In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we sit down with Ahmed Bahgat, a leading IT expert, digital forensics specialist, and court-appointed arbitrator who has handled 600+ cyber and technology-related cases across the UAE, GCC, and Canada.

From cyber breaches and data leaks to AI deployment disputes and cryptocurrency investigations, Ahmed shares real-world insights into modern digital crime — and how organizations should protect themselves before it’s too late.

Whether you’re a founder, executive, or tech leader, this episode will give you a rare insider perspective on the legal, technical, and business complexities shaping cybersecurity and AI in today’s digital economy.

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👤 About Ahmed Bahgat

Ahmed Bahgat is an IT expert, digital forensics specialist, and arbitrator with over 20 years of experience across oil & gas, banking, retail, and government sectors.

He is certified in blockchain, AI, and IT service management, and serves as a registered expert in federal courts across the UAE, Bahrain, and beyond.

He has led IT across 18 countries and has been assigned to 600+ cyber and tech disputes, covering:

• Cyber fraud & data theft

• AI implementation conflicts

• Cryptocurrency cases

• Internal data abuse & insider threats

• Digital forensics & evidence analysis

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🔑 Key Takeaways

✅ The rise of cyber disputes and AI legal cases in the UAE & beyond

✅ How digital forensics works in real investigations

✅ What executives MUST know before signing tech contracts

✅ Why “we’re too small to be hacked” is dangerous thinking

✅ How poor data governance and access control lead to legal liability

✅ The growing trend of private AI models for government & enterprises

✅ Real examples of data leakage and fraud incidents

✅ Steps every company should take to build digital readiness

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📚 What You Will Learn

• How cybercrime and digital evidence are handled legally

• Key mistakes companies make with data & cybersecurity

• Why proactive cyber policies save companies millions

• What founders should know about AI risk & compliance

• How to protect your business from internal & external threats

🕒 Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

01:00 – Ahmed’s journey from engineer to cyber arbitrator

04:00 – Why hands-on tech experience matters in legal cases

06:00 – The reality of cybercrime and tech disputes in the region

08:30 – Why companies ignore security until disaster strikes

11:00 – Digital forensic tools and processes explained

14:30 – Mapping digital evidence to UAE federal cyber law

17:00 – Common enterprise security gaps (and why they fail)

20:00 – Insider threats and financial fraud case examples

22:00 – Cryptocurrency, AI & social media disputes on the rise

24:00 – Private AI vs public AI — what companies should know

27:00 – Final advice for business leaders & tech teams

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• UAE Federal Cybercrime Law (Law No. 34 of 2021)

• Digital forensics tools: FTK, Wireshark, UFED

• Local cyber agencies (Dubai Police Cyber Dept., etc.)

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🤝 Connect With Ahmed Bahgat

🔗 LinkedIn: — https://www.linkedin.com/in/bahgatexpert/

Tourism is becoming a strategic economic engine for cities like Dubai, Singapore, Riyadh, and Milan. But one massive gap has been untouched: tax-free shopping.

Every year, billions in VAT refunds leave local economies instead of being reinvested into retail and travel ecosystems.

Ameer Jumahboy, Co-Founder & CEO of Utu, is changing that.

He shares:

• How digital tax-free systems work under the hood

• Why airports are the next major retail battleground

• How AI and data will transform travel spending behavior

• Lessons from building with a second-generation founder and global retail pioneer (his father)

This is a deep dive into a misunderstood, under-innovated, $5B opportunity.

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👤 About Ameer Jumahboy

Ameer Jumahboy is the Co-Founder & CEO of Utu, a travel-fintech platform reimagining tax-free shopping.

From Singapore to Dubai and Europe, Utu modernizes VAT refunds by turning them into instant retail value — boosting tourism spend and upgrading traveler experience.

His co-founder is his father — the industry veteran who built two global tax-free giants (Global Blue & Planet). Together, they are scaling a third-generation travel retail model across continents.

