AHMED HEIKAL

Chairman & Founder

Dr. Heikal is the founder of Qalaa Holdings (QH). In the past 10 years QH transformed from a general partnership private equity manager with EGP 2 million in capital to a leading investment holdings firm investing in Egypt and East Africa with EGP 9.1 billion in capital. The firm is a leading investor in a number of platform companies in the energy, cement, transportation & logistics, mining, consumer finance and retail sectors.

Prior to founding Qalaa Holdings, Dr. Heikal had joined EFG Hermes in 1992. At the time, EFG Hermes had a capital of EGP 250,000. Dr. Heikal was instrumental in transforming EFG Hermes from a small financial consultancy into the leading investment bank in the Arab world and emerging markets. Dr. Heikal was an executive board member and Managing Director of EFG Hermes Holding. He was also head of asset management (1994-95), head of investment banking (1996-97), head of securities brokerage (1997-99), and head of private equity (1999-2001). He spearheaded highly successful private equity investments, including the creation of Egypt’s leading IT company (Raya Holding) and Egypt’s largest natural gas distribution company (Genco). He also raised three rounds of financing for regional mobile telecommunications operator Orascom Telecom and led the IPOs of Orascom Construction Industries and Orascom Hotels, among other landmark transactions.

Dr. Heikal holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University.

Hisham El-Khazindar

Co-Founder & Managing Director

Prior to co-founding Qalaa Holdings, Mr. El-Khazindar was Executive Director of Investment Banking at EFG Hermes where he advised on landmark M&A and IPO transactions in the region, and where he started his career in 1996. During 1999-2000, he was on secondment to Goldman Sachs in London. Mr. El-Khazindar serves on the boards of several leading regional companies including El Sewedy Electric and Magrabi Retail. He also serves as a Trustee of the American University in Cairo, and as a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Leadership Initiative. In 2013 Mr. El-Khazindar was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and in 2014 he was chosen among the top 100 Young African Leaders by the Paris-based Think Tank, Institut Choiseul. He holds a BA in Economics from the American University in Cairo (1996) and an MBA from Harvard Business School (2003).

KARIM SADEK

Managing Director, Head of Transportation & Logistics

Prior to joining Qalaa Holdings, Mr. Sadek was Managing Director of the Arab Investment Company (ABIC), one of the largest private-equity firms in Egypt. During his tenure, Mr. Sadek returned a substantial part of the firm’s total investments (valued at over EGP 500 million [US$ 90.91 million]) to ABIC’s shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Mr. Sadek holds a Master’s in International Securities, Investment and Banking from the Business School for Financial Markets at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. He has extensive experience in corporate banking and credit risk assessment through his work both at the Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Arab Bank.

AMIR NAGUIB

Co-Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, ASCOM

Amir Naguib, was appointed Managing Director, ASCOM in July 2017.

Prior to this, Amir was Commercial Director for Lafarge Aggregates and ready mix concrete in Egypt, market leader in Egypt with more than 30 batching facility and 5 quarries. A role he held from 2009.

Amir joined the Algerian Cement Company in 2002, a subsidiary of Orascom Cement which was acquired by Lafarge Group in 2007, as Technical Sales Manager, where he contributed to the startup of OC cement business and initiated ready mix business in Algeria.

Amir has a strong background in sales, operations, business finance and marketing. Amir holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from the German University in Cairo.

TAREK SALAH

Co-Chief Operating Officer

Tarek Salah joined Qalaa Holdings in 2007. Prior to joining Qalaa, Mr. Salah worked with Arab Consulting Engineers in the Project Management Department, where he managed projects including the US$ 750 million CityStars multi-purpose real estate development and a US$ 107 million float glass factory in Tenth of Ramadan City. He holds a BSc in Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from the Arab Academy for Technology and Maritime Transport in Cairo.

MOHAMED ABDELLAH

Managing Director

Before joining Qalaa Holdings in 2005, Mr. Abdellah was with the high net worth desk at EFG-Hermes’ Brokerage arm. Earlier, at the Commercial International Bank (CIB)’s Credit Department, he handled the textiles and paper sector with a utilized portfolio of LE 500 million. Mr. Abdellah holds a BA in Accounting from Cairo University’s Faculty of Commerce.

