The Margin Killer
Hunt down the product, market and cause behind a profit drop.
EARLY BIRD
USD 300
USD 400
DUBAI EDITION - 14 NOVEMBER 2026
Second Brain
Saturday.
Leave with AI
that works for you.
A hands-on AI workshop for finance & business leaders. One day at your keyboard. Tools you build yourself. A team challenge you will not watch from the sidelines.
- W Dubai – The Palm
- 09:00–17:00 · Dubai time
JOINTLY PRESENTED BY
×
YOUR NEXT WORKDAY, REIMAGINED
01 / 01
THE WORKSHOP GAME
Build your tools.
Build your tools.
Raise your skyline.
Human-verified
Ideas → Working tools
05
TEAMS
02
FINALE ROUNDS
01
TROPHY
Illustrative game concept · Not a live scoreboard
YOUR WORKBENCH
✦
Microsoft Copilot
✳
Claude
◎
ChatGPT
Same finance tasks. Different ways to build.
01 / THE EXPERIENCE
Not another talk
about
the future.
A day to build what you can use next.
Month-end reporting. Variance analysis. Margin reviews. Board presentations. Start with the work you know — then change how you do it.
⅔
At your keyboard.
Two-thirds of the day is hands-on. No talk runs longer than 20 minutes.
25
People. Not a crowd.
A small-group workshop with five teams of five. Everyone takes part.
Build. Then verify.
Your name goes on your answer. An incorrect, signed-off number costs team points.
BUILT FOR
Finance-minded.
AI-curious.
CFOs & finance leaders
Commercial finance teams
Finance managers
Business leaders
No AI background needed. Familiarity with Excel, the P&L and month-end is your starting point. This is not a developer course or a watch-only event.
02 / YOUR TAKEAWAYS
Five things to take
back to work.
Not a folder of slides.
A day of building, testing
and better judgment.
01
A month-end assistant
Build a commentary assistant in Claude around a familiar finance workflow.
From raw results to a clearer narrative.
02
An agent with a job
Build an AI agent that reads data and flags what deserves your attention.
Less tool-hopping. More purposeful work.
03
AI inside your Excel work
Work on a P&L with Copilot and Claude: clean data, inspect movements and build a bridge.
The spreadsheet is your starting point.
04
A one-page data policy
Create a practical starting point for deciding what your team should and should not put into AI.
Human judgment stays in the loop.
05
Your before & after
Compare your AI skills score before and after the day, and receive your certificate.
A visible record of your learning.
Dummy data. Real practice.
No confidential company data is used in the workshop.
03 / THE DAY, DESIGNED
From first prompt
From first prompt
to final round.
Saturday 14 November 2026
Check-in: 08:00–08:45
Workshop: 09:00–17:00
All times are Dubai local time.
08:00–08:45 Check-in & setup Arrival
Laptop and account check, a 10-question AI quiz, and a short “before” video.
09:00–09:20 The opening move Team formation
Why AI matters for finance. Form your team and use AI to create its name and logo.
09:20–09:50 Understanding AI Foundations
AI, machine learning and deep learning in plain finance language. Traditional, generative and agentic AI, and AGI.
09:50–10:50 Talking to AI Prompting
Four ways to get reliable answers, from the CRISP prompt to skills that need no prompt at all.
10:50–11:05 Refreshment break Break
Pause, recharge and compare notes.
11:05–12:05 Excel with AI Hands-on
Copilot and Claude side by side on the same P&L: clean data, build a price/volume/mix bridge, and flag anomalies.
12:05–12:50 Lunch Included
Lunch is included in your workshop ticket.
12:50–14:05 Claude masterclass Build session
Projects, Skills, Artifacts, Connectors and Cowork. Build your own month-end commentary assistant.
14:05–15:05 Building agents Build session
The same agent on Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot. Build one that reads data and flags what matters.
15:05–15:20 Refreshment break Break
A final recharge before the last sessions.
15:20–15:40 Using AI safely Human oversight
What data can and cannot go into AI. Create a one-page AI policy for your team.
15:40–16:45 The finale Two rounds
The Margin Killer and The Deck Race. Use everything you built during the day.
16:45–17:00 Results, trophy & certificates Finish line
Before-and-after results on screen, the winning team, and your workshop certificate.
Built around practical finance tasks,
not generic AI demos.
That is my kind of Saturday
04 / LEARN. BUILD. COMPETE.A little pressure.
A little pressure.
A lot of learning.
Every session scores.
