Ben Turner co-founded the International Music Summit and leads its overall direction. In 2013, he co-founded AFEM (the Association for Electronic Music), a global not-for-profit trade body designed to preserve, protect and promote electronic music culture. In 2017, he also co-founded The Art of Areté, a wellness platform which is deeply integrated into IMS Ibiza.

Turner is the owner of Graphite Music, a music management and brand services company which specialises in electronic music.

Turner made his name as co-founder of the award-winning electronic magazine Muzik, created the Muzik Awards, and was creative director on DanceStar USA: The American Dance Music Awards. He began his career at the Melody Maker, and has gone on to produce TV shows, books, and documentaries about dance music culture and is a regular in the Billboard Dance Power Player list.

Cynthia Nasr is a creative strategist with a 10 year background in brand strategy, cultural initiatives and music industry. She is the co-founder of MINAB Studios, a creative agency working across Europe and the MENA region, where she leads projects in artist development, cultural programming, and brand storytelling.

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Under the alias NeighborsByMusic, Cynthia is also a selector and DJ who blends electronic, hip-hop, Brazilian Funk, and global grooves. Her sets reflect a deep curiosity for how music travels and transforms across places, often shaped by her ongoing exploration of sound as a way to connect cultures.

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After years abroad, she’s now back in Beirut, where she moves between music, culture, and community-driven work. Her focus is on building meaningful platforms for artists and finding new ways to support creative networks across the region

Nooriyah, unmistakably, has paved her own lane when it comes to dance music. Connecting dots between diverse global music cultures; Nooriyah has made it her focus to blur those same lines, focusing on creating vivid musical diversity in her work without being told she can’t merge those vast musical Communities.

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Born in Saudi Arabia, raised in Japan and now based in the UK, Nooriyah, known for her work as DJ, audio producer and presenter, has spent the past decade championing sounds of the diaspora. Founding SWANA focused collaborative in London ‘Middle of Nowhere’ which went on to host her debut Boiler Room—achieving over 4,500,000 streams since.

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Since her emergence into dance music, Nooriyah has gained international acclaim and performed at venues and festivals globally such as Glastonbury, Nitsa and sold out her headline shows in London at KOKO, EartH, Jazz Cafe and Colour Factory. As well as her debut European headline tour Middle of Everywhere.

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Nooriyah has also produced work for BBC 4 and continues to build upon her deep musical knowledge with other audio-visual projects, including work within soundtracks for film and tv.

Onur Ates, Managing Director Mixmag MENA, has expanded his artistic career as a DJ and music producer by venturing into the media industry, playing an active role in Mixmag's brand activation for Turkey and the MENA region since 2018. Throughout his time at the company, he has served in various roles, including staff writer, clubs editor, news and online editor, editor-in-chief, and managing director. His responsibilities included driving new revenue models, building international and regional partnerships, and overseeing media collaborations, events, as well as editorial and digital strategy.

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Onur Ates holds a BA in Linguistics from Hacettepe University. During his university years, he not only engaged in language studies across various regions but also stayed attuned to the rapidly changing landscape of electronic music and the media industry.

Pete Tong is one of the most renowned figures in dance music with a career spanning over 4 decades. Tong has been the voice of dance music, hosting BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix every Friday for over 30 years giving global exposure of dance music to various generations. As a DJ, he has played and toured all over the world headlining shows in almost every corner of the world.

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Next year will mark the 10th year anniversary of his Ibiza Classics project with whom has headlined prestigious arenas in the UK, sold out The O2 multiple times and played for the Kings Coronation to name a few.

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As a global ambassador for dance music, Tong co-founded the International Music Summit. More recently, true to his mission as an ambassador for the youth and dance music, he founded the Pete Tong DJ Academy where the future stars of dance music are nurturing their skills by the hand of Tong and an all-star cast of tutors including Carl Cox, Jamie Jones, Sama' Abdulhadi, TSHA, Nicole Moudaber and Adam Beyer.

Roberta has been making her mark in the music industry for over 12 years, with a specialisation in label relations, artist booking, marketing, and partnerships. Her career began with a significant role as Social Media Manager for electronic music icon Carl Cox, where she managed Carl’s personal accounts, Carl Cox @ Space, Intec Digital, as well as Yousef’s CIRCUS Records. From there, Roberta expanded her expertise, working with A-list artists across various genres, including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Stormzy, and Diplo in her roles as Label Relations Manager at MTV and Senior Music Label Partnerships at Meta.

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Always ahead of the curve in digital and tech, Roberta served as Head of Artist Relations for MelodyVR during the pandemic, pioneering ticketed live-stream concerts accessible via VR headsets. She also spearheaded talent booking and relations for the virtual Wireless Festival, the world’s first 360° live streamed music event. Maintaining her deep connection to electronic music, Roberta has been a consultant for Beatport’s creative solutions team since 2019 and took on the role of Project Manager for IMS Ibiza in 2022.

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Following her success as part of last year’s IMS Dubai Curation Committee, Roberta stepped into her current role as Director of MENA at Beatport. Prior to this, she was pivotal in building the region’s live music landscape—leading Artist Booking for MAC Global, curating Saudi Arabia’s first-ever jazz festival, and driving the growth of the drum and bass scene with landmark bookings including Andy C, Chase & Status, and Goldie.

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A passionate advocate for women in music, Roberta is the founder of Little Pink Book, a platform dedicated to highlighting inspirational women in the industry. Through panel talks, events, and workshops in the UK and Middle East, Little Pink Book provides resources and access for those aspiring to follow in their footsteps.

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Sofia Ilyas joined Beatport in 2023 as Chief Community Officer, introducing a new community/diversity department to highlight the company's commitment to positive change. Before joining Beatport, Ilyas worked in the music industry, co-managing the record label Erased Tapes for five years and helping kickstart the careers of artists like Nils Frahm and Kiasmos.

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In 2015, Ilyas founded FLOAT, a boutique PR and marketing agency. Through FLOAT, she championed the music of both emerging and well-known electronic artists, organising events such as Sasha at The Barbican.Since 2016, Ilyas has been hosting annual Piano Day events in London (UK) and Melbourne (Australia) under FLOAT. She's known for creating innovative concert experiences. In 2024, her piano event will return to the National Gallery in London.

Timmy Mowafi is a British-born Egyptian entrepreneur, writer, creative director, and co-founder of MO4 Network, a leading Middle Eastern creative agency and media network encompassing 13 influential digital publications including SceneNoise - a pioneering music platform providing the region with news, reviews, features, documentaries and event coverage - a digital space for musicians and fans alike to explore the most innovative sounds emerging from the Arab world.