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TecHive Global
Roundtable

When Systems Are Overwhelmed: Leadership, Community Resilience and Innovation Before the Next Disaster

3 November 20265:00 PM – 7:00 PM UAE Time
Reserve Your Spot

One Table. Many Voices. A Shared View of What Comes Next.

Across the world, disasters and complex emergencies are testing institutions, infrastructure and communities in ways that conventional systems were not always designed to withstand.

But some of the most important lessons emerge when those systems reach their limits.

The TecHive Global Round Table brings together leaders with decades of experience across disaster management, humanitarian response, emergency leadership, community resilience and technology for an open global conversation on what happens when established systems are overwhelmed — and what we must do differently before the next disaster.

Drawing on experience from some of the world’s most complex emergencies, participants will exchange perspectives, challenge assumptions and explore how leadership, communities, institutions and technology can work differently when conventional response mechanisms are stretched to their limits.

Rescue worker searching a building collapsed by an earthquake

The Central Question

“When established systems reach their limits, how do leaders make decisions, mobilize communities and use technology to protect lives — and how do we institutionalize those lessons before the next crisis?”

At the heart of the discussion is another important question:

Are we genuinely learning from disasters, or simply documenting the same failures after every event?

The Round Table will move beyond individual disasters to examine the recurring challenges they expose — from decision-making under extreme uncertainty and institutional limitations to community-led response, anticipatory action and the responsible use of emerging technologies.

Why This Conversation Matters

Recent disasters continue to demonstrate that even well-established emergency management systems can be pushed beyond their planned capacity.

When this happens, response depends on much more than procedures and plans.

Leadership must adapt.

Communities often become the first line of response.

Institutions must make decisions with incomplete information.

Technology must support action without adding complexity.

And lessons identified after one emergency must translate into meaningful change before the next.

Rather than asking only “What went wrong?”, the conversation asks:

“What needs to change?”

The TecHive Global Round Table creates a space to examine these challenges through the experiences of leaders who have worked across policy, humanitarian operations, national emergency management, community response and technology.

Around the Table

Five leaders. Different perspectives. One shared conversation on resilience.

Ricardo Mena

Ricardo Mena

Former Director, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Co-Founder, WCMR – Withstanding Crisis: Managing Risk

Ricardo Mena is a globally recognised leader in disaster risk reduction, resilience and risk governance, with decades of experience working with governments and international institutions.

Having served as Director at UNDRR, his work has focused on strengthening disaster risk governance and translating global frameworks into practical action at national and regional levels.

At the Round Table, Ricardo brings the perspective of risk governance, institutional preparedness and the challenge of turning lessons from disasters into sustained systemic change.

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Ashish Kulkarni

Ashish Kulkarni

Co-Founder and Director, ElementsAi and ALERT360

Ashish Kulkarni works at the intersection of emergency management, operational decision-making and emerging technology.

With experience spanning high-risk industries, critical infrastructure and crisis preparedness, his work focuses on how AI, simulation, geospatial intelligence, ALERT360 solutions and decision-support technologies can help organisations move from static preparedness toward dynamic and measurable readiness.

Ashish brings the technology and innovation perspective to the Round Table — examining where technology can genuinely strengthen human decision-making, how ALERT360 solutions can support real-time situational awareness and coordinated response, and where technology alone cannot solve systemic preparedness challenges.

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Dovie Maisel

Dovie Maisel

VP of Global Innovation & Operations, United Hatzalah of Israel

Dovie Maisel is VP of Global Innovation & Operations at United Hatzalah of Israel and a co-founder of the organization, where he has helped shape its growth into one of the world’s largest volunteer-based emergency medical service networks. With extensive experience in crisis response, humanitarian EMS, community-based emergency response, and field leadership, Dovie has been instrumental in advancing innovative approaches to emergency response and operational excellence. His work includes the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies such as predictive dispatch systems, which help identify likely medical emergencies and position responders more effectively, reducing response times and improving patient outcomes. He has also played a key role in strengthening operational readiness, driving innovation, and supporting lifesaving efforts in disaster and conflict situations around the world.