Five teams. A live Dubai skyline. Two finale rounds: find the profit problem, then race to create a board-ready presentation. One team takes the trophy.
The Deck Race
Turn what you found into an AI-built, board-ready presentation.
ONE
TROPHY.
TROPHY.
ROUND 01 / SPOT THE MARGIN KILLER0 / 200 points
Choose your team
Revenue is flat.
Where did the profit go?
Each product sold 100 units at $100 in both months. Inspect gross profit — then pick the biggest problem.
| Product | Month 1 | Month 2 |
|---|---|---|
| SKU A | 4,000 | 3,800 |
| SKU B | 5,000 | 3,000 |
| SKU C | 6,000 | 6,100 |
Now make it
board-ready.
Which headline is specific, decision-relevant and appropriately cautious?
YOUR TEAM’S SKYLINEDEMO POINTS ONLY
0
TEAM 01
0
TEAM 02
0
TEAM 03
0
TEAM 04
0
TEAM 05
Fast is good.
Verified is better.Human review is part of the game.
THIS IS A TASTER, NOT THE ASSESSMENT.
This scripted mini-challenge does not call an AI model or show live event scores. The actual Deck Race involves building a presentation.
YOUR WORKSHOP LEAD
MR
↗
17+
YEARS IN BUSINESS
& FINANCE
05 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORKSHOP
Meet
Mahmoud Reda.
FP&A · AI · Digital transformation
Mahmoud brings 17+ years of FMCG business and finance experience across the Middle East and Africa, with a focus on AI and digital transformation.
He leads a day built around familiar finance work: making sense of the numbers, developing useful AI workflows, and knowing when an answer needs a second look.
Practical finance context
Hands-on AI workflows
Human judgment
A JOINT WORKSHOP BY
×
06 / A DIFFERENT KIND OF SATURDAY
Dubai.
With a purpose.
W Dubai – The Palm
Venue image supplied for this design draft
THE SETTING
One day away from routine.
Plenty to take back.
A full day of focused work, shared challenges and conversations with finance and business peers.
- W Dubai – The Palm · Dubai, UAE
- Saturday 14 November 2026
- Lunch & refreshments included
Venue photographs are illustrative. The assigned room and final setup are to be confirmed. Hotel accommodation and leisure access are not part of the stated ticket inclusions.
Meeting space · Illustrative setup
W Dubai – The Palm
08 / YOUR PLACE AT THE TABLE
A second brain.
A first step.
Bring the work you know.
Build a different way to do it.
- 14 November 2026
- W Dubai – The Palm
- 25 total places · Individual registration
25 is the total workshop capacity, not a live count of remaining seats. Availability is confirmed through registration.
EARLY BIRD
SAVE 25%
USD
300
400
per person · one full day
7-DAY LAUNCH OFFER
Campaign dates to be announced.
- Full-day hands-on workshop
- Lunch & refreshments
- Workshop materials
- Certificate
09 / BEFORE YOU DECIDE
Good
questions.
Clear expectations make a better workshop.
No AI background is needed. The workshop is designed for finance and business leaders who are familiar with Excel, the P&L and month-end. It is not a developer or IT training day.
Yes. This is a hands-on workshop, not a conference: no panels and no keynotes. You work on your own laptop, build tools around finance tasks, and take part in team challenges.
Bring a fully charged personal laptop, a paid Claude account (Pro or above), and a paid ChatGPT account (Plus or above). Detailed Excel and Copilot access requirements are pending confirmation. Responsibility for AI subscription costs will be confirmed before booking opens.
No. All workshop exercises use dummy data. Do not bring confidential company data into the exercises or upload it to AI tools during the workshop.
Your ticket includes the workshop, lunch, refreshments, learning materials and a certificate. It does not promise hotel accommodation, pool or beach access, or any unlisted hotel service.
During the early-bird window, the fee is USD 300 per person, compared with the standard fee of USD 400. The campaign is planned to run for seven days, with one published closing date for everyone. The launch and closing dates have not yet been set. There are 25 total places; current availability must be checked at registration.
Check-in and laptop/account checks run from 08:00 to 08:45. The workshop runs from 09:00 to 17:00 on Saturday 14 November 2026. All times are Dubai local time.
VAT treatment is pending confirmation. Payment, cancellation and substitution terms will be confirmed before booking opens. No payment or booking is processed by this design preview.
SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER / DUBAI
Leave with AI
that works for
you.
25 PEOPLE. FIVE TEAMS. ONE DAY OF BUILDING.
EARLY BIRD
USD 300
USD 400