Community

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of innovators from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Search current members and alumni by year awarded, sector or region.

Khaled Bin Braik

Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Arab Emirates

Mr. Khaled Bin Braik is a Partner in PwC’s Government & Public Sector consulting practice in the Middle East with a focus on public sector strategy, organisational transformation and human capital development. He serves as the first homegrown UAE National Consulting Partner at PwC Middle East. With over a decade of consulting experience, Khaled is also the firm’s Nationalisation Leader in the United Arab Emirates and spearheads the award-winning nationalisation program “Watani” to create a sustainable national workforce in the professional services sector. He partners with key government stakeholders and policymakers to drive youth engagement across economic sectors, and increase the employability and participation of nationals in the labour market. Khaled has deep expertise in shaping human capital development strategies and has led diverse large-scale civil service modernisation, institutional effectiveness and upskilling programmes to meet the long-term economic, social, and environmental aspirations of the region. During his tenure at PwC, Khaled has also advised leaders, governments and industry champions on evidence-based and purpose-driven policy reforms, strategic planning, organisational restructuring, governance and transformational leadership. Khaled is a recognised thought leader, public speaker, and author on public sector revitalisation, the future of work and sustainability. He is regularly featured in press such as Emirates News Agency (WAM), Arabian Business and multiple industry conferences, podcasts and webinars. Khaled has been felicitated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for his leadership impact across the nation and is a recipient of the  “Leader of the Year in the Private Sector” national award. He was selected to participate in the flagship Impactful Leaders Programme, run by the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development, an exclusive leadership development programme for the top-tier of public and private sector national leaders identified to advance the sustainable development of Dubai. Khaled is a graduate in Political Science and Business Administration from Concordia University in Canada and has an MBA from Cardiff University in the UK. He is also certified in strategic foresight, transformative leadership and disruptive innovation with INSEAD, Imperial College, IMD, UC Berkeley, among others.

H.H. Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

President and Chief Executive Officer, UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), United Arab Emirates

Business leader, social entrepreneur, and published author Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan is Executive Director of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), Founder of the Shamma bint Sultan Sustainability Initiatives social enterprise, Co-Founder of Aurora50 and Founder of Reset MENA. Sheikha Shamma holds a Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership and a Master of Philosophy in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge and a degree in Business Administration from Zayed University. She is a well-respected industry expert on sustainability due to her business and academic endeavors in the field. Sheikha Shamma is Chair of Alliances for Global Sustainability and the Advisory Boards of Yale’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Pure Harvest, and Bamboo Capital. She is the Honorary President of the Emirates Green Building Council and a UAE Circular Economy Council member. She was awarded the Inspirational Woman of the Year by the Arab Women’s Awards UAE in 2020 and the Academy of International Business in the Middle East and North Africa (AIBMENA) Windtower Award in 2021. In 2022, Sheikha Shamma was selected as the first woman from the GCC to participate in the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center’s Women Leaders in Energy and Climate Fellowship and serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Multilateral Negotiations (CEMUNE). Sheikha Shamma cites her great-grandfather, the UAE’s founding father, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as a source of inspiration and credits his vision as why she places immense importance on sustainability, philanthropy, and female empowerment. Through her actions, Sheikha Shamma aspires to ensure that Sheikh Zayed’s legacy lives on and that his vision continues to create a positive impact globally.

H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Deputy Prime Minister for Financial and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates

Alsharif Nasser bin Nasser

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ambit Advisory, Jordan

In 2022, Mr. Nasser launched Ambit Advisory, focusing on cross-sectoral and cascading risks impacting issues at the nexus of security and development in the Middle East. At the start of 2022, he was also appointed as Senior Advisor to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), where he leads research relating to the impacts of ballistic missiles, drones, disruptive weapon systems and weapons of mass destruction on Middle East security and stability.

In 2023 Mr. Nasser became a member of World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Complex Risk, an interdisciplinary invitation-only community that works to identify long term global risks for stakeholders in the World Economic Forum and develop appropriate mitigation efforts.

