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.

Anulika Ajufo

Venture Partner, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Sagana, United Kingdom

A vibrant and inspirational leader in Finance and Philanthropy with extensive experience in investments in both public and private sector markets from some of the world's largest Financial Institutions- Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Carlyle Group and Soros Fund. For over a decade, Anulika has developed extensive experience globally, notably in the fields of private equity and venture capital investing. She believes in the ability to drive change at scale through socially and environmentally oriented business having led inclusive investment portfolios across EMEA with sectoral focus across financial inclusion, renewables, healthcare, education and widening access to other basic services for marginalised populations. Her philanthropic work with young people in the United Kingdom over the past 15 years has also gained widespread recognition. As an advocate for economic justice and social mobility, she currently Chairs the Board of University of East London- London's most diverse and inclusive university by race and socioeconomic status. She is also the Founder of the Sequoia Platform- a social mobility engine for ethnic minority and disadvantaged youth in the United Kingdom, geared towards creating educational and employment opportunities in the United Kingdom. Anulika has an MEng in Medical Engineering from Queen Mary University of London and an MSc in Law and Finance from the University of Oxford.

Ali Akhai

Chairman, Martin Dow, Pakistan

As an initiative-driven leader, Ali believes in the significance of diverse business, technological innovation, and talent, ready to lead impact with a desire to improve human well-being. He is recognized as the face of the Martin Dow Group and has received praise for his in-depth knowledge of numerous facets of the pharmaceutical industry.

After completing his Bachelor of Science business graduate degree (BSc) from Brunel University in the UK, he proceeded to further his education with a double Master's degree. He holds a Master of Science in Global Business from the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and a Master of Science in International Business Development & Consulting from Novancia Business School in France.

He joined the Martin Dow Group of Companies in 2016 after completing a structured orientation program in Marketing, Finance, Business Development, Human Resources, and Regulatory Affairs. In 2017, he assumed the role of Business Development Lead, launching eight new products. By October 2018, he succeeded his father to be the next Chairman of the Martin Dow Group.

Ali is playing an essential role in shaping the future of the Martin Dow Group, carrying on his father's vision by guiding the group's foray into further diversification through successful strategic acquisitions and flexible technologies.

Besides dedicating his time to grow the business, Ali is deeply involved in Philanthropic endeavors, he has taken on roles in 3 leading Healthcare institutions. He is the Core Committee Member of the Shaukat Khanum Karachi Project, a Member of the Fund-Raising Committee at The Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN) and a Trustee at the Memon Health & Education Foundation supporting and ensuring free quality healthcare service.

With his impeccable leadership, he is now expanding the Martin Dow Group’s worldwide partnerships, talent development, and industry influence.

Rina Akimoto

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vivid Garden Inc, Japan

Rina Akimoto is Founder and CEO of Vivid Garden Inc., a start-up founded in 2016, operating Japan's largest online farm-to-table marketplace, Tabechoku. The company's mission is to recognize the dedication of producers for their products, inspired by the experience of her family's agricultural business closure in her youth. Since its launch in 2017, Tabechoku has grown into a trusted platform with over 9,000 socially driven producers and over 1 million users across the country. The service has empowered producers in farm, fishery and other sectors to set fair prices and deliver rich stories, by directly connecting with users. Such connections foster customer loyalty and reduce food waste by adding value to non-market standard yet unique crops and products. Akimoto graduated from Keio University.

Shihana Alazzaz

Appointed by the King of Saudi Arabia, Shihana Alazzaz is Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers. Previously, she held the role of General Counsel at PIF and Secretary of the PIF Board of Directors from 2018. Alazzaz, an honours graduate in law from Durham University, has professional experience with law firms Baker McKenzie and Vinson and Elkins.

