Mark Sorensen

President

During his more than thirty years of experience in the application of GIS and related technologies to urban and regional planning and resource science, policy, and management, to over 220 projects in 65 countries around the world, Mark has established himself as a globally recognized name in GIS and SDI development. Today he oversees GPC Group activities across the three companies that comprise the Group, and also serves as CEO for the Earth Council Alliance (ECA), an international private non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable societal development.

Over the past 10 years he has been largely focused on the promotion and development of national and regional spatial data infrastructure initiatives, including programs in Oman, Lebanon, Jamaica, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Thailand, Afghanistan, Jammu & Kashmir (India), Kurdistan Region (Iraq) and Abu Dhabi. Mark is also promoting the application of GIS technology, SDI and Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) principles to local communities in the form of “GeoVillage - community information infrastructure”, as a framework for supporting urban and rural sustainable and resilient community development and environmental conservation

Mark was awarded a Master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1982 and is currently based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Find out how Mark survived on a desert island for days here...

Joe Abdo

Director of Business Operations

Joseph Abdo has more than 17 years experience in the development, management, operation and auditing of enterprise Geospatial Technology, Information and Services (GITS) projects and recently Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). This is further reinforced by his experience in multi-disciplinary project management and general management in areas related to public sector disciplines such as local government, urban planning and utilities. Mr. Abdo has been involved particularly in the evaluation of international bidders, performing audits on projects critical development milestones and providing guidance on the alignment between information solutions implementations and strategic business development.

Sherif Awad

Director of Business Solutions

Sherif has over 29 years of professional experience in the information and communications technology sector. Experience encompasses technical, operational, managerial and ICT business management, ICT solutions and services, and consultancy. Experience started with software applications development, applications and operating systems technical support in different business domains to leading technical teams focusing on specialized technologies including geographic information systems, business services management, enterprise resource planning, business intelligence and others.

Skills were further developed by creating, developing and leading larger teams responsible for the marketing, delivery and support, of different products and services. Experience was further extended into a more business oriented perspective with extra tasks and activities related to developing products and services to develop business and revenue.

Starting with a Bsc degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Cairo University, skills and qualifications were further developed through continued training and studies in various fields including operating systems, software products, software development tools, quality programs and management, management, sales and marketing. As well as Master of Business Administration studies, Maastricht School of Management – MSM.

Rajy Wehbeh

Business Development Manager

Rajy has more than 13 years of experience in IT Systems Integration Project Management involving Utilities and Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). His established role as a PMO scoping, procuring and managing simultaneous projects was complemented with a business development role focusing on formalizing alliances and overseeing proposals management. Rajy contributes to growing the company’s business and ensuring efficient delivery of quality solutions that effectively address the client’s business needs; thus, seeking collaboration opportunities with potential partners while capitalizing on his experience in business processes reengineering and performance management.

Keith Parker

Outreach Consultant

Based out of the Middle East since 2007, Keith is a Project Manager in the fields of Outreach, Communications, Events, GIS and Design. His recent project management experience includes the Eye on Earth Summit which attracted an international participation of over 2000 persons and featured former US president Bill Clinton.

Keith also managed the Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi Emirate and currently runs the outreach and communication for the Abu Dhabi NOC Program.

He was awarded a BSBA from the University of Southern California, currently ranked 4th in International Business, and maintains Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Keith’s career has spanned 3 continents, with work in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Greece, Italy, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. His early career involved Conference Management and Journalism. Keith is also an active skydiver in Dubai, UAE.

Aditya Agrawal

Director of International Professional Services

Aditya Agrawal brings nearly 15 years of experience in the application of GIS and SDI related programs for international development, environment and natural resources to his current position as Director of International Professional Services at GPC, Inc. Based in Seattle, WA, USA, Mr. Agrawal supports the management of GPC, Inc. operations, consults on a range of projects for the GPC Group, and provides business development support across companies. His background includes expertise in spatial analysis and modeling, information sharing strategies, institutional capacity building, applying interdisciplinary, systemic approaches, stakeholder engagement and program/project management.

Mr. Agrawal has supported GPC projects in Libya, UAE, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, and has been heavily involved with the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), the Eye on Earth (EoE) Summit, and the EoE Special Initiatives. His past and current experience provides a well-rounded background in science, policy, management and implementation, along with a diversified range of projects within both a developed and developing country context.