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🔑 Key Takeaways

• The tax-free refund system is a massive under-innovated fintech layer

• Digitization unlocks new value for travelers, governments, and retailers

• Airports are evolving into data-first, conversion-driven retail hubs

• Middle East destinations are redefining tourism infrastructure

• Legacy industries need youthful vision + institutional experience

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🎧 What You’ll Learn

• How tax-free systems actually work — and why digital matters

• Role of AI in travel retail personalization & spend prediction

• Expansion strategy across GCC, Europe, and global hubs

• How to build a business with family — and win

• The psychology of travel spending and loyalty mechanics

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🧭 Episode Highlights

• (01:30) Ameer’s journey & building with his father

• (05:00) The problem with legacy tax-free systems

• (09:15) Product-market fit after multiple iterations

• (12:50) Stakeholders in tax-free innovation

• (18:20) Why GCC is primed for travel tech leadership

• (23:10) Cracking the UAE retail ecosystem through Gold Souk

• (27:40) Data, AI, and the next evolution of airport retail

• (34:10) Competition, first-mover advantage & innovation culture

• (39:00) Vision: a global travel-commerce layer

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Utu — https://utu.global/

• Global Blue & Planet (industry context)

Ameer’s Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameerjumabhoy/

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Art Rivilis, CTO of Augment, to explore how AI is moving beyond copilots and into the era of AI teammates — intelligent agents that think, act, and collaborate like humans.

Art shares his journey from immigrant engineer to CTO, the lessons learned through two major acquisitions (Shopify and Flexport), and what it really takes to lead engineering teams through hypergrowth and M&A.

From redefining logistics through AI to tackling the hard problems of workflow automation and prompt design, this conversation unpacks how today’s CTOs can build systems — and teams — that scale with intelligence, not just speed.

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👤 About the Guest

Art Rivilis is the Chief Technology Officer at Augment, a pioneering AI company building intelligent teammates for the logistics and freight industry.

With 20 years of experience in engineering and product leadership, Art has held pivotal roles at VMware, Flixster, Symphony, Deliver (acquired by Shopify), and Flexport.

His expertise spans distributed systems, startup scaling, and AI-driven automation.

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🚀 Key Takeaways

• From Code to Leadership: How a lifelong engineer transitions from building software to building teams.

• Leading Through Acquisitions: Lessons from being acquired twice and integrating engineering cultures.

• Beyond Copilots: Why the next wave of AI isn’t about assistance, but collaboration.

• AI in Logistics: How Augment is using agentic AI to revolutionize freight and supply chain operations.

• Prompting for Precision: Why writing great prompts may be the hardest skill in the age of AI.

• Scaling Teams, Scaling Trust: The organizational inflection points at 100+ engineers — and how to maintain clarity and culture.

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🎓 What You’ll Learn

• What it takes to lead a startup through two acquisitions and come out stronger.

• How AI teammates differ from copilots — and why that matters for the future of work.

• The real-world challenges of integrating AI into legacy industries like logistics.

• Why prompt engineering and human context remain essential in building reliable AI systems.

• How CTOs can prepare for the agentic AI revolution — where systems act, not just assist.

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🕒 Episode Highlights (Timestamps for YouTube & Spotify)

00:00 – Intro & what to expect in this episode

02:00 – Art’s early passion for tech and first steps as an engineer

09:00 – From engineer to leader: why he became a CTO

17:00 – The challenges of being on the “acquired” side of M&A

25:00 – Integrating engineering teams and maintaining trust

33:00 – The 100-person rule: when to scale and when to delegate

37:00 – What Augment is building and why logistics is ripe for AI

45:00 – How the logistics industry is responding to AI adoption

53:00 – Can agentic AI transform other verticals?

57:00 – The next frontier: prompts, reasoning, and superintelligence

1:04:00 – Final reflections and where to find Art

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Augment – Official Website: https://www.goaugment.com/

• The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

• Art Rivilis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arturrivilis/