host Nadeem Ibrahim and Asif Hussain pull apart 'Now-ism', why the education system is teaching a generation that already has all the information, and why hierarchy at work is quietly dead. A conversation for anyone who manages, teaches, hires or parents a Gen Z and suspects the old playbook stopped working.

A custom GPT that turns his book into a live advisor

In this episode, Nadeem Ibrahim sits down with serial entrepreneur Ron Rana, who made the bold move from the US to the UAE. Ron breaks down how the UAE's tech-forward infrastructure, golden visa programme, and culture of rewarding hustle make it one of the best places in the world to build a business. From automation and delegation to GITEX networking and manifestation as a mindset tool, this conversation is packed with insights for entrepreneurs eyeing relocation or scaling in the Middle East.

Matt Butterworth, former Regional MD at top creative agencies with 30+ years in design thinking, explores how corporate life suffocates creativity, how AI is transforming strategy overnight, and the philosophical question of trusting AI we've trained to deceive.

Musaid Bin Khamees, former VP of Marketing at Tamam, explores Saudi Arabia's fintech revolution — how SAMA's strict regulations built unbreakable consumer trust, why UX is now the #1 competitive advantage, and the fascinating ethical question: should AI act as a temptation engine or a financial guardian angel?

Recorded live in New York City, Arnold Britto joins Nadeem Ibrahim to explore why culture is the missing link in tech transformation, the 3-step change management plan every organisation needs, and how curiosity closes the skills gap in cloud computing.

Gosia Wajchert brings 17 years of digital marketing expertise to a conversation on AI-driven consumer manipulation, retail media strategy across the Middle East, and the cultural intelligence now required to win in modern commerce.

AR + AI brand experiences, including AR product visualisation that cuts e-commerce return rates

Fernando Pereira joins Nadeem Ibrahim to reveal how virtual worlds are building the cognitive skills of the next generation — from leadership and teamwork developed in World of Warcraft, to the ethical challenges of moderation, anonymity, and the future of multi-sensory VR.

Lion, a creative studio producing AI-generated film and ad work

In the very first episode of Brew Bytes, Nadeem Ibrahim sits down with Nawal Rustom to unpack the psychology of breakthrough leadership — emotional intelligence, adaptability, and what it truly means to lead in Dubai's hyper-diverse tech ecosystem.