Ahmed Bin Sulayem

Ahmed Bin Sulayem is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC and has driven its growth from a start-up of 28 member companies in 2003 to the world’s leading free zone in 2022 with over 23,000 member companies from 180 countries, employing over 65,000 people.

Tasked with enhancing commodity trade flows through Dubai, DMCC has introduced to the market a number of value-added products and services under Mr Bin Sulayem’s leadership. In 2022, DMCC was named the ‘Global Free Zone of the Year’ by The Financial Times fDi Magazine, for a record eight consecutive years.

Mr Bin Sulayem oversaw the exponential growth of the DMCC Free Zone master development in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), a 200-hectare business and residential community in Dubai of over 100,000 people living and working in 87 towers. Mr Bin Sulayem also oversees the development of DMCC’s latest real estate project; the much-anticipated Uptown Dubai district.

Mr Bin Sulayem currently serves as the Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) and the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX).

The Kimberley Process officially appointed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the first and only Arab country to Chair the Kimberley Process in November 2015. Shortly after, the UAE Ministry of Economy officially appointed Mr Bin Sulayem as the UAE’s Chair of the Kimberley Process for 2016.

H.E. Sulaiman Hamed Salem Almazroui

• Held several banking positions in various Banks in UAE, including ME Bank and Emirates NBD 1988 -2010.
• Held the position of Chairman of the Dubai Transport Corporation 1994 - 2000
  
• Held the position of Executive Director and General Coordinator of the Emirates International Forum 1993 -2002.
• Held the position of Chairman of the Media Committee for UAE Banks and the Central Bank during the International Monetary Fund meeting in Dubai in 2003.
• Served as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Network 1995 -2010. ( A UAE Major Card Services Company)
• Held the position of CEO of the Entrepreneurship Program (AL TAMOOH) for Small National Businesses 1998 -2010.
• Served as a member of the Board of Directors of Emirates Islamic Bank 2005 -2010.
• Member of the Dubai World Company Board of Directors 2006 - 2009.
  Served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) 2006 - at present.
• Served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab Banks, (An Arab League body concerning 400 Arab Banks) representing UAE banks 2007 - 2010.
• Held the position of Head of the Bankers Business Group in Dubai 2009 - 2011.
• Served as a member of the Steering Committee for the Global Compact Network (an UN Environment body) in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
• Served as the Secretary General of the Arab Center for Communications and International Relations (Arab Businessmen Forum)
• Served as the UAE ambassador to Brussels 2011 - 2016.
• Served as the UAE Head of Mission to the EU 2011 -2016.
• Served as non-resident ambassador of UAE to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 2012 - 2016. 
  Represented UAE in NATO 2011 - 2013.
• Served as the UAE ambassador to the UK 2016 - 2019.
  Was appointed as non-resident ambassador of the UAE to Iceland 2017 - 2019.
• Appointed as Advisor to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation 2019 - 2020. 

Rashad Mabger

Mr. Rashad Mabger was born in Aden, Yemen and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Law, Charles University, Prague (class of ´77). His career extends over 40 years in investment services, as an advisor to high-net businessmen in the Middle East and as an Accredited Investment Consultant to Financial Institutions in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Prior to that, he had worked for the Administration of Inter-Arab Guarantee Corporation, an Arab League affiliation, with the assignment to restructure the organization and its regulations.

He started his career back in 1977 at the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) in Human Resources and Administration and was one of the selected personnel in the taskforce for the upgrading and modernization of two refineries in Kuwait.

Mr. Mabger has travelled extensively and enjoys a wide network of business acquaintances across the Arab world.

Mr. Mabger holds Greek and Yemeni nationalities.

Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou

Μrs. Sophia Kounenaki-Efraimoglou is the President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Elected President of the National Chamber Network of Greek Women Entrepreneurs (EEDEGE), Executive Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Foundation of the Hellenic World and Head of “Hellenic Cosmos” Cultural Centre, as well as Treasurer of the BoD at ALBA Graduate Business School and Member of the General Council of SEV (Hellenic Federation of Enterprises). She is the Chairman & Managing Director of Ardittos Holdings SA and  Board Member of TERNA ENERGY GROUP and Lavipharm S.A.