Mr. Agrawal received his Bachelor’s in Geography from the University of Minnesota and his Master’s in Geographic Information Science from Clark University. Prior to joining GPC, Inc., Mr. Agrawal previously worked as a freelance consultant, Research Analyst for the Redlands Institute (University of Redlands, CA), Project Coordinator at the Center for GIS Research (California State Polytechnic University) and Research Associate at NOAA Fisheries.

Unni Krishnan

Director of Geospatial Research

Following over 35 years of experience in the geospatial arena, Unni now leads the Geospatial Standards development and the Master Planning efforts in the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) program. His work involves research on sound practices and technology trends and he has authored many white papers relevant to the AD-SDI program on topics such as Cloud Computing, Sensor Web Enablement, 3D City Model, and more. He holds the position of Director of Geospatial Research at GPCGIS.

Unni was awarded a M. Sc. degree in Mathematics from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, where he continued with research on Numerical Methods and Programming as a Ph.D. candidate for over two years. Prior to joining GPC GIS, Unni served as the Technical Director of GISTEC, where he oversaw and managed large GIS implementation projects that integrating GIS with mainstream IT systems in the utility, petroleum, municipal, and environmental sectors. During a period of over two decades he played significant roles in shaping up GISTEC, initially as a division of MAPS (now Fugro MAPS), and later into a full-fledged GIS services company; fully automating the map production workflow at MAPS for several national aerial mapping projects; and introducing ESRI GIS technology to enhance CAD-based mapping. Before joining MAPS Unni worked with the Indian Space Research Organization for a decade where he was responsible for the development of image processing software and utilization of remotely sensed data in India's remote sensing program.

Samer Joudi

Consultant

Samer Joudi has more than 17 years of experience in the geospatial technology industry. He worked as GIS consultant with GTZ for Aleppo Municipality and created in 1998 the first digital basemap of the old city of Aleppo.

Between 2000 and 2010, Samer supported the business operations and decision-making in many departments at Dubai Municipality and Roads & Transport Authority through managing the enterprise GIS projects, applications, services, data, and resources. He joined GPC-GIS on 2010 and he currently leads the Community Development at AD-SDI Program and works on spatially enabling Government services.

Aside from his work responsibilities, Samer published many articles on Geospatial Technology since 1999 in PC Magazine, and founded “CAD, GIS, & GPS Magazine”; the first portal in Arabic on geospatial technology and the award-winner of 2005 World Summit Award Best e-Contest, 2006 UAE Web Awards, and 2007 Pan Arab Web Awards.

Samer earned a bachelor's degree in Architecture and Urban Planning in 1994

Binusha Shabu

Consultant – SDI / Geospatial Projects Alignment

Ms. Binusha Shabu is an enthusiastic and versatile geospatial professional with more than sixteen years of national / sub-national level expertise in the geospatial realm at technical, business and management levels. Binusha has been instrumental in institutionalizing a systematic process to assess and align key geospatial projects across multiple sectors that resulted in the development of commonly needed fundamental information across key sectors of the government such as education, health, local government/urban planning, etc. Additionally, she has drafted award-winning documents that gained international exposure to the client and the GPC group on the AD-SDI program. She also actively contributes to the SDI business value assessments, community organization activities such as multi-sector Working Groups planning and coordination, SDI Master planning for Data Inventory and Projects Alignment, etc. She is currently honing up her program management skills, as a preparatory move towards the much-aspired national level SDI programs.

Binusha is specialized in the spatial data management realm with focus on GIS, Digital Mapping and Project Management. She currently handles the geospatial data projects alignment for the Abu Dhabi Emirate, as part of her consultative function to the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) for the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) program.

Binusha holds a Masters degree in GIS and Management from the Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K, and is a member of the UK Association for Geographic Information (AGI). Prior to joining the Geographic Planning Collaboration group in 2009, she has served Dubai based corporate giants such as the Al Futtaim group and Dubai Holdings group in the capacity of GIS Manager. Binusha has carried out national/sub-national levels digital mapping activities across the MENA region during her tenure with the MAPS geosystems (currently FugroMAPS), as the Projects Leader and Management Representative for GIS projects.

