Karlheinz Schwarz received his Diploma in Electrical Technology and IT at the University Siegen in 1982. He started his career with the arrival of industrial communication systems in the mid-1980s at Siemens: IEEE 802, MMS, Fieldbus, TASE.2, and UCA Version 1 and 2. He started his own consultancy business in 1992 and left Siemens in 1997. In 2000 he started the business NettedAutomation GmbH.

He is one of the grandfathers of IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25 (IEC 61850 for Wind Turbines) and widely disseminated them to 4,400+ attendees from 1.000+ companies and 90+ countries in 250+ Seminars. He published more than 100 papers.

Majida Malki, PE, PMP, Executive Advisor, Vice President, is a professional engineer and certified project manager with over 20 years of experience in the utility and consulting sectors. She has deep expertise in protection and control design for transmission and distribution systems, including relay settings and coordination studies using ASPEN and CAPE. Majida has led Wide Area Coordination Studies, fault event analyses, NERC PRC compliance efforts, and Special Protection Schemes (SPS). Her work also includes single-point-of-failure assessments, short-circuit studies, and evaluating the impact of inverter-based resources. She is also skilled in IEC 61850 applications and substation automation.

Eng. Ahmed El-Hamaky has more than 25 years of experience in Electrical Power Systems following attainment of a diploma degree in power system protection in 2005 from Ain Shams University and a B.Sc. of Electrical Engineering from Cairo University in 2000. He has been an IEEE senior member since December 2011 and is also a member of IEEE Power Energy Society (PES).

In 2014, he received a post graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the Open University in the United Kingdom, he is at OMICRON since May 2010, presently acting as Regional Manager for the Middle East, Africa and Türkiye.

In 2021, Ahmed received Alumni of the Year Achievement Award-Highly Commended from the Open University in the United Kingdom

Alexander has over thirty years of experience in protective relay, meter testing and high voltage plant testing. He received his practical training at Eskom Distribution in Brackenfell before joining OMICRON electronics GmbH in Austria as a Sales and Application Engineer.

Since 1997 he is managing Alectrix, which is the exclusive distributor for OMICRON equipment in South Africa.

Alex has delivered dozens of papers at local and international conferences and symposiums on subjects such as protective relay testing, maintenance and diagnosis of power transformers, current transformers and other substation assets, as well as aspects of power system simulation.

Angus Kerr started working at Eskom in South Africa as a trainee engineer. In a 32-year career there, he has moved through various roles in Distribution and Transmission networks, from project engineering to settings to technology management, finishing up in the transmission division as a Chief Engineer specializing in IEC61850 and transmission feeder protection. In 2023 he joined the exciting NEOM project in Saudi Arabia as the head of a team of engineers developing an architecture and suite of specifications for fully digital transmission substations based on the IEC61850 standard. Innovation in technology, training, and mentoring, and constantly challenging and stretching himself has always been a hallmark of his approach to engineering.

An Electrical Engineering Graduate with more than 27 years’ experience in India and Gulf as Lead Protection and Commissioning Engineer in Transmission Utilities and Power plant.  

Eng. Anilkumar works with Oman Electrical Transmission Company –OETC at Muscat, Oman since last 16 years. At present, he is designated as Technical Expert-Protection.

He is responsible for:

• Design, review, implement an appropriate protection scheme in system for new grid station and existing grid stations projects.
• Recheck, review, approve, Protection relay setting calculations including simulation on protection system model for new projects/existing grid stations.
• Power quality monitoring system, Digital fault recorder, PMU, Special protection scheme implementation.
• Vertical, horizontal, external communication for projects, system maintenance from 33 kV to 400 kV grid stations.
• Detailed Incident root cause analysis and provide technical support to various department.

Arulraj graduated as an Electrical and Electronics Engineer at the Saveetha Engineering College-Chennai-India in 2014 and started at GK Power as Relay Service Engineer for MiCOM Numerical protection and control IEDs, later he worked as a Substation Automation System (SAS) Engineer for many projects for ALSTOM and Schneider Electric in India until 2018.

He worked as a verification and validation Engineer for bay level products in ABB Global R&D team from 2018 until 2020 and now he is responsible for IEC 61850 application testing and cybersecurity solutions in OMICRON.

David G. Hart, PhD, Executive Advisor, Senior Vice President, has over 30 years of experience in the power industry, including protection and control, power system automation, smart metering, and AMI systems. Before his work at Quanta Technology, he developed numerous protection, control, and metering products. David held senior management positions at ABB, where he developed AMI-related products and systems. At Elster, he was responsible for the engineering, product management, and quality organizations. At Quanta Technology, David and his team provide consulting support to utilities on AMI systems, feeder automation, coordination studies, IEC 61850, and advanced protection applications. As the direct head of Monitoring, Protection, Automation, and Control, he guides the overall business strategy, client and program proposals, and project execution. David holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Clemson University and is a Fellow member of IEEE/PES. His work has earned significant recognition throughout his career, including over 30 technical patents and numerous published articles.

Electronic and communications engineer from Colombia. Since 2007, he worked as control and protection specialist, participating protection and communication IEC61850 projects that took place in different countries of south and north America.
In 2016, he joined OMICRON, currently part of a consultancy team supporting utilities in digital substations projects around the globe.

Dr. Fadhel Albasri is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering at the University of Bahrain. He holds a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He also earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from York St. John University. Previously, he worked as an operation engineer at the Ministry of Electricity and Water. He has more than 30 years of teaching experience, IEEE member, published over 22 papers, and developed & taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses. His research interest on power systems protection and analysis, FACTS devices and smart grids.

