Abir Leheta was elected as Chairman and CEO of Egytrans, the leading national transport and logistics provider, in 2015, thereby becoming the first woman to occupy this position in the history of the company. She has continued as Chief Executive Officer since April 2022 with the implementation of corporate governance best practices separating board and executive leadership roles. Abir is also a Non-Executive Board Member of Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Co. (ACCH).

 Recognized by Forbes as one of the Middle East’s 100 Power Businesswomen in 2020, 2023 and 2024, Abir’s record of transformative leadership is demonstrated through successfully implementing programs and services that have significantly changed the company. 

Under her leadership, Egytrans continues to grow, with the aim of building a transnational Transport and Logistics enterprise recognized within the region.

Abir dedicates significant time to civic organizations and is a vocal advocate of women’s empowerment. She is Vice Chair of the Transport Committee at the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA), Co-chair of the Transport Committee at AmCham Egypt, Chair of the Transport & Logistics committee at the Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA) and a Board Member of the Port Said Chamber of Shipping. 

She is also Board Treasurer of the Global Compact Network Egypt, the local chapter of the UN Global Compact, Co-Chair of the AUC Executive Education Advisory Council, and a Member of the Board of Trustees of EIOD (Egyptian Institute of Directors). 

Abir holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science with a Minor in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. She also has certifications in Quality and Organizational Excellence from the American Society for Quality (ASQ), Risk Management from the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) and Board Director Certification from the Egyptian Institute of Directors (EIoD) and IFC.

Dr. Abla Abdel Latif is currently the Executive Director and Director of Research of The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES). She was the Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council for Economic Development for eight years until last September 2024. 

She is an Egyptian national with a B.A. in economics from the American University in Cairo (AUC) (with highest honors) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. She was a Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo (AUC) for over twenty years, she has been selected to be a Life Time Research Fellow at the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and has authored a large number of publications in class A internationally refereed Journals. She also has very highly expertise in all aspects of SDGs.

Her professional experience is also extensive, starting from being the Policy Unit Manager in the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC) to being the Minister of Industry’s Advisor shortly after the 25th of January Revolution and until 2015 when she became the Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council for Economic Development. She was also a Member of the Central Bank of Egypt’s Coordinating Council, and a Board Member of the National Bank of Egypt – for over six years, the first female in this position. She has also been a senior international expert in several international organizations.

In 2013, she was honored with membership of the Committee of Fifty, whose mission was to draft Egypt’s Constitution following June 30, 2013. In that capacity, she was officially representing the Egyptian Federation of Industries, and one of only five females in the Committee. 

Dr. Abla received several awards among which a special award for outstanding achievement and excellence in research from Sussex University in the UK and a faculty excellence teaching award from the American University in Cairo. 

She is also a cofounder and Board Member of BASEERA (the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research), and “El Nidaa” Foundation for job creation for women and youth in Upper Egypt.

Ambassador Abou Bakr M. Hefny Mahmoud is a distinguished diplomat with a wealth of experience in international relations, and multilateral diplomacy with both, its political and economic dimensions. Born on November 21, 1962, in Cairo, Ambassador Mahmoud embarked on his diplomatic journey in 1985 when he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Throughout his illustrious career, he held various positions within the Ministry ofForeign Affairs, the Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of International Cooperation, and Egyptian Diplomatic Missions abroad, showcasing diverse work scopes. With a master's degree in African studies from the University of Paris I-Sorbonne, Ambassador Mahmoud's expertise in diplomacy spans across continents. From serving as a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs to holding key ambassadorial roles in countries such as Morocco, Ethiopia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, Ambassador Hefny has been instrumental in fostering international cooperation and strengthening bilateral relations. His contributions to the field of diplomacy extend beyond traditional roles, including serving as the President of the Board of Governors of the Anna Lindh Foundation and leading initiatives to promote intercultural dialogue in the Mediterranean region. Ambassador Mahmoud's dedication to multilateral cooperation was exemplified during his tenure as Egypt's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission to Africa, where he played a pivotal role in shaping Africa's strategic partnerships and advancing regional development initiatives. With a profound understanding of global affairs and a commitment to fostering harmonious relations between nations. Ambassador Hefny is fluent in Arabic, French, and English, with a good knowledge ofltalian and Spanish.

Dr. Ahmed El Beltagui has a longstanding experience in the Energy cooperation. He started his career in British Gas before moving to the Swiss Bank Corporation, the French Ministry of Finance, Directorate of international Relations, and the EU. 

He is currently managing the Climate, Energy and Transport portfolio at the Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Egypt.

Dr. Ahmed El Beltagui has several majors in engineering, business law and economics and has a Ph.D in applied economics.

Ahmed Farouk Ghoneim is currently a Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. He is a research fellow at the Economic Research Forum for Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF) as well as at Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) in Poland. He works as a consultant to several international and national organizations including the World Bank, WTO, UNCTAD, UNDP, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and his special interests in research include mainly trade policy, trade in services, regional trade integration, the multilateral trading system, the World Trade Organization, the economics of Intellectual Property Rights, institutional economics, law and economics, and political economy in which he has published widely. He held different policy oriented positions, among which was an advisor on foreign trade issues to the Minister of Foreign Trade, advisor to the Minister of Industry on foreign trade issues and international agreements, and advisor to the Minister of Planning and Economic Development on trade policy issues.

He advised several governments on different trade policy issues, and helped in capacity building programs in a number of countries. Since August 2014 he has been appointed as the Cultural Counselor for Egypt in Berlin and Vienna and the Head of the Student Mission in Germany, Austria and a number of European countries, which is a diplomatic position lasting for three years. Starting November 2018 he has been back to Egypt, as a professor of economics, Cairo University and pursuing back his research and consultancy interests. In August, 2020 he has been appointed as the head of the economic authority of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC). He served as a board member of Abo Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) as representative of National Islamic Bank in 2022. He serves as a board member for a number of institutions including NMEC, Grand Egyptian Museum, Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Fund for Tourism and Antiquities. 

Mr. Galal was Egypt’s Finance Minister between July 2013 and February 2014 and the ERF Managing Director from 2007 to 2016. 

Previously, he worked for the World Bank for 18 years where he conducted research and provided policy advice to governments in several regions. 

While on leave from the Bank (2000-2006), he was the Executive Director and Director of Research of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES).

Galal authored or co-authored more than dozen books, including Welfare Consequences of Selling Public Enterprises and The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa. He also authored several journal articles and book chapters.

In 2004, he was awarded the prestigious regional prize for Economic and Social Sciences by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. 

Galal holds a PhD in economics from Boston University.

Ahmed Kamaly is Associate Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo.  He joined AUC in 2002 after receiving his PhD from the University of Maryland.  Before joining AUC, Ahmed Kamaly was a visiting researcher in the International Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC and a research coordinator in the Economic Research Forum.

Ahmed Kamaly has served as the economic advisor of the General Authority of Investment (GAFI) of Egypt as well as a senior advisor of the Board of Trustees of GAFI.  He was also an advisor at the World Bank and a visiting professor at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University.  

Currently, he serves as the director of the Egyptian National Contact Point associated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  He is also a research associate with the Economic Research Forum and a member of Lahore Journal of Economics editorial board. 

He holds both a BA and an MA in Economics from AUC in 1991 and 1995 respectively and a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland in 2002.

