Ali El Din Hillal, Ph.D.

Dr. Ali El Din Helal is the Chairman of the Comittee of Media, Training and Education in the National Democratic Party.

He is a Proffessor of Political Science, Cairo University, Editor in Chief of the quarterly journal Al Nahda (Renaissance), and President of the Arab Association of Political Science.

He served as Egypt’s Minister of Youth (1999 - 2004) and Dean of Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University (1993 - 1999).

He was a Visiting Professor at the American University in Cairo, Calgary University, University of California, Los Angeles and Princeton University.

He served on the editorial board of many academic journals in Egypt and abroad. He published extensively in Arabic and English on issues related to political development and social change in the Arab World.

Mahmoud Abdel Aziz

Mr. Mahmoud Abdel Aziz graduated from Cairo University; Faculty of Commerce 1961 and he is an individual member in the Egyptian European Council.

He has been Chairman & Managing Director of CIB since 1990. Since his graduation, he worked in the field of banking.

He was promoted to various positions in Bank of Alexandria (Previously known as Barclays), and the Central Bank of Egypt. Finally, he joined the National Bank of Egypt in 1978 where he was promoted Chairman of the Bank from 1992 till 2000.

He also worked as the Chairman of the Bank’s Association of Egypt, 1991-2000.

Moreover, he is the first Egyptian to be elected as the Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks in 1992 for three terms. Mr. Abdel Aziz’s achievements qualified him for many prizes.

He was awarded Banker of the Year for 1994, according to a poll by World Today (Al Alam Al Youm) Newspaper; the Banker’s Achievement Award for the year 1997 granted by the Arab Bankers Association of North America; the Foreign Manager of the Year 1999, granted by Mannheim Unternehmer Forum, Management Berater and VWD.

Under his chairmanship, the Commercial International Bank was awarded the Best Bank for the Middle East & Africa for the year 2000 by “Global Finance”.

Finally, he was granted Arab Banker for the Year 2000 by the Union of Arab Banks.

Rachid M. Rachid

H.E. Rachid Mohamed Rachid is the Minister of Trade and Industry.

He was the President of North Africa, Middle East & Turkey Business Group of Unilever.

His Excellency was a member of the Executive Board of Egypt’s International Economic Forum, and Chairman of Dreem Egypt.

He served as Chairman of the Alexandria Development Center, Board Member of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, Board Member of the High Institute of Public Health, Chairman of the Friends of Art Association, and a member of American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt and the British Egyptian Businessmen’s Association. His Excellency received his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alexandria, and earned a Management Development Diploma from Stanford University, USA. His Excellency also received a Strategic Management Diploma from MIT, USA, and an Advanced Management Diploma from Harvard Business School, USA.

Ahmed Bahgat, Ph.D

Dr. Bahgat is the Chairman of Bahgat Group.

He is also the Chairman of the Industrial Free Development Co. - East Port Said. In addition, he is a Board Member of the Gulf of Suez Development Co.

Dr. Bahgat is a Board Member of Egypt-US Presidents’ Council. He is also the President of the Giza Chamber of Commerce, the Egyptian/Korean Department, and the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce in Egypt.

Dr. Bahgat serves as Board Member of 6th of October University, Faculty of Engineering - Cairo University, Egyptian Center for Economic Studies and German Arab Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Bahgat is also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Bahgat received his B.Sc. in Pure & Applied Mathematics from Ain Shams University, B.Sc. in Electronics and Communications from Cairo University, M.Sc. in Engineering Science from Georgia Institute of Technology and Ph.D. in Engineering Science from Georgia Institute of Technology

Hazem Barakat

Hazem Barakat is Chairman of MIRACO-Carrier, the company he co-founded with Adel Barakat as MIRACO in 1979 to manufacture air conditioners as well as residential and industrial refrigerators.

Since 1982, Barakat has held positions in MIRACO’s manufacturing, sales, service and contracting divisions. In 1989, he moved into executive management, where he eventually orchestrated the partnership with Carrier Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, in 1992. In 1996, Carrier increased its holdings in MIRACO to 60% from 20%; the Barakat family owns 20%, with the balance being publicly traded. MIRACO-Carrier has one of the largest manufacturing facilities of its kind in the Middle East and commands a 50% market share in the Egyptian air conditioning industry.