ALAA EL FAS

Managing Director

Alaa El-Fas | Managing Director

Prior to joining Qalaa Holdings in 2009, Mr. El Fas served as New Ventures Director for Qalaa subsidiaries, National Petroleum Company & Nile Valley Petroleum Company. His responsibilities included the development of acquisition targets, strategies and potential synergies. Mr. El Fas also spent two years as the Business Development Manager for Globoil Setcore Petroleum Services and has also worked with Best Buy Canada LTD, as a business process manager. At Qalaa he oversaw investments in Upstream Oil and Gas and Integrated Cement platforms in Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan and he currently formulates business strategies and plans with senior management of portfolio companies. Mr. El-Fas holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from The American University in Cairo and an MBA from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Mariane Ghali

Managing Director

Since 1990, Ms. Ghali has managed endowments of the American University in Cairo. Over that period, Ms. Ghali has grown the endowments’ net assets under management an average of 30% annually and successfully delivered lucrative exists on over 95% of the portfolios she managed. In 2005, Ms. Ghali partnered with Cairo-based Qalaa Holdings to create what is today the Sphinx Private Equity Management International. The private equity management company currently directs USD 230 million in assets under management to investments in SMEs in Egypt and throughout the MENA region. In 2010, Sphinx launched the Sphinx Turnaround Fund to invest in Egyptian SMEs that are distressed and need restructuring, which completed its investment strategy and fully divested by 2017.

Ms. Ghali began her career at Manchester University, UK and Kuwait’s Alghanim Industries. She later joined EDS where she automated the Kuwaiti Social Security System and led the country’s development of a financial disclosure system at the Institute for Banking Studies. Ms. Ghali holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo.

GHADA HAMMOUDA

Group Chief Sustainability & Marketing Officer

Egypt’s 50 Most Influential Women List
EGX Sustainability Committee Member, 2017-18
Takreem Selection Board Member, 2018
Mentor - Egyptian Banking Institute & Endeavor SME

Ms. Hammouda has 30-plus years of experience in market development, strategic planning, reputation management and advocacy.

After a short stint in capacity building with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) and the IMC in Egypt, Ms. Hammouda joined Qalaa Holdings, an African leader in energy and infrastructure, in 2008 where she led their public listing, business transformation and entry to African markets in pioneering sectors like solid waste management and river transportation, and developed their corporate responsibility programs.

Prior to joining Qalaa, Ms. Hammouda served as a senior executive and consultant for over 20 years at top New York and European blue chip and start-up firms including IBM, AT&T International, Mars, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, Reciprocal, Inc., WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather, N.W. Ayer & Partners, and Backer Spielvogel Bates; in categories ranging from FMCG to private equity and IT, and gained wide experience in both mature and emerging markets.

Ms. Hammouda served as Co-Chair of the African Venture Capital Association’s Advocacy Committee, the Women in Business Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt; and was a board member for the New York-based Sunhawk.com Corporation, a leading digital rights management company in Buffalo, New York and Chair of Cairo American College’s Advancement Committee.

Her track record and talent was recognized as the winner of the first David Ogilvy Advertising Research Foundation’s (ARF) Award for Excellence. Ms. Hammouda was recently selected among Egypt’s Top 50 most influential women in business and chosen to be a member of the 2018 TAKREEM Selection Board, a regional initiative that honors Arab accomplishments on the global stage.

Ms. Hammouda graduated in 1984 summa cum laude from the American University in Cairo with a BA in Business Administration and Mass Communications and obtained a licence de droit in 2009 from Cairo University’s School of Law. She is an advocate and frequent speaker on issues related to responsible investing, crisis communication, sustainability, gender equality, youth empowerment and education, and is very active in community development.

An American-Egyptian expat, Ms. Hammouda is the mother of Nadine who holds a Master of Arts with distinction from SOAS University, London, Suzanne who holds a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University, USA and Adam who is pursing his masters at ECES, Berlin.