Research Interest

• Determinants and dynamics of capital flows 

• Monetary policy 

• Central bank independence 

• Currency and banking crises 

• Exchange rate regimes and arrangements 

• Sources of economic growth and total factor productivity. 

Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk was appointed the Minister of Finance of Egypt in July 2024. He served as the Vice Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies and institutional Reform from March 2016 to July 2024. Since then, he has been playing a leading role in planning and implementing Egypt’s macroeconomic and fiscal policies and reforms. He has also been the Chief Negotiator and Government focal point with the IMF since 2016.

Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk serves as Egypt's non-resident Executive Director at the Asian International Infrastructure Bank Board (AIIB) for the past 7-years. Additionally, he leads Egypt’s inter‐ministerial team managing the annual economic dialogue with the EU. He is currently a board member at the Monetary-Fiscal Coordination Council, the Arab African Investment Bank, Talaat Mostafa Holding, Egypt National Training Academy, National Defense Council, Heliopolis for Housing Development Company, Electricity Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Body, Misr Phosphate Company, the Egyptian Central Depository and Registry Company, as well as Urban Development Economic Authority.

He has been the Ministry of Finance’s focal coordinator with monetary authorities since 2016. Moreover, He served as a Board Member at the Central Bank of Egypt from April 2016 to June 2018, at Egypt Air Holding Company from 2018-2020 and at Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO) from 2021- April 2022. He had been also entitled as a board member in several other institutions over the past years.

Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk is a professional economist and policy advisor with almost 25 years of applied experience. He worked as a Senior Economist for the World Bank from June 2013 to March 2016. Furthermore, he worked for the Ministry of Finance in several leading roles for more than 14 years including as the Vice Minister, the Economic Advisor, and the Director of the Macro Fiscal Unit. He also served for the Ministry of External Trade and the Ministry of Economy in Egypt.

He earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2010 and a master’s degree in economics from York University in the United Kingdom in 2002. He also had a B.S., in Economics in 1999 from the American University in Cairo.

Alaa Hashim is a co-founder and executive partner at Transcendium, a boutique management services firm focused on large-scale business transformations. He is also the chairman of Delicious Inc. and owner of the local coffee shop chain, Cilantro Café. Alaa serves on several boards, including Giza Seeds & Herbs, CACC Cargolinx, and B-Tech. He has a background in mathematics and has previously served in multiple roles in the industry, rising to co-CEO of MAC Carpet. He is also involved in various committees and organizations, including the Industry Committee at the AmCham Egypt, the Egypt-US Business Council, and Educate Me. Alaa teaches Business Planning and Strategy at the American University in Cairo and serves on its Dean's Strategic Advisory Board.

Mr. Alex Segura-Ubiergo has been the Senior Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund in Egypt since October 2023. Prior to that he was a Strategic Communications Advisor in the Communications Department of the IMF. He has also been Advisor in the African Department where he had been mission chief for Cabo Verde, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Mozambique, as well as Resident Representative in Senegal, The Gambia and Mozambique. Earlier in his career Alex had been Deputy Division Chief in FAD, mission chief for Ecuador and senior economist for Brazil (WHD). Alex is the author of The Political Economy of the Welfare State in Latin America (Cambridge University Press) and co-author of Good Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Opportunities and Lessons, among other publications. He holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in both Economics and Political Science from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a PhD, with distinction, from Columbia University. 

For the past decade, Alex Tsado has championed initiatives making AI cheaper and accessible for innovators worldwide. He deployed the first Nvidia AI GPUs to the largest cloud providers globally, and now focuses on putting Africa on the AI innovation table. He is working with key African governments to operationalize their AI strategies and establish large-scale AI clusters within Africa.

With over 30 years of solid experience in the IT and telecom industry, implementing working strategies for the provision of innovative digital technologies, Dr. Talaat was tasked with a chief mission to lead Egypt’s Digital Transformation Initiative, 2020. 

A strong believer in the power of youth as active participants in the socio-economic development of the nation, Dr. Talaat led a number of digitally-based empowerment initiatives to engage professionals to support such belief. 

Under his leadership, before joining the Government of Egypt, Dr. Talaat spearheaded IBM Egypt’s expansion plans, ensuring the creation of unique job opportunities and the establishment of centers of excellence to export digital services. Throughout his career at IBM Egypt, he held various leadership roles till he headed the firm. 

Dr. Talaat was an Adjunct Professor at Cairo University with teaching experience in market and sales strategies and tactics, organizational behavior and strategic management. He was an honorary member at the ICT Board at Cairo University, member of the ICT Board of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, and the Chairman of ICT Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce. 

Dr. Talaat holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Paris - Paris School of Business and obtained a Master of Science in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology, and holds an MBA from Paris ESLSCA Business School, France. He is a graduate of Cairo University’s Faculty of Engineering.

Chairman of the High-Level Advisory Council of the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilization, and former foreign minister of Egypt, former Permanent Representative of Egypt to the U.N and former Secretary General of the League of Arab States. Moussa was elected chairman of the 50 member Constituent Committee to amend the constitution in 2014. He was chairman and member of the panel of the wise of the African Union, and was elected chairman of the board of trustees of the Nile University, member of the board of trustees of the Egyptian British University as well as member of the board of the Library of Alexandria. Moussa also serves as a member of the boards of the Sulaimania American University in Kurdistan, Iraq, and Nizami Ganjavi international center, in Azerbaijan. He was awarded the Order of the Nile from Egypt, the Order of the Two Niles from the Sudanese Republic, the Supreme Order of the Renaissance from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a high order from the State of Qatar, the rank of Commander First Class of the Royal Order of the Polar Star of Sweden, in addition to orders and decorations from Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Anirban Sarma is Deputy Director of ORF Kolkata and a Senior Fellow at ORF’s Centre for New Economic Diplomacy. He is also Chair of the Think20 Task Force on ‘Our Common Digital Future’. Anirban’s research focuses on the use of technology for sustainable development, the digital economy, the media, and international cybersecurity cooperation. In the tech-for-development space, his research has explored issues around online safety, the future of work, digital public infrastructure, data for development, digital health, cleantech, and women’s empowerment and inclusion, among other areas.

Anirban was formerly the Chief International Outreach and Communications Officer at the National Digital Library of India, a flagship project of the Ministry of Education. He earlier served at UNESCO for over eight years, designing and managing UNESCO’s initiatives on ICTs, access to information and media development across South Asia. He has also worked at Weber Shandwick, a global public affairs agency, supporting projects for leading clients at the firm’s Centre of Excellence. In 2007, Anirban was awarded the Inlaks Scholarship to pursue a second master’s degree in media and communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science, from where he graduated with a Distinction the following year. He was earlier a double gold medallist at Jadavpur University in Kolkata.

With an expertise in statistics, applied economics and demographics, Prof. Ajbilou has an extensive practical experience related to public policies from numerous leadership positions he held within the public sector. 

He was Secretary General of the Ministry of General Affairs and Governance between 2013 and 2019, and Secretary General of the department of governance and General Affairs, Ministry of Economics and Finance (2019-2022).

He also served as Director of Studies, Cooperation and Legislation in the Social Economy at the Ministry delegated to the Head of Government in charge of general affairs and governance. 

Prof. Ajbilou was also the Director of the Center for Demographic Studies and Research. Prior to that, he was a professor at the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA). 