From 2010 until 2021, Mr. Nasser served as the Managing Director of the Middle East Scientific Institute for Security (MESIS) based in Amman, Jordan. In this position, he focused on addressing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) risks across the Middle East region. During the same period, he also headed the Middle East Regional Secretariat, the first of eight secretariats to be established globally under the European Union’s Centres of Excellence initiative on CBRN issues.

Previously, Mr. Nasser worked in the office of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, where he last served as Senior Analyst in the Foreign Affairs Directorate. During that time, he managed several bilateral and thematic files and led analytical studies on Jordan’s regional and international relations.

Mr. Nasser is also involved with numerous organizations. He served as the Chairman of a leading insurance company in Jordan and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of a public national commission offering support to injured and disabled veterans. He received his master’s degree in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University and his undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Policy and Business Management from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts (2001). Nasser is also the chair of the Princeton alumni committee in Jordan since 2004 and mentor for Middle East alumni committees for two terms (2017-2023).

In 2015, Mr. Nasser was selected by the World Economic Forum as a “Young Global Leader,” along with 187 candidates globally and served as Member of the Advisory Group for the Forum of Young Global Leaders between 2021-2022. Between 2018-2020, he was a non-resident scholar of the Washington-based Middle East Institute and in 2021 joined the English-language daily, Jordan News Daily, as a regular columnist.

Haifa Bint Mohammed Al Saud

Vice-Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia

Princess Haifa Al Saud is the Saudi Vice Minister of Tourism. HH played a leading role in the successful transformation of the tourism ecosystem, including the development and execution of the National Tourism Strategy. The tourism ecosystem now comprises of the Ministry of Tourism, Saudi Tourism Authority, Tourism Development Fund, Tourism Development Council, Air Connectivity Program, and Saudi Red Sea Authority. Princess Haifa is a BoD Member of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Qiddiya Investment Company, Tourism Development Fund, Taif Development Authority, AlAhsa Development Authority, and Saudi Red Sea Authority. HH is also a Member of Quality of Life Program Committee, the Tourism Development Council, an Executive Committee Member of Duyuf Al Rahman Program and Saudi Arabia’s participation at Expo, a Steering Committee Member of the Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques Scholarship Program, and Duyuf Al Rahman Program, and an Oversight and Monitoring Committee Member of the National Employment Program. During her tenure at the Ministry, HH Princess Haifa has been instrumental in delivering sector transformation through sustainability advocacy, dedication to youth and local community empowerment, and special attention to sector recovery, investment, and innovation.

Princess Haifa served as the Secretary General of Formula E Diriyah ePrix, the first major event in the Kingdom and a catalyst to the boom in events and entertainment sectors. She also chaired the Saudi-Emirati Youth Council and served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Arab Fencing Federation Women’s Committee and the Saudi Fencing Federation respectively, increasing the number of women on the official team from 0 to over 200. Her professional career started in equity sales at HSBC. HH holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Haven, USA, and a Master of Business Administration from London Business School.

Noor Boodai

Chief Executive Officer, TenX, Kuwait

Noor Boodai is the Founder and CEO of TenX, a corporation with the mission of building start-ups for the $100m ARR club. Her vision is to transform the MENA economy by identifying growth and investment opportunities fueled by technological innovation.

As a tech enthusiast with a passion for education, Noor launched her entrepreneurship dreams in 2016 by disrupting the regional Edtech industry with online learning solutions Dars, Darisni, DClips and Edmate. Her latest venture Bounce is a SaaS platform which is revolutionizing the early learning sector through collaborative solutions for management and communication.

Noor has made history as one of the first Kuwaiti women to be listed in Forbes ME’s 30-Under-30 in 2021 and has also received the Arab Woman of the Year award for social entrepreneurship for her impact on the MENA education industry. She also serves as President of NEST (Nurture and Educate Students Today), a foundation for facilitating the sponsorship of education for underprivileged children around the world.