EMAD TARYAL

Group Chief Internal Audit Officer

Emad Taryal is a certified internal auditor with a robust knowledge in the fields of audit, compliance, risk management, fraud, and internal control and over 15 years of experience in different industries. Prior to joining Qalaa Holdings in 2014, Mr. Taryal was the Internal Audit Deputy Manager for Corplease, a pioneering financial leasing company in both Egypt and the UAE. Mr. Taryal was also an Internal Audit Sr. Specialist at Mobinil. At Qalaa, he developed and established a Risk Assessment Framework as an approach for the identification, assessment of and responding to risks, he also established Audit Committees for the Group’s subsidiaries.

Mr. Taryal is a Certified Internal Auditor from the Institution of Internal Auditors (IIA) and holds a BA in Accounting from Helwan University.

EHAB KHALED

Group Chief Human Resources Officer

Prior to taking on the role of Head of Human Resources at Qalaa, Ehab Khaled was a Human Resources Senior Manager at the company from February 2008 to August 2019. He briefly moved to Orascom Investment Holding as a Human Resources Director, before rejoining Qalaa in December 2019.

During his work at Qalaa, Ehab oversaw the HR functions at the holding level as well as at some of the subsidiaries. He formulated and analyzed the annual compensation scheme, assisted in the HR budget reporting process, undertook compensation surveys with worldwide providers such as HAY, Mercer, and Watson Wyatt, covering Egypt and other countries where QH operates. He also oversaw organizational design restructuring reviews for different functions across QH’s subsidiaries, coordinated social responsibility programs, raised employee morale through company events like annual retreats, offsite meetings and Ramadan tournaments. Additionally, Ehab managed the full recruitment cycle for QH and its subsidiaries on all levels and was responsible for QH’s training plan and implementation.

Mr. Khaled holds a BA in Economics from The American University in Cairo, a Human Resources Management Diploma from The American University in Cairo and is currently pursuing an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School at the Herriot-Watt University.

TAREK HASSAN

Head of Legal Department

Mr. Hassan spent over 20 years in corporate law before joining Qalaa Holdings as head of its legal department. Mr. Hassan began his career at the Law Office of Dr. Saeed El Halafawy, where he gained extensive experience establishing joint-stock companies in several national jurisdictions and acted as a lead advisor on M&A transactions throughout the Middle East and Africa. After establishing and building a private practice from 1994-1999, Mr. Hassan moved to the Funoun Group to head its Legal Department. Mr. Hassan holds a law degree from Cairo University.

YASMIN AL GHARBAWIE

General Counsel

Prior to joining Qalaa Holdings, Ms. Gharbawie was the legal director for Microsoft Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. She previously held the post of legal director for Heineken Egypt a.k.a Al Ahram Beverages Company, S.A.E. and was a senior associate at Shalakany Law Office. She holds a LL.M degree in securities & international trade law from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada and a Bachelors of Law degree in French commercial law from the University of Paris—Sorbonne, France.

AMR M. EL-KADI

Head of Investor Relations and Risk Management

Mr. El-Kadi spent more than 20 years in Commercial Banking, Investment Banking and Investor Relations before joining Qalaa Holdings as Head of Investor Relations and Risk Management. Previously, Mr. El-Kadi helped establish and lead EFG Hermes’ Research practice, and later he headed the regional investment bank’s Risk Management operations. Before his work at EFG Hermes, Mr. El-Kadi worked with credit groups at leading local and international banks across Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Mr. El-Kadi sat on the Board of Al-Watany Bank of Egypt, is a founding member of the Egyptian Capital Markets Association and sits on the Egyptian Exchange’s EGX 30 Committee. He has previously served on the Boards of a number of spinning, weaving, ready-made garments and media production companies, and lectures on financial analysis and credit related topics at several of Cairo’s universities and institutions. Mr. El-Kadi earned a BA with High Honors and an MA from the American University in Cairo (AUC), both in Economics.

RAMI BARSOUM

Head of Information Technology

Mr. Barsoum joined Qalaa Holdings in 2007 and brings to the firm a broad technical background and experience across a number of roles and functions. He began his career at MEMScAP Ltd, a leading international provider of micro-electromechanical systems, as a systems engineer. Mr. Barsoum worked with Al-Ahram Beverages in a number of technical and business functions and with Schlumberger Logelco as a systems engineer, project manager and digital infrastructure sales engineer. He holds a degree in Engineering with concentration in Computer Science with honors from Ain Shams University.