Mr. Ihab Azzam is a C-level International Business Executive and digital investor, based in the United States and Dubai, serving as General Manager of International Exports Inc., a renowned international consumer goods organization. He is also the co-founder of E-brix, a digital marketing boutique specialized in commercializing and promoting digital assets and brands. He is one of the first RHU honors graduates with a BA in Marketing class of 1999, and completed his MBA in Strategic Management at Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands back in 2008, with research focused on consumer private labels & brands. He also served as the Corporate Commercial Director of TSC retail group across the Middle east, spearheading the expansion and profitable growth of the chain across 5 countries. He successfully launched and developed numerous American food brands in the MENA region, and collaborates with a wide network of brands, trade, distribution and marketing organizations across the Americas, Middle East and Asia. Participated in dozens of trade exhibitions and conferences in Asia, Europe and the US as an industry expert, with constant travel across the globe into retail markets worldwide seeking innovation and scale. Proud husband and father to a beautiful girl, he strives to be with his family before anything else. His aspirations are to complete his PhD in the next 5 years and focus his research on e-commerce transformation in the Middle East, always guided by a basic rule in business: simplify to succeed.
Dr. Jana Abou Ziki earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) in 2014 after completing hers BSc. in Mechatronics Engineering at Rafik Hariri University in 2009. Her doctorate research developed the knowledge about an electrochemical glass micro-manufacturing technique called Spark assisted Chemical Engraving (SACE), and as a result this technique was transferred to industry. Her work got published in several journal and conference publications, as well as book chapters. She also co-authored the second edition of the book “Micromachining Using Electrochemical Discharge Phenomenon”. Shortly after receiving her PhD, she joined Laurentian University as a Master Lecturer in the Bharti School of Engineering, and she got newly appointed as Assistant Professor at the “University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology”. Dr. Abou Ziki’s current research interests involve developing techniques to control the surface properties of structures machined on glass by SACE, and developing methods for enhancing and controlling the quality of metallic parts done by additive manufacturing.
Ms. Joudi Sabra sat in front of an Atari by her Dad at the age of 8. From that moment on, she knew her career would involve a computer, somehow. “I am known for my ability to adapt to all kinds of situations and not allowing criticism to render me short. I am passionate for what I do and I devote my time for new learnings. At the age of 12, I started reproducing graphics for video games, while keeping up with my school studies aside."
Ms. Sabra knew she wanted the best guide to build the foundation of her career success, to develop her knowledge, and grow her talent. So she conducted her way to graduate with honors in Graphic Design from Rafik Hariri University (RHU), which gave her the best point of departure to develop her skills with the best RHU mentors and advisers. “Mentioning advisers, I would like to give a special gratitude to the Design Department’s Chair Ms. Serene Srouji, for sharing her mastery and her passion for design and guiding me to always push myself to deliver only the best.”
Few months after graduation, Ms. Sabra had the privilege to establish her first Magazine (HOME FOR MAGAZINE) with the help of a Lebanese publishing firm PIDRAYA. The Magazine was issued 4 times in 300 countries before Ms. Sabra decided to join as an Art Director, one of the leading advertising agencies in the world, Leo Burnett. She works on campaigns for big brands like Samsung, McDonald’s, KitKat, Kinder, Ferrero, Nutella, Zain Telecom and Saudi Airlines.
“I graduated in 2005 from RHU, I knew that I was equipped with best in class education however I had no idea that RHU will keep on playing a major role in my life post-graduation. Confused about my career, RHU gave me the opportunity to have an internship at Leo Burnett and this is where it all started. My love for advertising... and for Leo Burnett specifically.”
He has been working at Leo Burnett for around 12 years now and he is currently a Regional Communication Director. During this period he worked in Beirut and Jeddah’s offices (5 years in total in Saudi) where he handled the Middle Eastern, Turkish and Eastern European markets for key international brands for P&G mainly in beauty and home care and he also handled the company’s beauty and luxury portfolio namely: Exotica, Mercedes in addition to Roadster Diner.