Fares Bugshan

Chief Executive Officer, Bugshan Investment, Saudi Arabia

Fares Bugshan is the Chief Executive Officer of Bugshan Investments. He is also a Board Member at MenaBev, one of the largest PepsiCo bottlers in the Middle East, and of King's College Hospital, Saudi Arabia. Prior, Bugshan was a social and economic research analyst and General Manger (Saudi Arabia) at the Gallup Organization. He holds a BA in Economics and Psychology from McMaster University, Canada, an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the London Business School.

Sangeet Paul Choudary

Founder, Platformation Labs, United Arab Emirates

Sangeet Paul Choudary is the founder of Platformation Labs and the best-selling author of Platform Revolution and Platform Scale. He has advised the leadership of more than 35 of the Fortune 500 firms and has been selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Sangeet's work on platforms has been selected by Harvard Business Review as one of the top 10 ideas in strategy and his articles have been featured thrice in the HBR Top 10 Must Reads compilations.

Sangeet is appointed to several high-level ministerial advisory committees and is a former member of the WEF's Global Future Council. He is also ranked among the top 30 emerging thinkers globally by Thinkers50 and is the youngest ever recipient of the IIMB Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is a frequent keynote speaker at leading global forums including the G20 Summit, the World50 Summit, and the United Nations.

Sofana Dahlan

Founder and Attorney at Law, Sofana Rabea Dahlan Law Firm, Saudi Arabia

Sofana Dahlan is an accomplished Saudi lawyer and social entrepreneur. She holds the prized distinction of being the first female lawyer to be permitted to practice law in Saudi Arabia and has served as a legal consultant in different parts of the Arab world including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

Dahlan practices in areas such as corporate and commercial law, intellectual property, arbitration, mediation, litigation and mergers and acquisitions with a special focus on creative industries. She is an effective negotiator and has achieved notable success in helping her clients resolve their conflicts and reach settlements through mediation.

Currently, Dahlan is involved with the Saudi Bar Association as the first female to serve on the Fee Assessment Committee. She has regularly engaged and sat on the board of various entities, such as Khadija Bint Khuwailid Centre and Namaa Almunawara, to advise on corporate governance matters, crises and special situations.

Her time in the private sector has also been dedicated to setting up many social enterprises that focus on developing the creative industries in the region. She is the founder of Tashkeil – a Saudi-based social enterprise that incubates, accelerates and promotes creative entrepreneurs. She is also the founder of Kayanspace – a membership-based environment for creative professionals, entrepreneurs and freelancers along with the Saudi National Creative Initiative (SNCI) - a collaborative creative knowledge transfer platform.

Dahlan has also served in the public sector as the Vice Governor for Entrepreneurship Advancement at the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority of Saudi Arabia from 2016 to 2017, making her the first Saudi female senior economic policymaker.
Dahlan is an avid advocate of cultural, heritage and socially oriented issues. She has spoken at public platforms such as TEDx, BOLDtalks Women, World Economic Forum, MITEF Enterprise Forum and Estoril Conferences and has penned numerous articles on topics such as women’s rights, social values, and interreligious dialogue.

She has completed an undergraduate degree in Law (LLB) from Cairo University and a postgraduate degree in Islamic Law from the Higher Institute of Islamic Studies in Egypt along with an MBA from the American University of Technology.

Dahlan participated in the Harvard Executive program Leading for the Future: The Arab Region in a Changing World in 2011 and has obtained executive degrees in Global Leadership and Public Policy from Harvard University in 2015, Art of Successful Negotiations from Harvard University (Law School) in 2017, Transformational Leadership from the University of Oxford in 2018 and Public Leadership from Apolitical Academy in 2021.