He also led various projects in cooperation with international organizations such as UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, OECD and the World Bank. His work covered a wide range of topics, namely Statistics, Demography, Social Economy, Governance, Social Protection, Poverty, Publics Policies, etc. 

Prof. Ajbilou is a laureate from the National Institute of Statistic and Applied Economy (INSEA-Rabat) and PhD graduate in demography from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

Previously, he served as Egypt’s Ambassador to Belgium and Germany. During his diplomatic career, he held several key positions, including:

• Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director of Public Diplomacy

• Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for European Union and Western Europe Affairs, and National Coordinator for the Union for the Mediterranean.

• Deputy Chief of Mission at the Egyptian Embassy in Brussels 

• Director of Palestinian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Counselor at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington D.C.

• First Secretary in the Office of the Foreign Minister, handling African affairs and the Middle East peace process.

• Second Secretary at the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo, overseeing African affairs, the Middle East peace process, and Iran

• Second Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Economic Cooperation in the Middle East from 1995 to 1997

Abdel Aty is a member of the Egyptian delegation at the Cairo Economic Conference for the Middle East and North Africa, and was Lecturer at Nasser Military Academy in Cairo. He has published extensively on international politics.

 He holds a PhD in International Relations from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. 

BLANCA MORENO-DODSON Blanca Moreno-Dodson holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) and a Diplome D’Etudes Approfondies in International Economics and Finance from the University of Aix-Marseille, France, and a Graduate Degree in Economics from the University Autonomous of Madrid, Spain. She also earned Executive Education Certificates on Growth and Development, and Public Enterprise Management from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Business, USA. She is fluent in Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese. 

She started her career as a Robert Shuman scholar at the European Parliament and as junior economist at the European Commission, before joining the World Bank Group. She worked as Economist at various positions (Junior, Senior and Lead) in Washington DC and was later appointed as the Manager of the World Bank office in Marseille France (Center for Mediterranean Integration), before becoming a Director in the United Nations (UN Office for Project Services). 

She has over thirty years of professional experience in international development, including several assignments as World Bank economist with global, regional and country responsibilities, including in the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia (China, India, and Indonesia).

Moreno-Dodson authored and contributed to five books, including “Enhancing Mediterranean Integration” (World Bank, 2020), “Winning the Tax Wars, Tax Competition and Cooperation” (Wolters Kluwer, 2017), “Is Fiscal Policy the Answer? A Developing Country Perspective” (World Bank, 2013), “Public Finance for Poverty Reduction. Case Studies for Africa and Latin America” (World Bank, 2006) and “Scaling Up Poverty Reduction” (World Bank, 2005). She has also published in several internationally renowned economic journals, such as the Bulletin of Economic Research, Hacienda Pública Española, the USA National Tax Association Journal, and Banca d'Italia Annual Volumes.

She is a member of the Alumni Strategic Council of the Aix-Marseille University, France, and of the Steering Committee of the Navarra Center for International Development, Spain. She has served as guest lecturer at several universities, including Duke University, USA, Clermont-Ferrand Recherche Foundation, France, and Aix-Marseille University, France; and as conference speaker in numerous fora worldwide.

Originally from Zaragoza, Spain, she has travelled to 61 countries. She resides currently in Spain, working independently as a Senior Advisor in International Economics for multilateral institutions, national and regional entities.

Professor David Monyae is the Director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies (CACS) and an Associate Professor of Political Science & International Relations at the University of Johannesburg. With a background in international relations and foreign policy, he obtained his PhD from the University of Witwatersrand. Prof. Monyae's extensive experience includes roles such as Section Manager for International Relations Policy Analysis at the South African Parliament and Policy Analyst at the Development Bank Southern Africa (DBSA). At DBSA, he conducted research on Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, focusing on infrastructure investment opportunities. Prof Monyae has represented the DBSA on major infrastructure projects across the continent. He has also participated in academic delegations to meetings of the India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum and the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) summits. With nine years of lecturing experience at the University of Witwatersrand, Prof. Monyae is a prolific author and respected political analyst, frequently contributing to national and international media outlets.

Ms. Dina H. Sherif is the Executive Director of the Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship at MIT and a Senior Lecturer at the Sloan School of Management. With over 20 years of experience in sustainable development, corporate sustainability, youth engagement, social entrepreneurship, and women's economic inclusion, she is interested in the role of the private sector in sustainable development. She founded her own social enterprise, Ahead of the Curve, in 2012 and is a Senior Advisor to Ashoka. Dina previously held the Willard Brown Chair for International Business at the American University in Cairo and was a founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement. She has published several works, including a book and reports on philanthropy and responsible business practices in the Arab region.

He started his carrier in the Travel Business as a Sales Representative with Pan America World Airways. Few years later, he started Emeco Travel and became the GSA of PAN AM. Through the 35 years, he expanded his business, for Emeco group which is involved in Tourism Transport, Airline GSAs, Nile Cruising and hotels ownership. He was the Chairman of Euromic, the leading consortium for MICE Business for 9 years. He served on the board of Egyptian Travel Agents Association for 12 years and was sharing this Association for 2 terms of 3 years each. He became Chairman of The Egyptian Tourism Federation in 2002 till 2005 and from 2012 till 2016 and he is serving this second term. He was appointed as member of the 50th persons committee drafting the new Egyptian Constitution. He was also the Honorary Consul General of New Zealand for 9 years at the end of which he received the Award of Merit from Queen Elisabeth the Second in 2007, becoming the second none New Zealander to receive such a recognition. Elhamy ElZayat is presently serving as member of the board of the Egyptian Holding Company for Tourism and Cinema, the Egyptian Holding Company for Egypt Airports and the Media City Company for Hotels. He is also a member of the General Assembly of the Holding Company of EGYPTAIR. He is the author of many articles related to the tourism industry and has been lecturing all over the world. He is a tennis player and reads a lot about History and Politics. He is fluent in French, English and Spanish beside Arabic his Mother Tongue.

Franco Bruni is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Economics of Bocconi University, where he was full professor of International Monetary Theory and Policy and member of the University's Board of Directors. He studied at Bocconi University and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At Bocconi, he is a Fellow of the Institute for European Policymaking. He is an Honorary Member of the Société Universitaire Européenne de Recherches Financières (Suerf), which he chaired until 2000. He is the Italian member of the European Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee. He was Vice President of the UniCredit & Universities Foundation. In the context of the Italian G20, he chaired  for several years the T20 task force on international financial architecture.

Since 2022, Professor Bruni is member of the Board of Directors of Banca Sella Holding. He has been member of the board of several companies including: Saipem (1998-2005), Unicredit Banca Mobiliare (2000-2007), Pirelli (2005-2014), and Mediaset (2015-2018).

For twenty years, he was a columnist for the newspaper "La Stampa," and now he writes for "Domani." Author of numerous publications in the fields of macroeconomics, European economics, banking and finance, international relations, and political economy. His discussions of monetary policy strategies of the last decades have been published in two books :  "L’Acqua e la Spugna: i guasti della troppa moneta," 2nd ed., 2010, and "Oltre le colonne d’Ercole: ripensare le regole della politica monetaria," 2023, with Egea. 

He has been a Visiting Professor at numerous international universities, including NYU, Fudan (Shanghai), Getulio Vargas (São Paulo), UNSW (Sydney), and UBC (Vancouver).

