Biography: Hassan al-Thawadi is the secretary-general of the Supreme Committee for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, which will be hosted by Qatar. Al-Thawadi was appointed to the position in March 2011. Prior to this, he was the chief executive officer of the bid committee driving Qatar’s pitch to host the event. Since 2007, Al-Thawadi has been a director of the legal department of sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Qatar Holdings, both of which were founded in 2005. Prior to his position with the QIA, he worked for Qatar Petroleum. Al-Thawadi also sits on the board of Hassad Food Company, a state-backed firm set up to invest in agriculture and livestock. He graduated with a degree in law from Sheffield University in the UK. The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee has direct responsibility for developing facilities planned for the World Cup.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 475 2566

Biography: Jacqueline Rast is the president of US-based multidisciplinary service provider CH2M Hill’s international division. Previously, Rast was president of CH2M Hill’s facilities and infrastructure division, which included transportation and sport programmes. Prior to this, she managed CH2M Hill’s major programmes group. In this role, Rast oversaw the delivery of several major engineering and construction programmes, which included work on London’s 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Masdar Sustainable City in Abu Dhabi. She also served as director of mergers and acquisitions during this period. Rast has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Pennsylvania State University in the US. CH2M Hill has been appointed programme management consultant for the delivery of stadiums and sporting facilities for the 2022 football World Cup.

Contact Tel: (+1) 720 286 2000

Biography: Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani is the secretary-general of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and vice-president of Doha’s 2020 Olympic bid committee. He has been the secretary-general of the QOC since 2002. Previously, he served in the Qatar Armed Forces. Sheikh Saoud has also been the vice-president of the International Fencing Federation and vice-president of the Olympic Council of Asia. He has a degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University in the US. He also has a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Lyon in France, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). On 23 May, the IOC dropped Doha and Baku from the shortlist of cities bidding to the host the games.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 494 4787

Biography: Keith Clarke has been the director of sustainability and chairman of the Middle East arm of UK-based architecture and consultancy firm Atkins since August 2011. Previously, Clarke was chief executive officer of the company for eight years. Atkins has been appointed by Qatar’s Municipality & Urban Planning Ministry to support the establishment of Doha’s new Central Planning Office, which will coordinate current and planned major infrastructure projects in the state. Clarke is also a member of the advisory board of the Built Environment Innovation Centre at Imperial College London and a non-executive director of the British Standards Institute. He was awarded the Commander of the British Empire title in the Queen of England’s 2011 honours list. Clarke has honorary fellowships from Cardiff University and the Institution of Structural Engineers, both in the UK.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 405 9300

Biography: Ivan Bravo is the director-general of the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Qatar. Aspire was established in 2004 by decree as an independent government-funded body to increase the country’s sporting culture and its international sports reputation. Aspire owns the Aspire Sports Zone, which contains several training and sports medical facilities that will play an important role during the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Prior to joining Aspire, Bravo was director of strategy at Real Madrid Football Club in Spain. During his time there, he was in charge of deciding business and sporting strategies. Previously, Bravo was a strategy consultant for the US-based consulting firm Hewitt Associates. He has a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the US.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 413 6570

Biography: Michael Beaven has been the director of engineering and sustainability for UK-based Arup Associates since 1996. Beaven joined Ove Arup & Partners (now Arup Group) in 1987, and after working at its London, Tokyo, New York, Sydney and Cardiff offices, he moved to Arup Associates, a subsidiary of Arup Group. He specialises in sustainable and low energy designs that have a low environmental impact. Arup provided the designs for an air-conditioned, zero carbon emission showcase stadium as part of Qatar’s winning bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Previously, he worked on the City of Manchester Stadium, used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and now called Etihad Stadium and home to Manchester City Football Club. Beaven graduated with an honours degree in building engineering from Bath Spa University in the UK in 1987.

Contact Tel: (+44) 20 7636 1531