It is the sole provider of an integrated range of products and services for both industrial and residential applications.

He is currently a member of the Advisory Council to the School of Business, Economics, and Communications of the American University in Cairo.

He is also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the British-Egyptian Business Association and the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association. His previous directorships include terms on the Egypt-US President’s Council. A 1982 graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, Barakat holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering.

AMB. Abdel Raouf El-Reedy

Ambassador El Reedy is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

He is also the Chairman of Mubarak Public Library, Cairo. He served for eight years as Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States (1984 - 1992).

He was Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations, Geneva, and headed its delegation to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament.

He also served as Ambassador of Egypt to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Ambassador El Reedy currently serves as a member of the International Advisory Board of the U.S Council on Foreign Relations.

Ahmed Ezz

Eng. Ahmed Ezz is the Chairman of El Ezz Industries.

He is also a founding member of Egypt’s International Economic Forum. Furthermore, Mr. Ezz is a member of the National Democratic Party’s Policies Committee, Head of the Budget Committee in the Egyptian Parliament, a Board member of the Social Fund for Development, and member of its Executive Committee.

Mr. Ezz is a member of the Egypt-US Presidents’ Council.

Prof. Heba Handoussa

Heba Handoussa is currently the Research Director for the Gender Economic Research and policy Analysis (GERPA).

GERPA was recently launched as a MENA regional initiative to promote high-level research on gender issues across the Middle East. Previous to this, and for the past 10 years, Heba Handoussa was the Managing Director of the Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), a non-government, non-profit institution established in 1993 to promote policy-relevant research on the MENA region.

Professor Handoussa was also the Director and Lead Author of two Egypt Human Development Reports, EHDR 2005 with the title Vision for Egypt in 2015, and EHDR 2004 with the title Choosing Decentralization for Good Governance.

Dr. Handoussa obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of London in 1974 and taught at the American University in Cairo, where she was twice elected as Chairperson of the Economics and Political Science Department and was subsequently appointed as Vice Provost.

She has also consistently served as an Advisor to the Egyptian government and as a consultant to the World Bank. Professor Handoussa is currently a member of the Higher Coordinating Committee for Monetary Policy, Egypt. She is former a member of the Shura Council, Egypt's Upper House of Parliament, and a former member of the Board of the Central Bank of Egypt.

She has served on the board of international and regional research-related institutions including CEDEJ, IFPRI, UNRISD and currently sits on the WBI External Advisory Board of the World Bank. She was a member of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization initiated by the ILO.

Her numerous publications cover the areas of employment, industrial policy, productivity growth, foreign aid, institutional reform and comparative development models. She has edited more than ten widely circulated books on economic development in the Middle East and North Africa.

Ibrahim Kamel, PH.D

Dr. Ibrahim Kamel is Chairman of KATO Investment, a conglomerate which operates in diverse business sections such as aromatics and detergents; food manufacturing and agricultural projects; tourism, real estate and investments; aerospace, airports and aviation services; logistics and banking as well as community development.

Dr. Kamel is the former Chairman of the Egyptian side of the U.S./Egypt Presidents’ Council and a former member of the International Board of the U.S./Middle East Project of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Kamel is Chairman of the Egyptian-European Council, Honorary Chairman of the British-Egyptian Business Association, Vice-President of the Egyptian-Russian Friendship Society and Treasurer of the Egyptian Society for Development and Childhood.

He is Chairman of Cairo International Bank, Uganda, and has been Chairman of the Egyptian-British Bank, Egypt. Dr. Kamel is a member of the Board of Trustees of both the American University in Cairo and the British University in Cairo.

Dr. Kamel has been awarded the Insignia of Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George from H.M. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the Russian Order of Friendship from the Russian Federation, the International Award of Saint Andrew from the Council of the Foundation of the Saint Apostle Andrew, Russia, and the Honorary Doctorate Degree of International Diplomacy from Utah Valley State College, Utah, U.S.A.

Dahlia Khalifa

Currently a consultant with the World Bank and doctoral candidate in international relations at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., USA, Ms. Khalifa has 20 years of experience in economic and policy analysis, financial services, investment banking, and strategic communications.

Ms. Khalifa has managed financial services companies in Egypt that offer brokerage, private equity investment, management consulting, and technical assistance advisory services with an African and Middle East regional focus.