Mr. Harry Theoharis was first elected in 2015 and on December 18, 2018, he joined the New Democracy party.

Mr. Theoharis holds a MEng (Hon) in software engineering-first class from Imperial College, London, and has held high-ranking positions in companies of the private sector in Greece and abroad. He has also worked in start-up companies. During 2011-2012, Mr. Theoharis served as secretary general for information systems and he is known for introducing new digital services to assist the public, helping reduce bureaucracy and its resulting costs.

He later (2013-14) served as a secretary general for public revenues at the Greek Finance Ministry. There, he succeeded in meeting budget revenues and producing a fiscal surplus. He is also known for launching the www.publicrevenue.gr platform to increase transparency in public administration.

Mr. Theoharis was Minister of Tourism from 2019 to 2021 and the Parliamentary Spokesperson of New Democracy political party at the Hellenic Parliament from 2021 to 2023.

In the national elections of May and June 2023, he was re-elected Member of Parliament with New Democracy political party and on June 27, 2023, Mr. Theoharis was appointed by the Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Deputy Minister of Finance of Greece for Tax Policy. 

With the recent government reshuffle in June 2024, Mr. Harry Theoharis continues to perform his duties as a Member of Parliament. He is known for his active participation in the political scene and continues to work on representing the citizens of the Southern Sector in the Greek Parliament. 

Professor Harsh V. Pant is Vice President – Studies and Foreign Policy at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. He is a Professor of International Relations with King's India Institute at King’s College London. He is also Director (Honorary) of Delhi School of Transnational Affairs at Delhi University.

Professor Pant has been a Visiting Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore; a Visiting Professor at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; a Visiting Fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania; a Visiting Scholar at the Center for International Peace and Security Studies, McGill University; a Non-Resident Fellow with the Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; and an Emerging Leaders Fellow at the Australia-India Institute, University of Melbourne.

Professor Pant's current research is focused on Asian security issues. His most recent books include India and Global Governance: A Rising Power and Its Discontents (Routledge), Politics and Geopolitics: Decoding India’s Neighbourhood Challenge (Rupa), America and the Indo-Pacific: Trump and Beyond (Routledge), New Directions in India’s Foreign Policy: Theory and Praxis (Cambridge University Press), India’s Nuclear Policy (Oxford University Press), The US Pivot and Indian Foreign Policy (Palgrave Macmillan), Handbook of Indian Defence Policy (Routledge), and India’s Afghan Muddle (HarperCollins).

Professor Pant writes regularly for various Indian and international media outlets including the Japan Times, the Wall Street Journal, the National (UAE), the Hindustan Times, and the Telegraph.

Hassan El Khatib, the Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his role. With a career spanning over 35 years, he has made significant contributions to private equity, investment management and corporate governance. El Khatib currently serves as a non-executive Board Member of the Central Bank of Egypt and has served as an Independent Board Member of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt from 2019 to 2023. His commitment to economic development is exemplified by his involvement with the Egyptian Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Committee.

From 2014 to 2023, he served as Managing Director Equity at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), managing a portfolio valued at $8-10 billion. He oversaw direct and quasi-equity investments across 38 countries, achieving successful exits exceeding $6 billion and substantial profits for the bank.

Prior to his role at EBRD, El Khatib held significant positions in the private equity sector. As Managing Director at the Carlyle Group and as Managing Partner at EFG-Hermes Private Equity.

He has contributed his expertise to numerous sectors, including financial institutions, energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, real estate and charity organizations. 

He is the ex-Chairman of the Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association and the Egyptian Private Equity Association. Additionally, he is the founder and a member of the board of trustees for the Misr ElKheir Foundation, and has been involved with various boards and advisory committees, including the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies and the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo. 

El Khatib holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University, Sacramento, where he graduated with highest distinction, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Structural Engineering from Cairo University. H.E. El Khatib is also a visiting lecturer of the Private Equity Venture Course for Master of Finance Student at Imperial College London.

Nassar has over 35 years of experience serving in multiple locations, both locally and internationally within the Hilton and hospitality industry, with proven track records in driving business growth, managing large scale operations and diverse team members. 

He is recognized as a three-time recipient of the prestigious Hilton MEA and MEA&APAC General Manager of the year Award in two different hotels, in addition to being honored with the EMEA Area President Award and the MEA Talent Development Award, among many other accolades. 

Nassar has held several managerial positions within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, including leadership roles at the Hilton Luxor, Nile Hilton, London Hilton, Hilton Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, and, most recently, as General Manager of Hilton Pyramids Golf. 

Beyond his contributions to Hilton Worldwide, Nassar has been actively involved in various public service roles and professional organizations. He served as Chairman of the Greater Cairo Branch of the Egyptian Hotel Association; and as a Board Member of the Egyptian Tourism Federation. During his tenure, he has chaired the Hospitality Criteria (HC) Committee (formerly known as the NN Committee) and worked closely with the Minister of Manpower to update hiring regulations for the hotel industry.

His involvement also extends to several prestigious organizations, including the British Egyptian Businessmen Association (BEBA), the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs in Egypt, the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce, and the Chambre de Commerce Française en Égypte (CCFE).

Through his active participation in these organizations, Nassar has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to public service and the advancement of Egypt’s hospitality and tourism sectors.

Mr. Hussein Choucri is the Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of HC Securities & Investment. Mr. Choucri has led HC Securities and Investment to become one of the mst renowned financial institutions in the MENA region with operations in Egypt and the UAE. Mr. Choucri joined Morgan Stanley in New York in 1980 and was Managing Director from 1987 to 1993, and Advisory Director until December 2007. He was responsible for business activities in the emerging markets of the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. He was involved in a variety of privatization projects in Turkey, India and Argentina. Additionally, Mr. Choucri undertook a number of advisory services for clients of Morgan Stanley inside and outside of the USA. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked with the Abu Dhabi Investment Company and participated in arranging several Euroloan and Eurobond financings for sovereigns and private sector companies. Mr. Choucri is currently a board member of Fawry Banking and Payment Technology Services, Edita Food Industries, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH). He is a GA member of the Egypt Sovereign Wealth Fund and a board member in the Egyptian British Business Council (EBBC) and the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES). Mr. Choucri acquired the position of board member in; Delta International Bank during the period of 1995-2007, Banque Misr 2002-2004, SODIC 2015-2020 and The Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels (HOTAC) 2005-2018. He received a Management Diploma from the American University in Cairo in 1978 and his B.A. from the Faculty of Commerce, Ain Shams University in 1972. 

Huw Tuckett is a distinguished executive with a robust background in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry. As the Executive Director of euromic, a premier global MICE Destination Management Company (DMC) association, Huw leads and manages a network of some of the world's most esteemed DMCs. His role encompasses daily operations, strategic planning, financial oversight, marketing, and fostering international collaboration.

Key Areas of Expertise:

• Incentive and Performance Improvement: Huw excels in designing and implementing incentive programs that drive performance and engagement.

• Leadership and Management: He has extensive experience in leadership coaching, team development, and financial management, including creating and controlling revenue and expense budgets.

• Event Design & Management: As a Crystal Award-winning expert, Huw has a proven track record in delivering exceptional incentive travel programs and events.

• Strategic Thinking and Marketing: He is skilled in marketing strategies, performance improvement, and the creation of effective business development plans.