Benjamin Hardy

Business Analyst

Benjamin has over fifteen years experience in the spatial and construction industries, and has been based in the Middle East since 2007.  Positioned in Abu Dhabi, he was the technical coordinator involved with the master planning for a number of major projects within the MENA region including the Palm and World Island developments, Abu Dhabi’s Sowah Island development, and also spatial liaison for many environmental impact assessments including Qatar’s international airport expansion. In early 2009, he joined the diverse team at GPC-GIS to develop the AD-SDI Community Facilities Project and facilitate the development and integration of GIS capacity and services utilization within the government stakeholder community.  Prior to relocating to the Middle East, Benjamin was employed by the Australian government, investigating and developing new spatial technologies while maintaining Geoscience Australia’s credibility as a world leader in spatial visualization and innovation.

Nidal Saliba

Senior Consultant

With around 20 years of experience in the field of GIS and geospatial sciences and technologies, Nidal has developed expertise in GIS needs assessments, GIS application design and development, geo-spatial analysis and modeling, GIS training and capacity building, and enterprise GIS planning and development. He has intensive experience with projects funded by international donor agencies including the EU, USAID, JICA, GTZ, and KfW.

In addition, Nidal has extensive experience in implementing and managing GIS projects in Jordan, particularly in the water utilities and municipal domains. Between 2005 and 2007, Nidal was a member in the National Steering Committee for the Jordan Spatial Data Infrastructure (JSDI) – The "Jordan National GIS" Strategy.

Since 2009, he has worked with GPC GIS on strategic projects including the Community Development track of the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) and the study phase of the Abu Dhabi Government integrated electronic No-Objection Certificate System (e-NOC).

Nidal was awarded an M.Phil. Degree in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences and Computer Science from Yarmouk University, Jordan.

Arul Satheesh

Office Manager

Arul has more than 14 years of experience in the fields of Accounts, Office Administration, Documents Control, Inventory Control and Export & Import Management. He joined GPC-GIS during 2009 as an Office Manager and plays a vital role for the smooth operation of the day-to-day business. He works closely with the management and executives to address the company’s staffing, administrative, and organizational needs. He is responsible for managing payroll, auditing, organizing and coordinating office operations and procedures.

Prior joining GPC-GIS, he worked with Al Nakeel - The Design Group, Parsons International Limited and Dar Al Handasah Consultants and took many challenges in Project Commercials, Finance and Administration.

Arul holds Masters Degrees in Business Administration (MBA - Finance) and Commerce (M.Com).

Joann Sorensen-O’Neill

Office Manager, Running Springs Branch

Joann Sorensen-O’Neill is the office manager for the Running Springs, USA branch of the GPC Group. She has a B.A. in Sociology from Ashford University in Iowa, USA. She is a youth leader for the Jane Goodall organization Roots & Shoots, and shares the passion for environment with the children in her community. Mrs. Sorensen-O’Neill has over 13 years of Administrative and Human Resources Management experience, and continues to contribute support to several branches of the group including subcontractor liaison support, project reporting, and miscellaneous Human Resources functions.

Maria Shahinyan

Staff Accountant

Maria Lagurashvili is the staff accountant for all branches of the GPC Group, and is located in the Running Springs, California, USA office. She has a B.A. in Accounting from University of Moscow, Russia.

Ms. Lagurashvili has over eleven years of accounting experience, and supports all aspects of company accounting, including custom project reporting and budget preparation and analysis as well as helping to write and implement accounting standard operation platforms for each area of the company.

Mahmoud Jaafar

Service Desk Manager

Mahmoud has over 7 years in GIS and an IT academic background. He joined GPC GIS in 2009 in the capacity of Service Desk Manager within the Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure (AD-SDI) program, where he manages the geospatial related requests received from the AD-SDI community of more than 56 government entities. His role involves deep interrelation and coordination with various units and tracks within the program.

Mahmoud also led and contributed to the current instance of the AD-SDI Service Desk system, and developed its respective standard operating procedures and custom reports based on the program business needs, which significantly helped to improve service and process efficiency, compliance, and business excellence in certification and auditing. In Addition, and as an active member of the technical operations team in the AD-SDI program, and enriched by the experience and exposure to various GIS implementations across several business sectors, Mahmoud performs geospatial tasks such as imagery assessment and image service configuration, data review and assessment, tasks related tocreating thematic and analytical maps, besides providing strong technical consultancy for the community once needed.

Mahmoud was awarded an M.Sc in Computer Science and Engineering from Oakland University- Michigan, and a B.Sc in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut. Before joining GPC, he worked for the UAE Esri distributor – GISTEC as a technical support engineer.