Speakers

Dheeraj Bhardwaj is a strategy, innovation, digital, and business transformation specialist with extensive leadership experience as a CEO and trusted advisor to boards, governments, and infrastructure operators globally. As Group CEO of City Group Co., he led the transformation of passenger transport and on-demand mobility ecosystems across the Middle East, driving large-scale digitalisation and sustainability programmes.

He previously served as CEO and Co-founder of Arnab Mobility and held senior leadership roles at PwC and Laing O’Rourke. He also co-founded door2door/Citylink Shuttle, a demand-responsive ride-pooling software platform and service operating in partnership with regulators including the Transport General Authority, KSA, Kuwait and RTA Dubai.

A recognised authority in automated fare collection, account-based ticketing, and transit payments, Dheeraj has led ticketing and AFC strategies for major authorities and delivered the region’s first ABT-based implementation. He has contributed to globally significant programmes including the Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) innovation strategy, the Dubai Innovation Index, and the development of India’s PARAM supercomputer, and has presented his work at NASA.

He holds a PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and an MBA from Imperial College London, has published ~50 research papers, and is a frequent keynote speaker at global industry forums including UITP, CoMotion and Transport Ticketing Global.