• Training and Development: Huw is an ILM-accredited trainer who has delivers a range of leadership and management courses specific to the MICE industry.  

Awards and Recognitions:

• SITE Crystal Award: Recognized for designing a sustainable incentive travel program in Botswana, which included a unique elephant collaring project contributing to significant research data.

• Judge, SITE Crystal Awards: Served as a judge for three years, bringing his expertise to evaluate the best in the incentive travel industry.

Ian Mitchell is a senior policy fellow and co-director of the Europe programme at the Center for Global Development. His research addresses the effectiveness of governments’ policies on international development and climate.

Mitchell leads CGD’s work on UK development policy and climate finance; and is responsible for the Commitment to Development Index (CDI) and the Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) assessment. His research also covers international food security and the role of agriculture and trade policy. 

He has regularly provided evidence to UK Parliament; and his work has been widely cited in the media, including the BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times and the Washington Post.

Mitchell has previously been an associate at Chatham House, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Until 2016, he was an economist and senior civil servant in the UK government. At the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), he was Deputy Chief Economist and was responsible for economic analysis on EU, agricultural and environmental issues. Between 2014 and 2015, he chaired the Agricultural Markets Information System established by the G20 to mitigate global food commodity volatility. At DEFRA, Mitchell was also responsible for the UK’s economic analysis on food & resource security and animal disease risk.

Earlier in his career, Mitchell undertook economic analysis on education and social mobility at the UK Department for Education. He led the evaluation of higher education reform including the introduction of tuition fees and researched social mobility in the UK using both income and broader measures of well-being. Mitchell’s career began at Ernst and Young and has also included roles at HM Treasury and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Expertise

The effectiveness of governments’ international development and climate policies; international trade and agriculture.

Ibrahima is a seasoned leader and manager with more than three decades of experience in Africa, USA, Europe, and Asia. Currently, He serves as Special Representative to the President of Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa on ESGs. He served for four years from 2020 as United Nations Assistant Secretary General (UN-ASG) and Director General of the African Risk Capacity Group (ARC Group), a specialized agency of the African Union that provides climate risk insurance and capacity building to African countries. At ARC Group, Ibrahima led the definition, shaping and execution of the mandate, vision, strategy, program of work, resource mobilization, communication, advocacy and strategic positioning of the organization to help support its growth and impact on climate resilience building across Africa. 

Ibrahima served previously as Chairman of the Dakar-based ACT Afrique Group, which he had founded in 2012. Prior, Ibrahima has held several senior positions: Senior Africa Banker at BNP Paribas in London; Minister, Special Adviser and Ambassador at Large to the President of Senegal; Ambassador and Director General of International Cooperation of Senegal; Permanent Secretary of Energy of Senegal; Chairman of the Board of Senegal Airlines; Manager (SMEs) at the Africa Department of International Finance Corporation; Regional Coordinator for Africa for Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) at the World Bank. 

Prior, he was Africa Director at the global US-based management consulting firm, BoozAllen and Hamilton, where he led the firm’s privatisation practice in Africa; senior consultant to many African and US governments, UN agencies, international foundations and NGOs, private companies and think tanks; Manager of the Environment Unit of the Dakar-based Pan-African Agency for Research and Consulting. He was also the Manager of the Water Resources and Environment Dept. of the African Network for Integrated Development. While living in Taiwan, Ibrahima founded an investment intermediary firm, Africa Consulting in Taiwan (ACT), to advise Taiwanese investors interested in Africa. 

Ibrahima graduated from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University in New York City with a Master of International Affairs (MIA) specialized in int'l finance and environmental policy management. He also holds a BSc. of Civil Eng. specialized in water resource management from HoHai University, China. He also holds a diploma in Design of PPP structure in infrastructure.

 Ibrahima is perfectly fluent in English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Wolof, combined with a vast multicultural personal and professional experience across the world.

Visiting professor at the Catholic University, Argentina, professor at the National Foreign Service Institute, Foreign Ministry, Argentina, and chair of the Advisory Board, Internation Studies Center, Catholic University, Argentina. Previously, he was director of the United Nations Office for South South Cooperation (UNOSSC), and Envoy of the Secretary General for South South Cooperation (2015-2020). He was also United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Brazil (2010-2015), director of the International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth, Brazil (2011-2015), and United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Peru (2005-2010).

He holds Masters Degree in Foreign Service, Georgetown University,  Washington DC.

Previously, he served as chief of staff (2014–2015) and Chairperson of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces since December 2015.

He was responsible for overseeing several projects including, the New Suez Canal excavation project in 2015, the side canal excavation for East Port Said Port, execution of the national road project, the Galala Plateau project in Ain Sokhna, and Rod El-Farag Axis, among others.

He was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and the Excellent Service Medal. 

Al-Wazir graduated from the Military Technical College with a specialization in construction, and holds a Master’s degree in Military Science from the Command and Staff College, a fellow of the Higher War College, and completed the senior leadership course at Nasser Military Academy.

Lorrayne Porciuncula is the Executive Director of the Datasphere Initiative. For the last 15 years, her professional and academic experiences have been focused on issues around data, Internet governance, infrastructure regulation, and communication policy. Prior to leading the Datasphere Initiative, she was the Director for the Data Program at Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network (2020-2021), where the Datasphere Initiative was incubated. She worked at the OECD (2014-2020) as the Strategic Advisor and Internet Economist for Digital Economy Policy Division, coordinating issues related to data governance, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, and leading the production of several reports and country studies related to connectivity, infrastructure regulation, technology convergence, and inclusion.

Lorrayne has acted as the OECD focal point and speaker at high-level international meetings and fora such as the IGF, UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (UN-BBCom), APT, UN-ESCAP, ECLAC, and EQUALS. Prior to the OECD, Lorrayne worked as an economist at the ITU, in the Secretariat of the UN-BBCom (2012-2014).

Lorrayne is an affiliate to the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, conducting research on data for development. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Switzerland, an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, and an International Relations bachelor’s degree from the University of Brasilia (UnB), Brazil. She speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish and French. 

Previously headed the Information and Decision Support Center in the Cabinet of Ministers, then, he was appointed as the Minister of Communication and Technology Information in the transitional government in February 2011.

He is a member at the National Council for Women, and Vice Chairman of the Union for Arab Statisticians, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Initiative for Inclusive Development “Nidaa”. 

Obtained his Ph.D from Case Western Reserve University, USA.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. Dr. Mohieldin is the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt. He currently serves as the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing the Arab States and The Maldives. He has been the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda since February 2020. 

Previously, Dr. Mohieldin was the Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and more recently, served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships. 

Dr. Mohieldin also served on several Boards of Directors in the 

Central Bank of Egypt and the corporate sector. He was a 

member of the Commission on Growth and Development and was selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005. 

He is a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the USA. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Durham University Business School. 

Dr. Mohieldin holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; an M.Sc. in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University. 

The American University in Cairo bestowed Dr. Mohieldin degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, in recognition of his status as a leading public servant at both the national and international levels focusing on economic reform, development, and inclusion. He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of economics, finance, and development.  

Mark is currently based in Cairo where he is the Lead Country Economist for the World Bank covering Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.  

He joined the Bank in 2008 and before his current role he worked for the Bank on Palestine and Indonesia.  

Prior to joining the Bank, he was an advisor for the IMF with assignments in Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East.  

