Speakers:

• Silvia Peneva, managing director, ITW & GLF – techoraco (Chairperson)
• Merima Ziko, commercial director – ZIRA GROUP
• Olena Lutsenko, business development director – RETN
• Sonia Harjani, director & co-founder – Sona Business
• Jelena Medurić Vlahović, senior global business development director – telecoms – Infobip
• Hafsa Haseeb, global marketing & CX lead – E&

The digital infrastructure industry is at a critical juncture, as businesses wrestle with increasingly complex systems. As a result, they are often finding that they can’t recruit the right talent, or perhaps their workforce isn’t diverse enough.

At Datacloud Middle East 2026, six female leaders gathered to discuss what it really takes to accelerate diverse talent in the workplace – and their insights revealed that whilst progress is being made, significant barriers still remain year after year.

Moderated by Silvia Peneva, managing director of ITW & GLF at techoraco, the panel brought together voices from across the sector, each offering a unique perspective on navigating career advancement in an industry that is historically male dominated.