She is Vice President of the BoD of Technopolis – Acropolis SA, Board Member at Hellenic Entrepreneurs Association, Member of the Non-Executive Directors’ Club and Member of the Business Advisory Council of the MBA International Program at the Athens University of Economics and Business. She is a Member of the Advisory Committee of the Maniatakeion Foundation as well as of the diaNEOsis Institute.

In 2008, as a Member of the BoD of SEV, she initiated and led the developing of the Hellenic Corporate Governance Code and its promotion in Greek enterprises as well as the subsequent establishment of the Greek Corporate Governance Council in 2012, at the 15-member council of which she is currently a Member.

She was President and CEO of Vivodi Telecom and President of Fortius Finance Securities S.A., companies which she founded. She has been a Member of the Board of SEV, as well as  Member of the Board of Directors of Hellenic Exchanges SA Group, for eleven consecutive years. She has been a Member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Center for European Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, for several years, she taught courses at the Department of Accounting, Business Administration and Informatics at the Piraeus University of Applied Sciences. She holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Philosophy, Business Administration and Computer Programming. She speaks English, French and Italian and is the mother of three children.

She has been awarded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Region of Attica for her outstanding entrepreneurship, as well as the Association of Smyrneans, the Navy, the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, the Filothei-Psychiko Municipality, the Unesco Club, the Tourism Awards Organization and Rotary Greece for her service to the country. She has been honored by The Lions Club of Athens Specialty New Voices and by Who is Who International Awards for supporting women in business and for her significant role in culture.

Vicky Makrigianni

Vicky Makrigianni is Director of International Relations & Regional Policy at SEV. She has studied International Relations and Politics in various institutions (LSE, King’s College London, Sciences-Po Paris, Sussex University) and has worked in many Greek organizations, since 2005 (among others: Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Organisation Against Drugs, European Parliament, Institute of Strategic and Development Studies). Her main task is to help Greek companies increase the number of exporting destinations and their shares in foreign markets. For that, her department has initiated ExportReady, a comprehensive program for the assistance of Greek exporting companies. ExportReady has three pillars: ExportReady Master which consists of a series of workshops on specialized export topics, ExportReady Discover which offers strategic intelligence for all sectors of the Greek economy and all foreign target markets and Export Ready Connect, that gives the opportunity to Greek companies to participate in trade missions and business networking in foreign markets. These services are destined to all sectors and sizes of Greek companies and their success rate is very high.

Marwan Saleh

Marwan Mohamed Saleh is the Director of Sales and Business Development, Free Zone at DMCC. He brings over 25 years of work experience in strategic planning, marketing and business development, driving international sales and realising business objectives.

Prior to joining DMCC, Mr. Saleh was the Head of Business Development and International Sales at the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC).

Mr. Saleh is well-known for his extensive work with Etisalat Afghanistan from 1996 to 2015. He began his career journey as a Government & Corporate Segment Manager. Demonstrating excellence and business acumen, he then climbed the corporate ladder to become Vice President for Etisalat Afghanistan between 2011-2014, before
assuming the role of the CEO at Etisalat Afghanistan.

Mr. Saleh completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). He also holds multiple certifications in leadership and organisational leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School.

Khozama Al Saadi

Khozama Al Saadi is Senior Manager in Corporate Sales, Free Zone at DMCC, where she is responsible for operations in Western Europe, Israel, and Turkiye. She brings a decade of expertise in fostering strategic partnerships, relationships and alliances notably with governments and prominent industry stakeholders.

Prior to joining DMCC, Khozama worked for Dubai Chambers in the Investment Attraction division and has experience in Corporate Sales for Jumeirah Group and Mashreq Bank.

Khozama holds a Bachelor in Business Administration and Management from the American University of Dubai.