Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk was appointed as the Minister of Finance of Egypt in July 2024. He served as the Vice Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies and Institutional Reform starting March 2016 till 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. Performing his duties as the Vice Minister of Finance, he has been supervising and managing the functions of various policy-related units and departments at the Ministry of Finance, including the Macro Fiscal Policies Unit, Debt Management Unit, Public Private Partnership Unit, Transparency and Citizen Engagement Unit, the Public Financial Management Unit, as well as the Institutional Reform Unit. He has been managing miscellaneous work streams at the Ministry of Finance, including engagement with international institutions, rating agencies, investment banks, and investors. He has also been overseeing the process of setting and updating the Macro Fiscal Framework, including setting fiscal and debt targets over the medium‐term, preparing the annual budget, monitoring budget implementation, managing fiscal risks, and overlooking debt strategy and related policies. Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk also serves as Egypt's non-resident Executive Director at the Asian International Infrastructure Bank Board (AIIB) for seven 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, 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 the 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 to 2020, and at Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO) from January 2021 to April 2022, as well as at Talaat Mostafa Holding to July, 2024. He had been also entitled as a board member in several other institutions over the past years. Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk is a proficient 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 at the Ministry of Finance in several leading roles for more than 14 years, including the Vice Minister, the Economic Advisor, and the head 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 Economic and 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.A in Economics in 1998 from the American University in Cairo.

Paola joined ZHA in 1999 and has many decades of experience developing wide range of projects across Europe and Asia; excelling in the design and management of complex architectural projects demonstrate her detailed knowledge of the inter-related disciplines of urbanism, infrastructure, architecture and interior design. Paola is regularly invited to speak at renowned academic and professional institutions worldwide. Having grown-up in Rome, the city’s rich history and its contemporary development gave Paola a unique perspective on the renovation and re-use of existing built environments, which she continues to explore in her work for ZHA in cities across the globe.

Mohamed Fawzy works on building large-scale AI infrastructure to enhance researcher productivity and optimize GPU computing at NVIDIA. With a background in distributed systems and high-performance computing, he focuses on developing scalable, efficient, and reliable infrastructure that accelerates AI workloads. His work involves improving system performance, streamlining AI workflows, and enabling researchers to iterate faster on complex models. As Senior Director of Engineering at NVIDIA, I bring over nine years of experience leading large-scale machine learning and data infrastructure initiatives. My current role focuses on advancing AI platforms and infrastructure to optimize machine learning pipelines, improve developer productivity, and support innovative AI solutions. My expertise includes managing geo-distributed teams and scaling systems for complex AI and data needs. Previously, I directed a 140+ member organization at Cruise, where we developed infrastructure, dev tools, and AI platforms to accelerate machine learning development. My leadership reflects a commitment to empowering teams, driving innovation in ML scheduling, orchestration, and distributed deep learning, and delivering impactful solutions across AI-driven industries.

An accomplished business executive with extensive experience in the areas of general management, sales and marketing across the consumer goods and real estate industries. Strongly capable of strategizing, planning and driving effective execution to reach top and bottom-line targets, along with a demonstrated strength of coaching and developing teams.

John is located in Silicon Valley, California, the hub for innovation and technology. They hold a mechanical engineering undergraduate and an Masters in Business Administration from Cornell University, with over 15+ years of experience within technology working for companies such as Microsoft Japan, Oracle, and IBM. They have traveled to over 25 countries, and have mentored, designed and led workshops for organizations such as Plug and Play, San Francisco Tech Week, WeWork, supporting the goals of start-ups globally. John’s expertise lies in helping overseas companies thrive in the U.S. through customized workshops, mentorship, and strategic guidance. John is also an author of three books, one becoming an Amazon #1 best seller.

