Speakers: Swedish Egyptian Entrepreneurship Forum
November 1st 2015
Egyptian Speakers
Dr. Sherif Kamel was recently appointed Vice President of the American
University in Cairo (AUC), where he previously served as the Dean of the
School of Business at and Professor of Management Information Systems
at the Department of Management. He has accumulated experience in
building and managing professional development institutions addressing
management development and leadership aspects. He consults with
government organizations and corporations addressing professional and
executive development as well as IT transfer, management and IT strategy deployment
issues. Kamel is a co-founding member of the Internet Society of Egypt (1996). His
research and teaching interests include management of information technology,
information technology transfer to developing nations, electronic business, human
resources development, and decision support systems and he has published widely in the
areas of IS and management. He taught for a number of universities in degree and nondegree programs in Egypt, the UK, the US and the Netherlands. Kamel serves on the
editorial and advisory board of a number of IS journals and is the associate editor of the
Journal of Cases on Information Technology, Journal of IT for Development and the
Electronic Journal of IS in Developing Countries. He is the editor of Electronic Business in
Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities (2005) and Managing Globally with
Information Technology (2003). Kamel has served as co-chair of the ICT committee at the
American Chamber of Commerce since 2008. He has served as treasurer and board
member of the Friends of the Museum of Islamic Arts since 2004 and as a member of the
Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs since 2007. He holds a PhD from London School of
Economics and Political Science (1994), an MBA (1990) and a BA in Business
Administration (1987) from The American University in Cairo; currently he is pursuing an
MA in Islamic Art and Architecture. www.sherifkamel.org
Ms. Heba Gamal, Managing Director of Endeavor Egypt, a non-profit
organization focused on developing the economy through supporting and
strengthening high-impact entrepreneurs. Prior to joining Endeavor Egypt,
Gamal held the position of Senior Manager of International Partnerships
for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at TechSoup Global in
Warsaw, Poland. As the Senior Manager of International Partnerships,
Gamal worked closely with EMEA partners specifically facilitating the
integration of new donors and programs, evolving TechSoup programs
into the EMEA Partner Network and more. Before joining TechSoup Global, Gamal was at
Google, Inc. where she was managing Search for the Middle East & North Africa region.
During this time, she focused on improving the search experience quality to better serve
local needs. She also studied how to stabilize the Internet infrastructure within the region
by developing locally relevant product features, policies and improvements. Gamal has
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also served as a Kiva.org Fellow in Beirut, Lebanon, working with Kiva’s Micro-finance
institution partner on the ground. She currently sits on the boards of many
entrepreneurship related committees and is an active mentor to young startups and
female entrepreneurs. Gamal studied Global and International Studies with an emphasis
on Socioeconomics and Politics of the Middle East at the University of California at Santa
Barbara.
Mrs. Neveen ElTahri, Chairperson, Delta Shield. Neveen El Tahri
commenced her career in 1980 as a corporate banker with a Chase
Manhattan JV. With the 2011 revolution rose Egyptian entrepreneurial
talent, she established “Delta Shield for Investment” advising Family
Businesses and “Delta Inspire” focusing on start-ups & early stage startups and “138 Pyramids” the VC funding arm. She is the first woman to sit
on the board of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, named by the Financial
Times as one of the leading businesswomen in the Arab world. She has won numerous
local and International awards; most recent in 2014 named by American Chamber of
Commerce as Egypt’s lead Corporate Woman. She sits on several boards including the
Egyptian Financial Service Authority, Mobinil (Orange), Strategic Advisory Board of the
American University of Cairo Business School and numerous private sector boards and
NGO’s (e.g. INJAZ). Previously, she was the country representative of the RBS and sat
on many boards including Banque Misr, General Authority for Investments and Telecom
Egypt. She graduated from faculty of Economics & Political Science at Cairo University
and is an alumna of both London Business School & Harvard Business School.
Dr. Khaled Ismail is the Founder and Chairman of Kiangel, an angel
investment fund focused on investing in early-stage startups in the Middle
East. The fund has invested thus far in 11 companies since 2011 and is
still growing. Dr. Ismail was the Founder and CEO of SySDSoft, a
company focused on the design of wireless communication system
modems. In March 2011, SySDSoft was acquired by Intel. Dr. Ismail
became thereafter the Managing Director of Intel Mobile Communications.
Dr. Ismail was the Chairman of Endeavor Egypt between 2011 and 2014. He was board
member of Orascom Telecom (2004-2011) and board member of the IT Industry
Development Authority (2009-2012). Between 2005 and 2007, Dr. Ismail was the Senior
Advisor of the Egyptian Minister of CIT, responsible for Technology Development. Dr.
Ismail received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1989. He is an IEEE Fellow since 1997 and has
published over 160 papers in international journals and holds 22 US patents. He is the
recipient of the Eta Kappa Nu’s Best Young Electrical Engineer in the US award in 1994,
and the Shuman Award for the “Young Arab Engineers” in 1995. Dr. Ismail is married and
has two children, and is fluent in Arabic, German, English and French.
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Swedish speakers
Jan Bonnevier has extensive experience of business- and company
development, from technology companies in the IT and Cleantech sectors.
His background spans from executive management positions in start-up
ventures to leading roles in international enterprises. Example
engagements is from well-known companies as Cap Gemini, ICL and
smaller growth companies in the technology sector, in different leading
positions as CEO, Director of business development etc. Jan is the cofounder, partner and CEO of Common agenda venture management AB, a
company who invests capital (experience, skills and money) in high potential growth
companies primarily in the IT-Sector. He also engages as business advisor in M&A
transactions and as a business coach. Jan holds a Masters degree in Industrial
engineering and Management and lives in Stockholm.
Sohrab Fadai started arranging theatre productions in his local town
when he was 15 years old. At age 19 he became the president of the
local organization and thus the youngest president in the National
Theatre Associations (the largest tour-producing theatre in Sweden)
history until then. He has started several companies and was part of the
success with the family company becoming known as the best bag shop
in Sweden. As an author he has written three books and writes about
entrepreneurship and social sustainability. Sohrab believes that arts,
design and innovative use of digital solutions and new technology are meant to be
combined to benefit humanity and the world. We can create a better sustainable world
and in doing this innovation and entrepreneurship will be the key. He has also been the
president of Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden and has experience as the regional
manager for the Swedish Federation of Business Owners, which is the largest
organization of entrepreneurs in Sweden with approx. 75 000 members. He also serves
on the advisory board for the Young Network of Entrepreneurs. He gives inspirational
lectures all over the world about entrepreneurship and young leadership and what makes
it possible for successful startups to scale up. His forth book is about the future of
entrepreneurship.
Yvonne Fogelström has been an Executive member of the Board and
Consultant at NyföretagarCentrum/Jobs and Society Scania Northwest
since 2009. She has also served as CFO and on the executive
committees of 5 different companies between 1993-2009. She was an
Authorized Public Accountant 1979-1993, in a wide range of industries,
and was a member of the board in a big auditing firm in Sweden (today
PWC). Between 1978-1979, Yvonne was the financial manager in a
Construction Company. She received her MBA from University of Linköping in 1978.
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Anna Rydberg, Helsingborg is the Founder and CEO at the student
agency Student Network. The priority of Student Network is to offer
expertise within event, communication and IT for the businesses in the
northern Öresund region. Anna has a degree in Service Management
from Lund University and has been a Trainee at Familjen Helsingborg, a
municipal cooperation. Anna is driven by challenges and by delivering
services that exceed the customers’ expectations.
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