Mark is originally from New Zealand where he worked for the New Zealand Treasury, focusing on overseeing SOE reform, tax policy, and leading the Budget team preparing the New Zealand Government budget.

Mirette F. Mabrouk is an MEI senior fellow and founding director of the Institute's Egypt Studies program. She was previously deputy director and director for research and programs at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. Formerly a fellow at the Project for U.S. Relations with the Middle East at the Brookings Institution, Mabrouk moved to D.C. from Cairo, where she was director of communications for the Economic Research Forum (ERF). Before being appointed associate director for publishing operations at The American University in Cairo Press, Ms. Mabrouk had over 20 years of experience in both print and television journalism. She is the founding publisher of The Daily Star Egypt, (now The Daily New Egypt), at the time, the country’s only independent English-language daily newspaper, and the former publishing director for IBA Media, which produces the region’s top English-language magazines. Her writing has appeared in publications like Foreign Policy, The Hill and HuffPost and she has been quoted and appeared on the BBC, VOA, Sky News, The Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor, among others. She recently authored "And Now for Something Completely Different: Arab Media’s Own Little Revolution," a chapter in a book on the Arab transitions; Reconstructing the Middle East and is the editor of a multi author report, Rethinking Egypt’s Economy.

She holds a BA in mass communication and MA in broadcast journalism from the American University in Cairo

Region of Expertise: Egypt, Libya, Horn of Africa

Issues of Expertise: Economic development, trade issues, labour, regional and border security, energy, water security and politics, sustainable development and climate change.

For more than 23 years, Dr Allam has been a commercial diplomat at the Egyptian Commercial Service, where he was lately the Head of the Commercial Office for Egypt’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations/World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Additionally, he was the WTO facilitator for fisheries subsidies negotiations on special and differential treatment for developing countries and Institutional arrangements. He possesses experience in commercial, investment policy, and development cooperation and a solid background in environmental economics. He has diversified experience and knowledge in intergovernmental and corporate negotiations in international economics and economics policy, with an outstanding record in resolving complex issues.

From 2021 to 2023, Dr Allam was the Head of Multilateral Cooperation with the UN and the International Financial Institutions Sector at the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation, leading the direct cooperation with the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), the International Financial Institutes (IFIs), and the international and regional agencies and organisations. Dr Allam’s experience extended to global affairs and economics, where he represented Egypt in developing and strengthening its bilateral and multilateral relations with the said entities, leading to the development of the country’s partnership strategies.

Dr Allam chaired and participated in several high-level meetings, WTO ministerial and mini-ministerial meetings, and events with UN Agencies and IFIs, including COP26 in Glasgow and COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. Until November 2023, Dr. Allam was the focal point for Egypt’s Country Platform on the Nexus between Food, Water, and Energy “NWFE Program,” which is the gate for financing and implementing developmental environmental projects highlighted in Egypt’s Climate Strategy 2050.

Dr Allam previously served as a commercial diplomat in the Commercial Offices at the Egyptian Embassies in Washington, D.C., and Brussels. During his term, he participated in negotiating several trade and investment agreements, including the Qualified Industrial Zones Protocol.

Dr Allam holds a PhD in Development Economics from one of the leading Egyptian universities, the University of Ain Shams University, and an MSc. In Environmental Economics from the same University, and a B.Sc. in management sciences, along with Business Development executive Diplomas from specialized institutions in the US,Spain, India, and China.

He chairs the boards of directors of several institutions and companies, including the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research (Baseera), the World Trading Company, and the Egyptian Exporters Association (Expolink). Previously, he held several esteemed positions, including commercial attache at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. He is member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA) and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Dhaoui has more than 38 years of experience in the area of inclusive and sustainable industrial and socio-economic development. 

He currently works as team leader and senior expert with international and regional organizations (UNIDO, EU, AFD, AfDB, etc.)

Previously, he held several esteemed positions with the African Development Bank, Golf Organization for Industrial, and UNIDO.  He was also professor at Tunis University. 

He was awarded the “UNIDO DG Award of Excellence” in 2006 and “Best Tunisian International Expert in 2015” by the Association of Tunisian Businessmen Abroad (AHATE).

He holds PhD from Paris Dauphine University, France.

He has published extensively on restructuring, upgrading, industrial competitiveness, entrepreneurship, local clusters and corporate social responsibility, among others.

Previously, he held several positions at Naggar Shipping Co. (family business), including operations manager and chartering manager. He succeeded in 1990 in starting the first container transshipment hub in Egypt at the port of Damietta. In 1995, he Introduced the first two gantry cranes owned by private sector in Egypt as additional capacity for Damietta Port. He established a joint venture with Suez Canal Authority to operate two coastal vessels for movement of containers between Egyptian Ports (vessels: Nagda I and Nagda II), the Egyptian Container Line (NVOCC), a Ropax line connecting Mersin with Port Said and Suez with Dibah in Saudi Arabia, and Norna Shipping Corporation (a tanker owning company with a fleet of 6 tankers.) In 2005, he started Egyptian container line service with two RORO vessels. In 2007 he started Red Sea bridge service with RORO ships between Suez, Jeddah, Aqaba and Port Sudan. He edited the first port information guide “Naggar’s Ship owners’ guide to Egyptian Ports and the Suez Canal” in 1983, and issued second port information book “Tanker Ports of Egypt” in 1991. El Naggar holds BSc. engineering from the American University in Cairo (AUC.)

Her Excellency Ambassador Nabila Makram Abdelshahid 

Founder and head of board of Fahim Foundation for Mental Health support, and Former Minister of State for Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates' Affairs

Ambassador Nabila Makram has extensive experience working for Egypt's embassies around the world, including Brazil, the U.S.A, and the UAE. Throughout her diplomatic career, she has been widely recognized for her outstanding contributions. Previously, she held several prominent positions including deputy consul General in Dubai, advisor of the diplomatic and consular corps management, first Secretary, Embassy of Egypt in Italy, second secretary, Consulate General of Egypt in Chicago among other esteemed positions.

The founder and head of board of Fahim Foundation for Mental Health support

Raising awareness through lectures, workshops, events, media campaigns, and other outreach initiatives under the foundation’s slogan “Understand, listen, and speak”. 

Signed a cooperation protocol with the ministry of Health and Population. 

Signed a cooperation protocol with the ministry of Youth and Sports. - Signed a cooperation protocol with the National Council for Women. 

Signed a cooperation protocol with the Coordination Committee of Party’s Youth Leaders and Politicians.  

Signed a cooperation protocol with the International Forum of Fine Art for Development Foundation.

H.E. has been chosen to be a member of the World Federation for Mental Health.

She was previously Inspecteur General des Finances at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance (2007-2010). Prior to this, Nathalie served the French Government as an advisor for Africa and for Development in the offices of various Foreign Affairs Ministers, between 1995-1997 and 2002-2007. She also served the French Senate as advisor for the Finance and Budgetary Commission, where she assessed fiscal and public policies between 1984-1995 and 1997-2002.

She is co-Secretary General of the Africa-Europe Foundation and sits on the Board of International Crisis Group and on the Advisory Board of IFRI (Institut Francais des Relations Internationales). She is a Member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

Nathalie is Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite.