Vijay is a technology investor, serial entrepreneur, and a seasoned CEO. Vijay holds the position of Managing Director and Regional Head of MENAPT at Techstars. During his 7 years tenure, he has invested in over 70 startups across a broad range of sectors and led corporate partnerships with GINCO, Mubadala, Hub71, MCIT of KSA, Saudi National Bank and Raed Ventures. He serves on the boards of Three Wheels United, an EV mobility company in India, Crestbrick, the leading property marketing company in SE Asia and Klaim.AI a claims management software company in UAE. Prior to Techstars, Vijay was based in Washington D.C. and served as the former Global Chairman ( 2003-04) and CEO (2015-17) of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), where he led the peer network of 18,000+ leading entrepreneurs globally. In his 40+ years as an entrepreneur and corporate CEO he founded and grew several companies spread over 7 different industries in SE Asia. This includes managing a multi-chain Fashion Retail Stores and an export-led Clothing Manufacturing for high end brands, develop and manufactured a leading hi-Tech Safety Helmets producer, pioneered an Association Management Company, a Corporate Learning Events production company, managed a Property Development company in Malaysia and Singapore and founded a Corporate Venture Capital focused in Asian technology companies in the late 1990s. Vijay has served several leadership positions at the YPO, the peer-to-peer network of 35,000 leading CEOs; including Chapter Chair, Regional Director, and as a Global Board member. He is also the founding Chair of the UHNWI peer group TIGER 21 Dubai. He is a Global Advisor to Scholar of Finance organization and a former Trustee at Richmond University (UK). He was the recipient of the ‘Global Entrepreneur Person of the Year’ Award by GOPIO and EO in both 2003. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from Richmond University and furthered his executive education at Stanford University.

Said Baaghil is one of the Middle East’s most recognized brand strategists, a global keynote speaker across 60+ stages, and the author of five books endorsed by global leaders.

Global Business Services leader with over 15 years’ experience in setting up and operating multi-functional Shared Services Centers in a Multinational FMCG Company. Experience working in captive Shared Service Centers and with BPO partners in Europe, Asia, Middle East / Africa, in an international environment. Passionate about building an inclusive and empowering culture, with a strong focus on coaching, talent and leadership development, resulting in engaged and high performing teams.

Strategic and Performance focused Executive supported by 31 years of experience in the Real Estate Development, Construction, Maintenance and Facility Management. Master of Business Administration (MBA), Certified Project Manager from the American Society of Civil Engineers, British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), B.Sc. Engineering in Architecture Several Educational and Management Training local and abroad.

Paula Tavangar is a seasoned entrepreneur, who currently serves as Chief Investment Officer at Injaz Capital. Prior to that, Paula was focused on venture capital as Principal at SwissBorg Ventures. With a strong background in quantitative strategies, Paula co-founded Genesis Capital LATAM, overseeing the Quant Arbitrage Fund delivering consistent alpha. She also co-founded Wethaq, an Islamic Fintech startup. Paula's diverse expertise led her to serve on the World Business Angels Forum (WBAF) Global Startup Committee and as a commissioner representing WBAF in the UAE. She holds a B.A. in International Finance and an MSc in Financial Engineering with a focus on Automated Trading Systems.

Mohamed Aboulnaga " Nagaty” is an emerging markets' venture builder, investor, and tech-entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in tech-entrepreneurship. He is currently Member of the Talent Retention and International Expansion Group within the Ministerial Committee for Entrepreneurship. Founder and Chairman of Foras (producer of the المال الحلال ) Co – Founder and Chairman of Exits the first fintech investment banking platform in the region and founder and CEO of " pie" the leading " M and A" advisory for startups firm in Egypt and the former the Co-Founder/CEO of KLIVVR (Egypt’s first digital agent banking platform), Co-Founder of Halan, Halan is Africa's largest super app and Egypt's most funded app in 2020 according to Forbes middle east, and most funded 2020/2021/2022. Partner/Co-founder in CashCows (largest early-stage startup catalyst in Egypt), Mumerz and pr and gov. Relations Advisor in Disruptech ventures (largest fintech fund in Egypt). Prior to Co-Founding Halan. Nagaty served as Regional Director at Careem, the Middle East's number one ride hailing application recently acquired by Uber for more than $3 billion. He also sits on the board of several Tech companies inlcuding Koinz, Robusta, Waffarha, Checkme and an angel investor in multiple tech startups including Gameball, Sharwa, Sokna, Gameya and many others Earlier. Nagaty, started his career at Fawry in account management and business development since 2012 till headed the BD (Fawry was the first tech-company to ipo in egypt reached 2B usd val in public markets) as well as starting Egypt's first food and beverage fund in 2010 and exiting it in 2015.