Frans Shanyata is a Senior Engineer at Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower). He currently leads a team of protection engineers within NamPower. As the team leader responsible for safeguarding the utility’s transmission grid, his primary functions include PAC-scheme design, protection IED configuration & testing. He is also responsible for transmission-grid fault studies and analysis. Frans is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of Namibia. His qualifications include M.Eng.  and B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering both from Kazan State Power Engineering University, Russia. Additionally, he is actively involved in CIGRE B5 working groups and the SAPP Operating Sub-Committee on regional interconnection protection coordination.

Gerd has a background in electrical engineering and an MBA, with hands-on experience from vocational training to product management. He’s worked at Valeo, ABB, and A-Eberle, and has spent the last six years at OMICRON—first in sales, now in product management focused on distribution networks.

Juergen Holbach, PhD, Executive Advisor, Senior Director of Automation and Testing, has over 35 years of experience designing and applying protective relaying. He has published over a dozen papers and holds three patents. Juergen is a Western Protective Relay Conference (WPRC) Planning Committee member. Juergen’s areas of expertise include automation and protection, inverter-based resource (IBR) impact of protection, real-time digital simulator (RTDS) testing, and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61850 compliance.

Kgomotso Manyapetsa Pr.Eng, is a Chief Engineer in Control, Automation, and OT Cybersecurity, a professional engineer with ECSA, IEEE, CIGRE, PACWORLD, SAIEE and SAIMC memberships. His expertise includes operational project management for undersea fibre optic cable systems, optimizing plant systems, and leading critical System upgrades. Currently, he focuses on cybersecurity, secure remote access systems, and historian implementation in power utilities, encompassing secure communications, and network designs. A thought leader, he has presented at CIGRE, IEEE, and PACWORLD, and conducted SAIEE Webinars. He holds an MEng and is a PhD candidate in Electrical & Electronic Engineering focusing on Cybersecurity, with extensive CompTIA certifications.

Strategic and results-driven administrative leader with over 22 years of experience in institutional communication, team leadership, and public engagement. Appointed as Director of the Alumni Affairs Directorate at the University of Bahrain in 2025 to lead a transformative phase aimed at repositioning alumni relations as a strategic pillar of national development. Proven ability to manage change, build operational frameworks, and deliver measurable impact. Poised for broader leadership roles that contribute to advancing Bahrain’s institutional excellence and national priorities.

Events Coordinator

Eng. Mohamed Adly is a senior protection and control specialist in ATKINSREALIS acting as a team member of the project management office (PMO) of the Saudi – Egypt ±500KV HVDC Interconnection project with 20 years of experience in the power system protection in Transmission & Distribution and EHV substations projects. Long experience in the middle east, GCC and Africa regions with large utility (National grids) companies and multinational consultancies in power mega projects.

Hear from OMICRON MEA's Regional Application Specialist Mohamed Ebrahim Alsaif, who specializes in Circuit Breaker & Switchgear Testing. He has more than 7 years of experience in the field of Electrical Testing in Power Substartions. He is also an OMICRON Academy Trainer and Technical Support Engineer.

Mohamed Ibrahim has more than 20 years of experience in Testing and Commissioning activities. He joined OMICRON in 2015 and currently works as a Regional Application Engineer.

He is also an OMICRON Academy trainer.

Nadia Bouslama is the Regional Marketing & Communication Manager for MEA at OMICRON Electronics. With over 24 years of experience, she has extensive expertise in developing strategic marketing initiatives and leading high-performing teams. Nadia has a solid track record in driving brand visibility and implementing innovative campaigns. Passionate about women’s empowerment, Nadia has spoken at the Women Power Summit 2018, leads the OMICRON Energizing Women (OEW) initiative, and actively mentors young women across industries. She holds an MBA and BBA in Marketing from Hofstra University, USA.

Ronny Lehutso is a dedicated Chief Technologist at Eskom NTCSA specialising in Substation Automation Integration. With a BTech in Electrical Engineering, Ronny has built a strong career grounded in technical excellence, leadership, and innovation. His expertise spans Power system protection, Substation, IEC 61850 systems, PACS configuration management, cybersecurity in operational technology, and technical training. A registered Professional Engineering Technologist, Ronny is also a published author and presenter at international conferences. Known for his integrity and collaborative spirit, he continues to drive progress in South Africa’s power sector through technical leadership and a commitment to excellence.

Stefan Flemming graduated in electrical engineering from the Dresden University of Technology and Science in 2003. He specialized in electrical power systems and high voltage engineering during his studies. Upon graduation, Stefan Flemming worked for Siemens and has more than 21 years of experience in electrical engineering. His work experience includes worldwide commissioning, design and operation of distribution and transmission substations. He has a special interest in substation protection and control. Currently, Stefan is working at Siemens AG Germany as a Product Lifecycle Manager with a focus on IEC 61850 process bus and IEEE 1588.

Mr. Wasseem Alkhardawi has 23+ years of experience in the oil and gas industry, with expertise in onshore and offshore facilities design, operation, and maintenance. He's pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at KFUPM, with research interests in voltage stability and intelligent control of offshore power networks. Mr. Wasseem has authored seveal IEEE conference publications on topics like AI in power systems and power system reliability.

Yassine Agouzoul, Lead customer application engineer, with 13 Years experience in Power system Protection and Automation, Joined GE (Ex: Alstom) back in 2012.
With various experience and achievements in Protection, Control, Substation Automation and Asset Monitoring and Diagnostics.