Her work with non-profit organizations included founding Egypt's International Economic Forum and her tenure as Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.

She currently sits on the Board of One-Global Economy, a US-based not-for-profit organization that works with partners to provide communities and individuals with the tools they need to maximize the potential of technology to facilitate the economic livelihood of the poor.

She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the US-Egypt Friendship Society (USEF) based in Washington D.C. In addition to her M.A.

in Economics (1992) and B.A. in Economics (1986), Ms. Khalifa recently concluded an M.A. in International Law (2006).

Osama Khalifa, PH.D

Dr. Osama Khalifa, is a Founding Member of Egypt's International Economic Forum, and Chairman of the Office for Studies and Finance, S.A.E (OSAF).

He was a key founder and Chairman of Bechtel Egypt, S.A.E. and has served as the Near East Advisor for Bechtel Overseas.

He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Social Fund for Development of Egypt and its Executive Committee, the General Assembly of the Public Enterprise Sector, Egyptian Holding Company for Transport, Services and Trade, and to the Board of Directors of Public Enterprise Sector Holding Company for Housing, Tourism, and Cinema.

He was recently appointed as a member of the National Council for Production and Economic Affairs under the auspices of the Specialized National Councils.

He was a key founder of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait.

He is also a member of the Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers, the American Management Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Asphalt Paving Technologies Society of the USA, the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, and the Planetary Society of the USA.

He received his Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Illinois, USA, his MBA from San Diego State University; M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland, USA; and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Cairo University.

Emad Adeeb, PH.D

Dr. Adeeb is the Chairman of Good News For Me International.

He is also a prominent Arab journalist, he was named Super Star Extraordinaire for his Orbit network talk shows. He graduated from Cairo University with a degree in Mass Communication.

His passion for Journalism & drive surfaced at an early age.

During his third year at university, he requested and was granted an interview with President Anwar Sadat. That interview was the beginning of his journey of success.

His thirst for knowledge drove him to further studies and higher education. After graduation he proceeded to get a diploma from the International Press Institute (Berlin), a degree in Political Science studies from Georgetown University (USA) and in Business Administration, University of Political Economic Studies (London). Dr. Adeeb’s working career started in journalism at Al Ahram newspaper, specializing in presidential news.

He then held several management/editorial positions in newspapers and magazines: Managing Editor, Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper (Cairo/Washington), Editor in Chief of Sayedaty magazine, London, and Editor in Chief of Al Megalla. Mr. Adeeb is currently the Chairman and Editor in Chief of Kolenass magazine, Arab Family magazine, Al Alam Al Youm Daily Financial newspaper, Etessalat Weekly I.T. industry, Party magazine, Teen agers Society magazine, Party Radio First music & chat radio on the net in Arabic, Adam magazine Monthly man magazine and Good News 4ME.com the largest content company in Arabic on the web which includes the services of: Free music, the rising star in Arabic Music Recordings, Filmmaking, Video & Film Production Company and Advertisement.

Dr. Adeeb is currently running mega media companies with a paid capital of 120 million U.S. dollars.

He is also a consultant on Middle East issues for the A.B.C. news network. Beyond journalism, Dr. Adeeb is an accomplished writer. He authored 3 books. “One Woman is not Enough”, “From the Heart” and “Dialog of Jerusalem”.

Dr. Adeeb has wide international exposure and activity, participated in several international Conferences, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabian, Lebanon, France, Switzerland and USA. He is also a prominent presenter on Network talk shows and has been nominated for and received the regional prizes of Best journalist 92 and Best Arab Press Person 96-97.

Mona Makram Ebeid, Ph.D

Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid, has been a prominent Member of Parliament from 1990-1995, where she served on the Committees of Foreign Affairs, Education and the Budget, and was elected Regional President of Parliamentarians for Global Action, an NGO based in New York. From 1992-1995 she served as advisor to the World Bank MENA Region and is a consultant to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington).

In May 2001, she was selected by the UN Secretary General as an expert on ECOSOC Committee For Development Policy.