Karim is the Co-founder and Chief Product and Strategy Officer of Flow48. He was previously the CEO of Eqwal, a fintech company in Africa and the GCC, acquired by MojaGroup. His tech experience includes roles as Chief Product Officer at Fetchr and GM of Uber in Saudi Arabia. Karim was a Vice President at Citibank in New York, Jakarta, and Dubai and worked as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and Delta Partners, advising on tech, telco, and media. He holds a Master’s in Artificial Neural Networks. Living in Dubai, he has two daughters and enjoys hiking and outdoor activities.

Selma Ribica is a Fintech entrepreneur, VC investor and a veteran of the African FinTech industry. Now based out of Casablanca, Selma is managing First Circle Capital, Africa's specialized, fintech focused fund, backed by prominent institutional investors and today counting 15 portfolio companies across 8 African markets. As an early executive at M-Pesa, she was in charge of expansion and product innovation. After that, Selma founded, scaled and sold a FinTech business in London, serving underbanked migrants. Since 2017, Selma has been an active angel in FinTech including names like Qonto, Expensya, THNDR etc. She serves on board of fintech businesses in the region and advises prominent venture capital investors in Africa. INSEAD alumna

Medhat Yassin is a distinguished strategic business transformation consultant, serial entrepreneur, and business mentor with over 29 years of experience across diverse commercial domains, including marketing, brand development, business development, and sales. He has advised and collaborated with more than 400 local and international brands, delivering measurable growth, strategic expansion, and successful market positioning. Throughout his career, Medhat has held leadership roles at major global corporations such as IBM and Procter & Gamble and served as the Regional Marketing Director for Burger King in the MENA region. He began his entrepreneurial journey in 1998 by founding and scaling food and hospitality ventures, including the successful launch of Win-Win Business Development in 2012, which introduced the BOGO (Buy One Get One) concept to the region—a venture that was later acquired by investors. Medhat is currently the Executive Vice Chairman and a partner at Mori International Group, where he plays a key role in business transformation, commercial strategy, and operational growth. He is also the founder of several impactful platforms including Business Bullets, Business Combos, and the Cairo Business Community, which support entrepreneurs, SMEs, and corporate leaders through strategic mentorship, practical training, and market-ready programs. Known for his hands-on approach and deep market insight, Medhat has led business turnarounds and exponential growth initiatives across Egypt, the GCC, and North Africa—particularly within tech startups, mega projects, and family businesses. His mentorship combines visionary strategy with grounded execution, making him a trusted advisor to executives, founders, and young professionals alike. Medhat is also the author of the Arabic business book “Personal Branding: القصة التي سيحكيها الناس عنك” and continues to champion the values of ethics, growth mindset, and purpose-driven leadership in every business endeavor

An Experienced Executive with 22+ years of experience within marketing, commercial & general management in leading FMCG, Telecom, Personal Care, and Beauty companies. Proven track of record in launching new brands, gaining market shares, acquiring market leadership, leading business transformation, Digital & E-Commerce acceleration while boosting business growth and profitability. Accumulated deep understanding of Middle East, North African & African consumers within different personal care categories and socio-economic classes. A passionate committed leader who embraces Growth Mindset, Phycological Safety & Collective Intelligence.

Fabio Lorenzon is the Managing Partner of Lorenzon Srl, an industrial manufacturing company with a long-standing legacy, and the Founder & CEO of SolutioAI, a fast-growing startup in the field of artificial intelligence. At just 28, Fabio bridges two very different worlds—traditional industry and cutting-edge technology. After unexpectedly taking over the family business, he led Lorenzon through a phase of modernization, global expansion, and operational transformation, opening a U.S. branch, a Saudi branch and redefining the company’s strategy in international markets. Driven by a passion for innovation and a belief in the power of data, he launched SolutioAI to help companies make smarter, faster decisions through AI-powered tools and platforms. Fabio is especially focused on making AI accessible for businesses that are not inherently tech-based, bridging the gap between vision and execution. He holds a master’s degree in industrial management engineering from Politecnico di Milano and has previous experience at Amazon, where he learned operational discipline and data-driven leadership. Fabio often speaks about entrepreneurship, leadership at a young age, and the human-centered use of artificial intelligence. He believes that being young is not a limitation, but a strength, especially when building companies that challenge the status quo.