Tareq Darwazeh

Chief Operating Officer, MENA Region, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Jordan

Tareq Darwazeh is Chief Operating Officer of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, after gaining a wealth of experience in various disciplines across different areas of the business globally. He works closely with the CEO to drive operational results across the group aligned with the company’s overall strategic vision. Darwazeh also oversees the day-to-day leadership responsibilities of Hikma’s business in the Middle East and North Africa, setting comprehensive goals for each market and leading the execution of strategies developed for business growth across the region. In addition to his professional responsibilities at Hikma, Darwazeh serves on various boards. He is on the Board of the Jordanian Food and Drug Administration and is Vice-President of the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. He is a Board of Director at Capital Investments and a Member of the Young Presidents Organization (Jordan Chapter). Darwazeh holds a BSc in International Business and Marketing with a minor in Advertising from Marquette University, and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy. He also has completed a Global Executive Master’s in Business Administration from INSEAD University.

Martyn Davies

Head, City Excellence, Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia

Dr Martyn Davies is Executive Advisor at the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this position he leads the City Excellence Division and is Head of the Retail Sector at RCRC.

He has over 20 years of business and strategy experience across major industries advising the C-Suite of multinationals and public sector clients. He was formerly a Partner at Deloitte (MD of Emerging Markets & Africa) - the world's largest professional services company - occupying numerous roles across the firm. This included being the co-leader of Deloitte’s Global CEO Program on behalf of Deloitte Africa through which the Firm engages with the CEOs of its leading clients

He has extensive experience across multiple industries including auto, extractives, finance, FMCG, Government, industrial, infrastructure, multilateral organizations and tech & telecoms. He has worked and lived in numerous regions across the globe including Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East

He was Managing Director Emerging Africa & Africa of Deloitte (Africa) as well as a member of the Deloitte Global Economists team active in advising the world’s largest multinationals on macroeconomic trends and interpreting what it means for their strategy. He is a Senior Fellow at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth–a highly eminent group of leading economists working on strategies toward inclusive growth and sustainability.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Martyn was a successful entrepreneur having founded Frontier Advisory, a strategy and corporate finance advisory firm that was acquired by Deloitte in September 2015.

He was appointed in 2021 as an Advisor to the President of Namibia, H.E Hage Geingob and as a member of the President’s 4IR Task Force Advisory Group advising on the adoption of technology to drive sustainability in the country’s resources / industrial structure and wider economy.

He is an alumnus of the Young Global Leaders Community of the World Economic Forum. He has served on numerous advisory groups at the WEF including the Global Agenda Council on China and as an expert adviser to the Mining & Metals Industry Group.

He is a Non-Executive Director of FutureElect, an NGO that trains young people for public service in Africa.

He is a Visiting Professor at IE Business School, Spain, recognized as one of the world’s leading business schools as well as a Professor of Practice in the College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg.

Martyn is an elite cyclist and has competed at international level representing his country at the UCI World Cycling Championships.

Gila Demri Gamliel

Member of the Knesset, Knesset, Israel

Gila Gamliel is Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection. She served as the first ever Minister for Social Equality in the last 5 years, until May 2020 in which she was appointed as the Minister for Environmental Protection.

The ministry for Social Equality encompasses the advancement of senior citizens, young people, gender and minority equality, as well the Digital Israel project, which aims to leverage the country's standing as the Start-Up Nation to ensure that governmental and business services offered to the public use the most advanced methods in the world.

A member of the Knesset (Parliament) from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud Party for over a decade, Ms. Gamliel has previously served as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Deputy Minister for the Advancement of Young People, Students and Women. Among other roles, she chaired the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, and served as a Member of the Knesset's Finance Committee, Economics Affairs Committee, and the Education, Culture and Sports Committee.

Ms. Gamliel is also a member of the Young Leaders Community of the Davos World Economic Forum, (the first Israeli public representative to the Forum) and was the first woman Chairperson of Israel's National Students' Union.

Ms. Gamliel holds an L.L.M. from Bar Ilan University, a L.L.B. from Ono Academic College, an M.A. in Philosophy and a B.A. in Middle Eastern History and Philosophy from Ben-Gurion University. She holds the rank of Sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), having served as the head of an air force investigative staff.

Ms. Gamliel, who lives in Tel Aviv, is married and the mother of
two.