Dr. Nazek El-Atab was born in Paris, France, in 1991. She received her B.Sc. degree (with high-distinction) from Rafik Hariri University, Lebanon, in 2012, her M.Sc. degree in microsystems engineering from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2014, and her Ph.D. degree in interdisciplinary engineering from the Masdar Institute in 2017.
Currently, she is a Post-Doctoral research fellow in the Integrated Nanotechnology Lab at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Her current research focuses on the fabrication of flexible and implantable Si/SiGe/Ge nanotube FET for application in brain-machine interface. From 2012 till 2017, she was a Research Assistant with the Masdar Institute. During her PhD studies, she worked as a Visiting Research Scientist at Stanford University, CA, USA. Her PhD thesis, funded by the Office of Naval Research Global, focused on the growth of nanomaterials using the atomic layer deposition system for low-power memory applications. During her M.Sc. studies, she has worked as a Visiting Research Scientist at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey; her M.Sc. research was funded by MUBADALA and it was part of the 3D-Twinlab project conducted in collaboration with the Dresden University of Technology, Germany.
Dr. El-Atab has received several awards for her research, including the 2015 For Women in Science Middle East Fellowship by L’Oreal-UNESCO, Best Paper Award in the Micro/Nano-systems section at the UAEGSRC 2016 conference, the 2016 IEEE Nanotechnology Student Travel Award in Japan, and the 2017 International Rising Talents Award by L’Oreal-UNESCO. She is also a six-time recipient of the Merit-Based Hariri Foundation Scholarship, the Masdar Institute Fellowships for M.Sc. and PhD studies, and the KAUST postdoctoral fellowship. She has published over 30 papers in international journals and conference proceedings, and a book chapter. She is a member of IEEE, the Electrochemical Society, and the Materials Research Society. She also currently serves as a Jury member for the 2017 For Women in Science Middle East Fellowship by L’Oreal-UNESCO and as a reviewer for several scientific journals including IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Applied Physics Letters, Physica Status Solidi and the Institute of Physics Nanotechnology. Her research has been highlighted extensively in international media like The National, America’s Navy, Office of Naval Research, Emirates News Agency, Skynews Arabia TV, Khaleej Times, Monte Carlo Paris, the Health Medicine Network, etc.
Mr. Omar Al Fil is an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer from Beirut, Lebanon. He began drawing at an early age and showed a fondness for cartoons and comics growing up. Omar completed his study of Graphic Design at Rafik Hariri University, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in 2013. He has written articles and content for several print and digital publications in Lebanon and the Middle East including Red Bull, Beirut.com, and Wamda, among others. Omar has also contributed visuals to clients such as VICE Arabia, BECO Capital, and ArabMoji.
He is a cofounder and former member of the Lebanese indie game development studio Groovy Antoid, where he provided music and sound effects for video games. Omar is also a cofounder and current member of the Lebanese indie comics collective Zeez Collective. To learn more about his work, visit elepheel.com.
Mr. Wassim El Hariri is a 24 years old Entrepreneur, inventor and robotics engineer. He completed his bachelor degree in Mechatronics from Rafik Hariri University, and a master’s degree in Automation and Robotics from Politechnic University in Italy. He is currently pursuing an online MBA from University of California, Irvine.
His passion in robotics started from an early age during my bachelor degree studies i worked on many projects such as firefighting quadcopter, smart house, sun-ray tracking stepper motor…. He also had the opportunity to write my master's thesis project at InSystems Automation in Berlin which was under the tittle "Development of a ROS software for Omni Directional Spherical Wheel Robot" which was really a big success for me. This project was for the German government that need to be used for passport transportation.
He is currently working as an international project manager at InSystems Automation in Berlin specialized in innovative solutions for customers around the world using Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) used for industrial transportation. He completed projects for top leading companies such as P&G, Continental, SAA in different countries within Europe and Asia.
He has been accepted among thousands in an innovation reality TV show called stars of science and was able to reach the top 6 candidates with his invention which was a mobile robot with unique and totally new design mechanism that allow to automate the whole process of food distribution in hospitals in an effective way, giving each patient the correct meal. He won an international provisional patent and currently focusing on raising funds to develop this project more and launch my own personal company by mid 2018 mainly focusing on the gulf and middle east market.
