We build with strategy, act with claritY, and always stay curious
SARA ANWAR
Founder
Expertise: URBAN Strategy & policy ALIGNMENT . Architecture . Sustainable urban development . HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN . LIVEABILITY STRATEGY . URBAN RESEARCH DESIGN . STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT . PROJECT LEADERSHIP
Sara is an architect and urban strategist with over 15 years of experience in project leadership across public and private sectors, working at the intersection of real estate development, urban planning, and policy. She brings together human centered design, data analytics, and strategic visioning to enhance urban livability, policy alignment, and social value. As much as she is a practitioner, she is a builder of teams, of cross-sector ecosystems, and of the collaborative infrastructure that complex urban challenges demand.
Her work has consistently focused on the questions that precede execution, defining strategic direction, designing research frameworks, interpreting findings, and translating them into coherent development pathways that align vision with governance and sustainability. This focus led Sara to found Code Urban Advisory around a core belief that sustainable urban development is only achievable when sustainability is embedded at the foundation of project vision and when all stakeholders are aligned. Code Urban facilitates this through an integrated network of specialists across urban planning, governance, culture, technology, and innovation that add value as individual project needs demand. The practice also manages stakeholder complexity on the client side, ensuring all perspectives are coordinated without fragmentation.
Since 2008, Sara has worked on real estate and urban development projects in UAE and KSA. She has served as a Liveability Strategist at the Department of Municipality and Transport in Abu Dhabi, and Project Manager on a PIF Giga Project that developed the Saudi Traditional Architectural guidelines. She curated the National Pavilion of Pakistan for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2020 and leads ARCHITECTEM, a platform activating research and dialogue on architecture. She holds a BArch from Cornell University and an MSc in Sustainable Urban Development from Oxford University.
ADVISORS
Expertise: URBAN research, Strategy, & programming . Sustainable urban development . policy technical guidance . capacity building & training
RAMI ZOUEINI
Rami Zoueini is an urban development and humanitarian specialist with over 13 years of experience shaping urban programming across more than 50 countries. As a former Global Urban Programming Technical Advisor with World Vision International, he has worked at the intersection of urbanisation, sustainability, and the humanitarian–development–peace nexus, supporting governments, NGOs, and multi-stakeholder platforms in designing and implementing context-responsive urban strategies.
His expertise spans urban research, strategy development, and program design and management, including multi-million-dollar portfolios in fragile and complex environments. Rami has led global capacity-building initiatives, notably designing and delivering a flagship programme that trained over 70 urban practitioners worldwide, while also contributing to technical guidance, policy briefs, and applied research that inform evidence-based urban interventions.
Rami brings a strong focus on translating theory into practice, supporting organisations to strengthen team capabilities, co-author high-quality publications, and develop scalable, sustainable urban solutions. He holds an MSc in Sustainable Urban Development from the University of Oxford, where his dissertation examined social protection systems for urban street vendors, with a focus on informality, governance, and urban inclusion.
Nicole Kanne
Nicole Kanne is a Dubai-based cultural strategist and advisor. She believes that art and culture are intrinsic to urban infrastructure, not just as institutional add-ons, but as forces that shape civic identity and global positioning.
With nearly a decade of experience across the Gulf’s visual arts sector, she works with governments, institutions, and consultancy firms to develop research-backed cultural strategies that embed this thinking into how cities define themselves and engage their audiences.
Nicole has contributed to some of the region’s most prominent public art programmes, shaping curatorial frameworks, advising on artist selection, and developing commissioning briefs that connect artistic vision to place and context
She also advises private collectors and corporate clients on collection building and acquisitions, with a focus on contemporary art from the Gulf and the wider Middle East. Nicole established her independent consultancy in 2021 and holds an MPhil in History of Art from the University of Cambridge and a Diploma in Museum Studies from the École du Louvre.
Expertise: Cultural Strategy . Public Art Programming . Curatorial Advisory . Creative Industry Planning . Institutional Positioning
Expertise: Corporate governance . Financial regulation . SUSTAINABLE business transformation . Institutional capacity building . international relations & diplomatic affairs . leadership development
Sadia Khan
Sadia Khan is an internationally recognized leader in corporate governance, financial regulation, and sustainable business, with a career spanning more than 30 years across Asia, Europe, and North America. Her professional journey bridges global financial markets, multilateral development institutions, and national regulatory bodies, giving her a uniquely international perspective on governance and responsible leadership. She made history in 2020 as the first woman appointed Commissioner of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), where she served a three-year term. Prior to this, she led the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) as President & CEO, championing governance reforms and capacity building across the corporate sector.
Sadia began her career at Lehman Brothers in New York and has held senior roles at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, the State Bank of Pakistan, and earlier tenures at the SECP. She holds master’s degrees in economics from Cambridge University and Yale University, along with an MBA from INSEAD.
A long-standing advocate for strong governance ecosystems, she has served on numerous boards as an independent director and authored Corporate Governance Landscape of Pakistan, published by Oxford University Press. Her leadership has been recognized globally: she was awarded the French Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2014, received the International Directors Network Good Governance Award in 2021, and was honored with INSEAD’s Volunteer Leaders Award in 2023. INSEAD has published a case study on her tenure as Global President of the INSEAD Alumni Association. She also served as the Honorary Consul General of Finland in Karachi between 2012-2020.
Now based in Dubai, Sadia pursues a portfolio career as an educator, advisor, and governance practitioner, with a strong focus on sustainability, board effectiveness, and responsible business transformation. She speaks regularly at international forums on governance, leadership, and the future of sustainable enterprise.