Sahar Albazar

President of the Forum of Young MPs, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Egypt

Sahar Albazar is an Egyptian Parliament Member and Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. She is also the Former President of the Young Parliamentarians, part of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Prior, Albazar was an Impact Assessment Consultant at the World Bank for Youth Employment Project in Egypt and Social Investment Adviser at British Petroleum Egypt. She is also the Founder of Helwa Ya Balady, an NGO that focuses on developing slum areas and countering poverty in developing countries. Albazar has an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Esraa Al-Buti

Partner, EY, Saudi Arabia

I joined EY Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 8 years ago and in 2019 became the first-ever woman partner in our Saudi member firm, as well as the youngest ever. Today I lead EY’s Tax Controversy practice in Saudi Arabia. My work at EY includes advising KSA-based large local/multinational groups and family businesses on tax advisory assignments and tax- and zakat-compliance matters. I also provides international tax-structuring advisory services to Saudi Arabian inbound and outbound clients and investors, and have worked on a number of tax due-diligence assignments for private-equity and corporate clients for transactions in Saudi Arabia. I am specialize in projects in the Government and Public Sector (GPS) and lead on many government giga projects. I also serve as a member of the Saudi B20 Task Force I have a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from King Saud University, with First Class Honours. I am a Certified Public Accountant with membership in the Saudi Organization of Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA). I serve as a board member in the Saudi Accounting Association and Prince Sultan University committee. I also deliver honorary lectures on Taxation at Prince Faisal University.

Erica Alessandri

Member of the Board, Technogym, Italy

In 2016, after pursuing several international work and volunteering experiences, Erica joined the family business, Technogym, world leader brand in equipment and digital solutions for fitness, wellness and sport. That year, she was appointed Member of the Board when the company went public. In this position, she has been active in the design and implementation of ESG policies and other initiatives around sustainability. Moreover, after her MBA at INSEAD, Erica started leading a new and innovative project to bring a personalized wellness experience directly to consumers anywhere, anytime through a new app integrated with Technogym’s ecosystem. Alongside her focus on business, Erica also serves on the board of the “Wellness Foundation”, the family’s non-profit body, whose mission is to promote the Wellness lifestyle as an opportunity for all stakeholders: governments, companies and citizens. Erica has been involved in the development of the second phase of the “Wellness Valley”, a social project aimed at building in Romagna, their local community, the first Wellness District in the world by engaging over 200 stakeholders to leverage Wellness as a lever for sustainable economic development. In March 2020, Forbes Italy featured Erica on the cover page of their 30 Under 30 issue for her commitment in bringing forward the family’s legacy around promoting the Wellness philosophy.

Mohammed Al-Ghanim

Group Chief Executive Officer, Hamad S. Al-Ghanim Group, Kuwait

Mohammed H. Al Ghanim is Chief Executive Officer of Hamad S. Al-Ghanim & Sons Group, a family-owned business, where he leads a group of companies to develop the best practices in the engineering field required to solve imminent and longstanding infrastructure and climate challenges by employing new technologies in the EPC field. Coming from a background of youth leadership and activism having served on several international youth advisory councils, including the UN Population Fund, Al Ghanim actively seeks to re-examine the business proposition from being purely a profit-generating institution to one that addresses society’s problem as a whole. Al-Ghanim holds a BA from Tufts University in Massachusetts and an MA from Georgetown University in Washington, DC in Political Science.

Lamya Al Haj

Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Lamya Al Haj holds a PhD in Structural and Molecular Biology from UCL and an MSc in Environmental Science and Technology from UNSW. She is a researcher on biodiesel alternatives to oil, and an Associate Professor at the Sultan Qaboos University. Lamya founded a speakers' platform in GCC region “Jalasat Mulhimoon” to showcase role models and inspire younger generations. She has spoken at conferences and corporate events including Harvard and IMD Middle East Alumni conferences on leadership. She was recently selected as a judge for an MIT based competition “Innovators under 35” organized by MIT Technology Review. She is the founder of “Coach4Change” where she worked alongside and supported senior government officials, CEOs, business leaders and boards around the country. She received numerous awards & recognitions including the “Boban Marcovic Prize in Environmental Science”, The “Gulf Intelligence - Occidental Award”, “National Research Award”, “Omani Woman Award 2019” for her innovation, and the prestigious “L’Oréal UNESCO award for women in science- Middle east fellowship award”- 2018. She is featured in the book "100 most successful Omani woman" and more recently classified as top 20 most inspiring persons in Oman by TAS ICON awards. She is also a Fellow at The World Academy of Science (TWAS 2019-2023 affiliate) and a YGL class 2020.
Her passion is in the fields of disruptive education, R&D, youth empowerment and community service.