Nikos Vettas is the General Director of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research - IOBE since 2013 and Professor of Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) since 2003, where he has also served as the Chairman of the Economics Department and a member of the University Council. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and has been an Associate Professor at Duke University, USA, and a visiting Professor at INSEAD in France and Singapore. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Industrial Organization, a Research Fellow at CEPR, UK, and a member of the Executive Committee of the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics. He has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of the European Economic Association and the Journal of Industrial Economics, a member of the Hellenic Competition Commission and the Economic Advisory Group for Competition Policy at the European Commission. He is a co-organizer of the annual Conference for Research on Economic Theory and Econometrics, since 2002. His research has been published in leading journals such as the International Economic Review, European Economic Review, Rand Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies. Co-editor of Beyond Austerity: Reforming the Greek Economy (MIT Press, 2017). Vice-Chairman of the Growth Plan Committee of the Hellenic Republic for the Greek Economy, 2020.

As from September 2022, Nikolaos serves as Minister Counsellor and Head of the Trade, Science and Enterprise section of the European Union Delegation to Cairo, Egypt overseeing trade and investment relations between the EU and Egypt. Previously, Nikolaos served in the European Commission as Senior Adviser on Trade and Sustainable Development with a focus on the General Scheme of Preferences (GSP) and the Economic Partnership Agreements with Africa and the Pacific countries.

Nikolaos joined the European Commission in 1995 and initially worked in the area of anti-subsidy policy and then as Deputy Head of the WTO Dispute Settlement Unit in the Directorate General for Trade. In 2005, he served in Washington DC as Head of the Trade Section of the EU Delegation to the US. In 2009, he was posted to Tokyo as Head of the Trade Section of the EU Delegation to Japan. In September 2013, Nikolaos was appointed Deputy Head of DG Trade's GSP Unit where he oversaw the implementation of the EU's scheme of unilateral preferences for developing countries.

Nikolaos studied law in Greece and the UK and worked for several years as a lawyer in the private sector before joining the EU. 

Omar Mohanna is former Chairman of Suez Cement Group of Companies (SCGC), a subsidiary of the German Multinational Group Heidelberg Cement AG.

With over 25 years of commercial and investment banking experience with Egyptian and international financial institutions, he was Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Egypt Arab African Bank (EAAB). He also held the position of Managing Director of Accor Hotels Group in Egypt and has been a member of the Board of Directors of diverse companies.

He is the former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham Egypt) and is Chairman of the Egypt-US Business Council. He is also a member of the Italian Egyptian Business Councilthe French Egyptian Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the Egyptian Businessmen Association and Egypt's International Economic Forum among others.

At the broader community level, he is a Board member of the Association for the Protection of the Environment, and member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations. 

As an economist, industrialist and active member of the business community, Mohanna has brought his knowledge and expertise to bear at the policy level in his capacity as Chairman of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES).

On Saturday 17 August 2019, President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi appointed Vice Admiral Osama Rabie as Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority to succeed Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish. 

Rabie was born in 1955 and graduated from the Egyptian Naval Academy in 1977. He came up through the ranks to become commander of the Egyptian Navy in April 2015 before he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority in December 2016. 

The key positions Rabie held throughout his career are minesweeper commander, Chief of Staff of the Mine Action Brigade, and commander of the Mine Action Brigade. The vice admiral received the Long-Service and Idol Medal and the Second-Class Medal of Military Duty. 

Pato Kelesitse is a sustainable development practitioner, climate justice advocate, and founder of Sustain267. She hosts the Sustain267 Podcast, which amplifies African voices, solutions, knowledge, and research in climate action. Pato serves as an official party delegate to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where she negotiates on Loss and Damage issues. She is also a board member of the Climate Justice Resilience Fund and an adviser for Urgent Action Fund-Africa. Recently, she was appointed to the Botswana National Youth Council by the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sports, and Culture.

Previously, she served as the Minister of International Cooperation (Dec 2019 - July 2024), and was the first female Minister of Tourism (Jan 2018 - Dec 2019). She held several esteemed positions at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC., served at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), as the Sub-Governor for Monetary Policy (Aug. 2005 - Jun. 2016) and was CBE’s liaison with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Sovereign Rating Agencies. She is a member of several boards, including those of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, the Egyptian General Authority for Free Zones and Investment, the Arab International Bank and the Arab Investment Bank, among others. 

She is also a member of several Advisory councils and international alliances including, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) GenU, a Founding Member of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) launched by the Rockefeller Foundation, Founding Member of the Resilience Consortium of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and Member of Mission Possible for Climate Action (WEF), Co-Chair of the MENA Stewardship Board (WEF), among others.

In June 2021, Al-Mashat launched a book titled “Stakeholder Engagement Through Economic Diplomacy” for London School of Economics. Additionally, she contributed several chapters to the International Monetary Fund’s book, titled, “Advancing the Frontiers of Monetary Policy”, published in 2018 and edited by Maurice Obstfeld, the Chief Economist at the time. Moreover, she pioneered an international inclusive and consultative process to translate climate pledges into implementable projects in developing countries and transition economies, producing the “Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing”, which presents an actionable agenda for all relevant stakeholder listing their roles in achieving just financing outcomes, and maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of existing climate finance architecture.

Al-Mashat received several international and domestic awards including the 2022 Most Visionary and Outstanding Minister of International Cooperation in Africa” by the Elliott School of International Affairs George Washington University and the GE7 Initiative; the “2019 Global Champion Award” from the World Tourism and Travel Council for launching the Egypt—Tourism Reform Program that has created resilience to the sector; and the “2019 Global Leader’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry”, among others

Al-Mashat holds PhD and MA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and BA in Economics from the American University in Cairo (AUC). She completed Executive Education certificates in Leadership and Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Transformational Leadership from Said Business School at Oxford University.

Reem Baggash is the Deputy Managing Director at the World Governments Summit Organization, and has been shaping the World Governments Summit’s strategic and global positioning as a platform to shape the future since 2016.

As part of her role at the World Governments Summit Organization, Reem leads a number of teams, overseeing the Summits flagship programme, including; marketing, research and signature global awards such as the ‘Best Minister in the World’ award. Reem oversees overall operations of the Summit as well as strategic relationships and interactions with government officials, international organizations, thought leaders and distinguished international speakers.

Since joining the World Governments Summit Organization, Reem quickly progressed through the ranks, having had roles as the Lead of Programming and Communications and Lead of Programming and Content Planning, where she worked on building partnerships from the ground up and fostering global cooperation aimed at shaping governments of the future.

She is also the President of the American University of Sharjah Alumni Association (AUSAA), which represents a dynamic platform to enhance communication between AUS graduates. The Alumni Association also aims to promote exchanging experience and developing new initiatives to better assist students.

Reem holds a Masters in International Studies from Wollongong University and a Bachelor of Finance from the American University of Sharjah. She also completed executive training in Innovation Immersion from UC Berkeley and is recognized as certified digital marketing professional by the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI).