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Walter Cotte

Walter Cotte

Former Under-Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Co-Founder, WCMR – Withstanding Crisis: Managing Risk

Walter Cotte is an experienced humanitarian leader with extensive global experience across disaster preparedness, emergency response and community resilience.

During his leadership roles within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, he worked across complex humanitarian environments and large-scale emergencies where coordination, local capacity and rapid decision-making were critical.

Walter brings a strong humanitarian and community-centred perspective, exploring what happens when formal systems are stretched and how communities, local organisations and humanitarian networks can strengthen resilience.

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William Craig Fugate

William Craig Fugate

Former Administrator, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Craig Fugate is an internationally recognised emergency management leader who served as Administrator of FEMA and previously led emergency management for the State of Florida.

His career has centred on managing major disasters and challenging conventional assumptions about how emergency management systems should operate.

Craig brings the perspective of leadership under pressure, decision-making at scale and building emergency systems that can adapt when plans and assumptions no longer match the reality on the ground.

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Ashwina Kulkarni

Moderator

Ashwina Kulkarni

Co-Founder and Director, ElementsAi and ALERT360

With a professional background across emergency management, crisis management, disaster risk reduction and technology-enabled preparedness, Ashwina Kulkarni will moderate the TecHive Global Round Table.

As Co-Founder of ElementsAi and ALERT360, Ashwina has also been involved in the development of several AI-driven solutions supporting emergency management, disaster preparedness, risk intelligence and response coordination.

She has previously moderated the AI + Urban Heat session, bringing together professionals and experts from organisations including UNDRR, IFRC, UN-Habitat, REAP, WMO and WHO, among others, to explore the role of artificial intelligence in addressing urban heat risks and strengthening resilience.

She will guide the conversation across the different perspectives around the table, connecting lessons from policy, humanitarian operations, emergency management, community response and technology.

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What the Round Table Will Explore

The conversation will move organically across interconnected themes rather than traditional presentation sessions, including:

  • Leadership when systems are overwhelmed

    How decisions change when established structures, resources and procedures are no longer enough.

  • Community resilience when formal capacity reaches its limits

    The role of communities, volunteers and local networks as active participants in preparedness and response.

  • Learning from recent disasters

    What recent emergencies reveal about recurring preparedness gaps and why lessons identified do not always become lessons implemented.

  • Decision-making under uncertainty

    How leaders act when information is incomplete, circumstances are changing rapidly and the consequences of delay are significant.

  • Anticipatory action and preparedness

    Moving from reacting effectively to recognising risk earlier and acting before impacts escalate.

  • Technology and innovation

    Where AI, data, simulation, early warning and emerging technologies can strengthen preparedness and decision-making — and where human judgement must remain central.

  • Institutional adaptability

    How governments, humanitarian organisations and emergency management systems can become more flexible when traditional structures are tested.

  • From lessons learned to lessons institutionalised

    How experience from one disaster can meaningfully influence policies, capabilities, training and preparedness before the next.

Who Should Join?

The TecHive Global Round Table is relevant to professionals working across:

  • Disaster risk reduction and emergency management
  • Government and public-sector resilience
  • Humanitarian response
  • Crisis and business continuity management
  • Critical infrastructure and high-risk industries
  • Community resilience and civil society
  • Early warning and anticipatory action
  • AI, geospatial intelligence and emergency technologies
  • Academia, research and resilience policy

Event Details

TecHive Global Round Table

Date:

3 November 2026

Time:

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM UAE Time

Reserve Your Spot

Topic:

When Systems Are Overwhelmed: Leadership, Community Resilience and Innovation Before the Next Disaster

Voices:

  • Dovie Maisel
  • Ricardo Mena
  • Walter Cotte
  • William Craig Fugate
  • Ashish Kulkarni

Moderator:

Ashwina Kulkarni

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