Mohamed Al Hashemi

Chief Executive Officer, Union Coop, United Arab Emirates

Mohamed Al Hashemi is the CEO of Union Coop, publicly traded coop in UAE. Previously held the role of Country Head of Majid Al Futtaim Entertainment in the UAE. He held previously the role of Country Head in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In his role, he leads a team of over 1,300 employees and is responsible for Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas as well as Majid Al Futtaim Lifestyle. During his tenure in this role, Mohamed introduced Cinemas to Saudi and helped create and shape the industry. He focused his efforts on Customer Experience and Operational Excellence achieving market leadership in the Kingdom. Along with, Mohamed is serving as an advisory board member at the General Commission for Audio Visual in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Media), and a mentor at Endeavor, steering businesses to grow country’s GDP. Before being named Country Head in 2018, Mohamed was the Director of Business Development and Marketing at Majid Al Futtaim Healthcare, Management Reporting and Analysis at Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, Head of Treasury GCC at Majid Al Futtaim Retail. Prior to joining Majid Al Futtaim, Mohamed started his career as a Corporate Banker in Emirates Bank Group focusing on various industries as Aviation, Retail and Construction. Mohamed received both a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an Executive MBA in Strategic Management from the prestigious Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE, Dubai. Mohamed is a firm believer in empowering the youth to reach their full potential through business and about creating a sustainable business environments and business models for generations to grow.

Faisal Alibrahim

Minister of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia

Faisal F. Alibrahim is the Minister of Economy and Planning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Alibrahim is also the Supervisor of the Secretariat of the Council of Economic and Development
Affairs (CEDA) and a member of the council. His Excellency also chairs the Board of Directors of
the General Authority for Statistics.

Alibrahim is a member of several governmental committees such as the Finance Committee, the
Strategic Management Committee, the CEDA Standing Committee, the Supreme National
Investment Council, the Supreme National Council for Industry, the Supreme Transportation and
Logistics Committee, the Large Companies Investment Committee, the National Incentives
Committee, the Privatization Program Committee, the Financial Sector Development Program
Committee, and the National Transformation Program Committee. HE also serves on several
boards including the Public Investment Fund, National Development Fund, the Royal Commission
for Riyadh City, the General Organization for Social Insurance, the Local Content and Government
Procurement Authority, the National Center for Performance Management, and the Cultural
Development Fund. His Excellency served as secretary/second secretary of the Aramco IPO
Committees. He was also chairman of the Executive Committee and member of the Supervisory
Committee for the Kingdom’s participation in EXPO 2020 Dubai which has received multiple
awards and recognitions.

Previously, Alibrahim served as Vice Minister of Economy and Planning and prior to that held key
positions at Saudi Aramco including head of mergers and acquisitions, project manager of King
Salman International Complex for Maritime Services and Industries, project manager for the Vela-
Bahri merger, the largest transaction in Saudi at that time, and Vice President of Aramco
Development Company.

Alibrahim holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, a bachelor’s degree in economics, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a Minor in
Management Information Systems from the Pennsylvania State University. HE is a World Economic
Forum Young Global Leader and member of the UCLA Health International Advisory Board.

Ghosson Al Khaled

Owner and Managing Director, Palms Beach Hotel and Spa, Kuwait

Ghosson Ghassan Alkhaled began her career as an industrial engineer in the industrial sector of ACICO Group in 2002. Since then, she has made her way up the career ladder to become Deputy Chief Executive Officer of ACICO Industries. In her current role, Alkhaled is responsible for managing operations across all sectors, companies and Group subsidiaries in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.

Since joining, Alkhaled has played an integral role at ACICO Group, achieving remarkable growth, expanding into new markets and increasing overall operational efficiency across all factories; thereby improving the Group’s asset quality and increasing profitability. Additionally, she worked on building an internal culture of teamwork among members and has continuously worked on finding new, innovative solutions to business challenges.

A notable national economic figure and thought leader, Alkhaled also represented Kuwait’s private sector in a number of international workshops and was appointed in 2017 as a member of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait by the Council of Ministers. Moreover, during the same year, she was selected to be part of a prestigious group entitled ‘Young Global Leader’ by the World Economic Forum, in which she worked to tackle global issues topics such as development and other pressing challenges faced by the global economy.

As a young, Kuwaiti businesswoman, Alkhaled held several leadership positions and was on the list of the Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen by Forbes Middle East. She was also selected among the 100 World’s Most Influential Arabs by Arabian Business Magazine. Alkhaled was also awarded ‘Woman Game Changer’ at the Global WIL Economic Forum for Entrepreneurs and Businesswomen in Dubai.