Talents UAE consists of a multicultural team made up from people with robust experience within the field of project management, consultancy and education. This experience has been built by working within these sectors either in the UAE specifically, the MENA region or Europe. This combined experience makes for a knowledgeable and culturally sensitive team that understands and delivers on their client’s needs.
We operate according to a holistic approach; we want to inspire audiences and empower teams and our own management team reflects this. In order to build a stable and excelling organisation you have to build capacity within a team; members of our team in management positions first joined Talents UAE as part of the visitor-facing team on the floor and are now leading similar teams or projects themselves. This first-hand experience means we understand both the science and the art of creating stunning and sustainable audience experiences.
Saeed Saeed
Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Board
Saeed Saeed is the Cofounder of National Talents Company for Training and Education (TalentS) and Executive Director of Mishkat Interactive Center for Atomic & Renewable Energy, both based in Saudi Arabia. Saeed has worked with the TalentS|KCA team for the past four years, developing and operating experiences designed to inspire, educate and engage Saudi Arabian audiences.
Saeed is currently the Chairman at National Talents Company for Training & Education. Prior to founding Talents™, Saeed worked with Saudi Aramco, supervising a group of 36 electrical and mechanical technicians. He was inspired to set up TalentS, aiming to inspire Saudi Arabian youth in the fields of engineering education and creative thinking.
With the TalentS|KCA team, Saeed has delivered Kingdom wide programmes that has enabled thousands of children to think like scientists, develop skills, and consider career opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths for clients in collaboration with the Exploratorium and Lawrence Hall of Science. He leads a team of Saudi Arabian professionals working from Riyadh and Al Khobar, delivering services for landmark science centres and fabrication labs and working across the Gulf with clients include the Etihad Museum (Dubai) and the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
Saeed has a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, USA. He is a Lego Education Partner in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, has developed relationships with MIT and continues to participate in programmes with Harvard Business School.
Rupert Tappin
Country Manager
Rupert has been the Country Manager for Talents UAE since 2018. He works across a number of projects in a Project Director capacity.
He started his career at the Science Museum, London as an Explainer in the Museum’s interactive galleries, delivering shows and workshops to broad audiences. He completed a degree in chemistry and french and soon moved to project managing the delivery of contemporary science exhibitions and coordinated international tours. As the interest in hands-on science centres grew, Rupert moved to the team that developed @Bristol, a new science centre being designed for Bristol in the UK, including many of its interactive exhibits and experiences.
With his background in project management, communication and influencing, Rupert entered the charity sector. He founded his own companies which helped raise money for charities from the general public, establishing regional offices throughout the UK and managing a workforce of almost 200 staff. The analytical side of his work helped charities better understand their donors and motivations for giving, delivering insight and innovative solutions in fundraising.
In 2017 Rupert rekindled his interest in education and learning and joined Talents UAE where he has been working to build the client-base and reputation of the company in the creation of inspiring visitor experiences. He works across a number of projects in a project direction capacity, including the mediation services for both the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Qasr Al Watan, The Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, Rupert has been instrumental in securing key contracts with Expo 2020, including the operation of the UK Pavilion and the UAE Pavilion and educational programming for Thematic Pavilions. Rupert is now focussing on broadening the reach of Talents UAE, by focussing on applying our visitor experience expertise across not only the cultural, heritage, scientific sectors but also the corporate sector, including clients such as BASF.
Josephine Mees
Project Manager
Josephine is a UAE resident with a background in Art History, PR & Marketing and Project Management.
She joined Talents UAE in 2017 as an Art & Engagement Mediator at Louvre Abu Dhabi, facilitating tours and workshops for various audience groups such as adults, families, schools and VIPs. After gaining valuable hands-on experience in this visitor facing role, Josephine joined Talents UAE’s management team as Project Manager. Over the past two years she has led a range of small to large-scale projects such as management of the Mediation Team at Louvre Abu Dhabi, the recruitment, training and management of the bilingual guiding team at Qasr Al Watan (Presidential Palace, Abu Dhabi), customer service training for the Traineeship Programme for National Pavilion UAE (Venice Biannual) and the coordination and delivery of the BASF Hothouse Challenge – a series of workshop for schools visiting the 2018 Solar Decathlon Middle East.