Dr. Sherif Kamel is professor of management at The American University in Cairo (AUC). Before joining AUC, he served as director of the Regional IT Institute and managed the training department of the Cabinet of Egypt Information and Decision Support Center. He consults with government organizations and corporations, addressing organizational transformation, executive development, IT, management and strategy. He was a guest lecturer, and taught degree and non-degree programs for Middlesex University (United Kingdom), Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University, United States), Maastricht School of Management (Netherlands), Claremont Graduate University (United States), the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania, United States), Carlton University, University of Ottawa and McMaster University (Canada). He was invited as a panelist/speaker on a variety of policy issues at IS, management, development and leadership conferences and expert meetings, including Asia-Middle East Dialogue, EBRD, European Foundation for Management Development, ITU UNDP, Internet Governance Forum, World Summit on the Information Society, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Middle East Institute, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He served as a judge in IT and business plan competitions including IBM Watson Entrepreneurial Project Showcase at the University of Toronto and the Stockholm challenge. He won a number of organizational leadership awards for serving the IT community from Conf-IRM (Canada), Cabinet of Egypt and IRMA (USA). 

Kamel holds a PhD in information systems from London School of Economics and Political Science. In addition, Kamel is an Eisenhower Fellow and a Center for Global Enterprise Fellow. He is a member of the AACSB International Middle East Advisory Council and Eduniversal International Scientific Committee. He was a member of the World Bank Knowledge Advisory Commission and founding member of the Internet Society of Egypt. He was a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (Canada).

Steffen Krüger has headed the Adenauer Foundation's office in Egypt since February 2024. 

As part of its objectives, the Egypt country program focuses on the following priority areas:

• Strengthening the participation of women and young people in the socio-economic discourse

• The development of innovative reform concepts in economic, climate and energy policy

• The development of new cooperation models between Germany, the EU and Egypt

Previously, Mr. Krüger managed the KAS country program Morocco / Mauritania (2018-2023) and an EU program to promote the political participation of women in Benin and Morocco (2018-2022). 

From 2015 to 2018, he was a consultant for the francophone countries of sub-Saharan Africa at the headquarters of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin. 

He was head of the KAS country program in the DR Congo with a focus on the reform of the security forces, promotion of civil society and the rule of law from 2012 to 2015. 

From 2006 to 2011, Mr. Krüger worked for different US-based organizations. Prior to that, he started as a project assistant (2002 - 2005) with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Benin, West Africa. 

Mr. Krüger holds a Diploma in Political Science (University of Marburg) and a Graduate Degree in International Education (SIT Graduate Institute). 

Stephane Guimbert was appointed Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, effective August 1, 2023. 

Prior to this assignment, Guimbert was the Bank’s Operations Policy Director in the Operations Policy and Country Services Vice Presidency (OPCS). In this role, he led the Bank’s operations policy reform and interpretation for all financing instruments. He co-led the coordination of the IDA/IBRD COVID-19 vaccines program, the steering of the new Country Climate and Development Reports, and the methodology for Paris Alignment of all IDA/IBRD financing flows. He also established a coordination mechanism with other multilateral development banks (MDBs) on operational policies and strengthened the partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In his previous position as Director of the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) Resource Mobilization and IBRD Corporate Finance department, he headed the team preparing and negotiating IDA replenishment strategies and policies, and coordinating their implementation across the institution. He managed the transformation of the IDA financial model and the creation of the IDA Private Sector Window. He also led the corporate finance function for the IDA and World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) balance sheets, including for the 2018 IBRD capital increase.

He joined the World Bank in 2001, leading projects and analytical work in areas such as economic management, public finance management, private sector development, governance and trade. His work has taken him to Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Kenya, Nepal, and Thailand. 

Prior to joining the Bank, he was economist at the Ministry of Economy and Finance in France, working on trade and tax policy. He holds Masters degrees from Ecole Polytechnique, ENSAE Paris and the Sorbonne University.

Symeon Tsomokos is the Founder and President of Delphi Economic Forum, an independent and impartial non-profit organization committed to deliver and promote innovative ideas for sustainable and competitive growth for Southeast Europe and the East Mediterranean.  

He established SGT S.A in Athens in 1997, and TGI in Belgrade in 2001 and in Brussels in 2016, which he presides successfully all these years. 

He is also the Founder of the Business Council for Greece-United States, the Greek-Hungarian Business Council, the Greek-Egyptian Business Council, while in 2006 he established the Greece-Serbia Chamber of Commerce which he presides.

In the past he has served as Commercial Specialist at the US Embassy in Athens (1973-1980) and CEO at the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce (1980-1997). He has also served as Secretary General & Treasurer of the Council of the American Chambers of Commerce based in Europe (1990-1993) and as Secretary General of the Business Council Greece-Turkey (1993-1998).  In 1993, he was an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow.

Previously, he was elected vice president of the International Association of Egyptologists; head of the Committee for Culture, Arts & Science at the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research &Technology; and deputy head of mission of the excavations of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University in Saqqara. 

Dr. Tarek is a professional trainer and expert at the Professional Management Expertise Center (PMEC) and the German Academy of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – German academic exchange). He is also  guest lecturer at the Faculty of Tourism & Hotel Management, Helwan University, the Faculty of Arts, Dep. of Tourist guiding, Ain Shams University, and the Department for Egyptology at the University of Bonn. He is Head of the committee for Culture, Arts & Science at the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research &Technology.

Dr. Tarek is member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM); the German Archaeological Institute; the editorial board of the British Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA); the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin; the High Committee of the Ministry of Antiquities for Museums and the High committee of the Ministry of Antiquities for external museological exhibitions.

Dr. Tarek has published extensively on Tutankhamen's parents, late and Ptolemaic Period, royal tombs of the 2nd Dynasty among others.

He holds a PhD in Egyptology, Bonn University.

President of The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt 

Chairman Cairo Poultry Group

Deputy Chairman of The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES). 

First Vice President of The Federation of Mediterranean Business Organization (BUSINESSMED) 

Tawfik is a Board Member of the General Authority for Investments and Free Zones (GAFI), Egypt Sovereign Wealth Fund, Egyptian Countryside Development Company, the Egyptian Food Safety Authority, the Chamber of Food Industries, Agricultural Bank of Egypt, Industrial Modernization Center-Ministry of Foreign Trade & Industry, Egyptian Poultry Federation, The Holding Company for Cotton, Spinning, Weaving & Garment. Tawfik holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering - Cairo University, a master's of engineering from California Polytechnic State University (Pomona), and an MBA degree from San Francisco State University.

Vikrom curates research at ORF’s Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED). He also guides and mentors researchers at CNED. Vikrom has 20 years of professional experience, straddling research and policy advice, at the interface of social and environmental change. His research explores international partnerships, foreign policy and economic diplomacy related to the implementation of the global development, sustainability and human security agenda with a focus on India’s development cooperation with African nations and the countries in India’s neighbourhood. Vikrom received his PhD from Oxford University, Institute for Science, Society and Innovation (2011). He received his Bachelors in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from McGill University, Canada, and Masters in Regional Planning from the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.

He has over 25-years of significant experience within the spectrum of investment management and financial markets. Previously, he held various esteemed positions, including chief investment and commercial officer at Manazel Real Estate in Abu Dhabi, and deputy CEO for Baniyas Investment & Development Company. 

He holds a Master's degree of Science in Financial Engineering & Quantitative Analysis from ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK.

Previously, she was Assistant Minister of Environment. She has more than 20 years’ experience in Environment and International cooperation, working with Government, UN organizations, NGOs and Universities. At the Academic level, she has been selected as a lead author to chapter four of the IPCC Special Report on “Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems” in 2017. Dr. Fouad holds MSc in environmental science and PhD in political science from Cairo University.