She is currently President of the Association for the Advancement of Education, a Cairo based NGO, a Trustee of the Arab Thought Forum in Jordan, a member of the UNDP Evaluation Team For Capacity 21 Sustainable Development, a Founding Member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Asempro for the Protection of the Environment, a member of UNICEF’s Committee on Women as well as several academic and research institutions. A graduate of Harvard University, the American University in Cairo (AUC) and Cairo University, Professor Makram-Ebeid teaches Political Science and Sociology at the AUC since 1983.

She is the recipient of academic honors and national distinctions: such as Chevaliaer de le Legion D’ Honneur of France, Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Pleiade, Educator’s International Hall of Fame, as well as the Distinguished Alumini Award From the American University in Cairo.

She has written numerous articles on subjects including political opposition in Egypt, democratization, educational policies, in worldwide academic journals in English, French, and Arabic, and has frequently appeared as a commentator on television and radio, including CNN, Voice of America and Radio Francaise to offer analysis of events in the region.

Abdel Moneim Said Aly

Dr. Abdel Monem Said Aly is Chairman of the Board ot Al Ahram Foundation and the Director of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo since 1994.

He obtained his B.A. from Cairo University (1970) and his M.A. and Ph.D in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, USA (1979 and 1982). He worked at Al Ahram Center since 1975 as a Researcher, Senior Researcher, Head of the International Relations Research Unit, and Deputy Director.

He was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC in 1987 and a research fellow at the Belfer Center For Science and Internatinal Affairs - Harvard University in 2003.

He worked as a Political Advisor in the Amiri Diwan of the State of Qatar between August 1990 and June 1993. In Arabic, he published books, articles and chapters in Arab relations with the regional and global powers, European integration, and the Arab Israeli conflict.

In English, he contributed papers, published articles and chapters in the US, France, Sweden and Singapore on the Middle East’s regional security, Egypt's political system, national security and arms control policies

Fathy El Sebai Mansour

Mr. Mansour is the Chairman of the Egyptian Arab Land Bank, Chairman of Housing and Development Bank, and prior to his appointment Mr. Mansour was the Managing Director of Cairo International Bank from the year 2000 to 2002.

Before that he was the Senior Vice President of the Arab Banking Corporation from 1997 to 2000. From 1988 to 1997, he was the Deputy Executive Manager of Burgan Bank Kuwait.

From 1985 to 1988 he was the Senior Manager for Investments at the Saudi Investment Bank, and from 1984 to 1985 he was the Regional Manager of Jammal Trust Bank. In 1984, he left Citibank being the Resident Vice President after serving in the bank since 1976.

He graduated from the University of Alexandria in 1973 and received his Masters in Banking Finance from Ashford University in 1991.

Hussein Choucri

Mr. Hussein Choucri has been the Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of HC Securities & Investment since 1996.

Mr. Hussein Choucri worked at Morgan Stanley New York in 1980, and was a Managing Director from 1987 until July 1993, where he was responsible for Morgan Stanley’s 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, in addition to undertaking a number of advisory services for clients of Morgan Stanley both inside and outside the United States of America.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Ain Shams University 1972, and a Management Diploma from the American University in Cairo 1978.

Mr. Hussein Choucri is a Board Member of the Holding Company for Tourism and Cinema (HOTC). Furthermore, he is a member of the boards of Gulf Arab Investments Company (GAIC), the Egyptian Capital Market Association (ECMA), and the US Egypt Business Council.

Mohamed Sherif Sharaf

Mr. Sharaf is a seasoned senior international and regional banker with a long-standing successful track record that extends for more than 30 years in the field of investment, merchant, corporate and retail banking with prime emphasis on project and corporate finance, government and institutional lending, trade finance and treasury support. Experience gained in the development and implementation of strategies, business plans, policies and procedures aimed at prudent management of bank’s assets and liabilities, streamlining of bank operations, and development of human resources with the ultimate objective of achieving sustained growth and enhancing shareholders value.

Mr. Sharaf has more than 18 years of solid banking experience in middle and senior management positions in Sweden, France, Greece, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. His list of employers includes Chase Manhattan Bank, Banque Nationale de Paris, Skandinaviska Enskilda Bank, Al Bank Al Saudi Fransi and National Bank of Bahrain.

Mr. Sharaf has sixteen successful years of experience in senior management positions with market leaders in all aspects of full fledge banking, including but not limited to corporate and project finance.

He is currently the Maneging Director & Chief Executive Officer of Arab Banking Corporation Egypt.