He had the chance to present our mobile robots in various international exhibition such as Gitex and Arab Plast in Dubai, and Productronica and Automatica in Munich which are one of the largest technology exhibitions in the region. He had the chance to meet Mr. Terry Jones, CEO of Kayak.com with a great workshop in Qatar and Mr. John Mattone the personal coach of Steve Jobs to present my invention for them.
He believes that his mission is to pass what he has been through to all young engineers and entrepreneurs to create a sustainable planet and be a change in this world. People should realize that if they have an idea that will do a change in this world, their ideas will live longer than they do. And it's really important that we need all of these ideas now!
Dr. Zeina T. Al Hakim is an achieved academic and researcher in the fields of marketing and management with 14 years of rich and diversified international work experience. After graduating with high distinction from Rafik Hariri University with a BBA in Marketing and from the American University of Beirut with an MBA in Management, she pursued a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) at Grenoble Ecole de Management in France and successfully completed it in 2012. She had a total of six years of corporate work experience in marketing and human resource management before commencing her teaching career in 2008. She held the position of Marketing Coordinator at Khatib and Alami – CEC (4 years) and Senior HR Officer at Creditcard Services Company s.a.l. (2 years). She has taught at several reputable universities including Rafik Hariri University and the Lebanese American University in Lebanon and has held the position of Assistant Professor of Marketing at Alliance Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom. She has also been supervising MBA/MSc dissertations at Grenoble Ecole de Management since 2013. She has published two journal papers, one conference paper, and one chapter in a book and has a couple of research projects in progress. Her research interests include service quality, services management and marketing, and consumer behavior in services context in addition to internal marketing, employee behavior, and work-family conflicts.
Mr. Ziad Zwiya started his career with GE Energy Services in Mid 2008 as a Gas Turbine Technical Advisor after graduating from GE’s Field Engineering Program in Schenectady, USA. Over a period of 3 years, he provided technical support to key Gulf region clients on various power-generation projects, eventually becoming a Site lead for GT installation, commissioning, and maintenance.
In mid-2010, Ziad joined GE Oil & Gas Turbomachinery Solutions in Abu Dhabi (UAE) as Customer Services Manager for fleet outages, install base, and warranties. His core duties included the ownership and profitability of several MM$ services contracts, supervision of Field teams, and equipment scope delivery to achieve commercial operations. During this role, Ziad supported the Gulf regions NOCs including Aramco, QatarGas, RasGas, and ADCO to expand their production capacity and improve their equipment reliability.
Four years ago, Ziad moved to Australia (Perth) where he was appointed as the Installations Manager leading the 1B$ of equipment delivery of Chevron’s mega Gorgon LNG project, currently Australia’s largest resource project with a global footprint in the LNG industry. In addition to successfully delivering the project to achieve production status, Ziad has played a key role in securing 115 M$ of financial growth for the P&L and was recognized for building solid customer relations while leading a large team of 65 field and office personnel.
Ziad was nominated in June 17 to lead the ITO organization as the Regional Sales Leader for GE Power Conversion business covering Oceania. Currently he leads a team responsible to drive the profitable growth of the business across ANZ, his main priorities are Formulation of strategies to optimise the value proposition, Develop strong relationships with strategic customers, and manage the sales pipeline.
Ziad earned his M.Sc. (2008) in Mechatronics Engineering from Rafic Hariri University in Meshref, Lebanon.
“My education at RHU played and continue to play an essential role in my career success at GE. RHU gave me the opportunity to have an early exposure to the work environment through the 2 coop assignments prior to graduation. Principles I learnt from mechanical, Programming and control courses of the mechatronics curriculum at RHU where critical to excel at linking and resolving technical issues with gas turbine systems. Today, and inspire holding a managerial role i still utilize the engineering fundamentals i was taught at RUU to deal with daily work matters, by reverting to the attained engineering fundamentals of issue analysis and solving skills.”