Board of Trustees

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq

UAE Minister of Economy

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri was appointed Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the new government structure approved in July 2020.

Prior to his appointment, H.E. Al Marri held important positions in the government as a senior, top-ranking official. He was the Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet since 2017, during which he was instrumental in strengthening the interdependence between the federal and local governments. In this role, he also spearheaded many initiatives to get the pulse of the people and know their sentiments, as well as build the UAE’s long-lasting relations with international organizations such as the World Economic Forum.

H.E. is also the former Director General of the Executive Office of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was part of the high-profile team that was behind the launch of ‘Area 2071,’ the nucleus of the future envisioned in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071. Furthermore, the UAE Minister of Economy, in his previous post, took part in the unveiling of the Hatta Economic Zone development project and the relaunching of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

addition, he was the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, enabling him to play a vital role in the successful launch of Dubai 10X and other initiatives of national importance. The Dubai 10X initiative, in particular, aims to strengthen the emirate’s bid to become the city of the future.

H.E. Al Marri is a member of the Boards of Directors of different federal entities. His memberships allow him to actively support the development of priority sectors in the country such as the Golden Visa initiative, which seeks to attract talented individuals from across the world.

The UAE Minister of Economy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK. Also, he is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program and Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

H.E. Abdullah Al Saleh

Undersecretary of Ministry of Economy

His Excellency Abdulla Al Saleh is the UnderSecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy. Among his responsibilities is to drive closer cooperation, increase trade and investment flows, and deepen economic ties between UAE and the world. He spearheads UAE Free Trade negotiations within the GCC framework with regional blocks and other countries. He is also Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the World Trade Organization. He oversees trade policies and UAE’s fulfilment of commitments. Amongst several divisions, he leads a trade and promotional team and oversees the network of economic missions at UAE Embassies.
Also, Al Saleh is Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for Exports; Honorary President of the Arab-Chinese Centre for International Exchange; Vice President of the Annual Investment Forum; Board member of the UAE International Investors Council, which enables UAE investors to invest in key markets; Board member at the Emirates Gender Balancing Council, which aims to increase women’s participation in national development across all sectors and develop their skills and provide them with the necessary tools to support the UAE’s future progress. He is member of the Advisory Boards at New York University Abu Dhabi, Zayed University Business and Management School, Sharjah University Business School and University of Wollongong in Dubai (Business School).
Earlier in his career, Al Saleh was a diplomat in UAE Embassies in the United States and France. He holds an MSc in International Politics from the American University in DC and a bachelor’s degree of Political Sciences from the UAE University.

H.E. Mubarak Al Nakhi

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Youth

Mubarak Al Nakhi is responsible for implementing the strategies of the Ministry of Culture and Youth (MCY), in accordance with the UAE Vision 2021. His Excellency supervises the cultural and creative industries segment and the arts and heritage sector. Al Nakhi also serves as the Vice-Chair of the UAE National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
Al Nakhi’s responsibilities also include identifying, building and strengthening the cultural and creative sectors that directly contribute to the UAE’s non-oil GDP, to ensure sustained cultural studies and research by establishing local and international partnerships, as well as developing and implementing programmes that promote national talent development.
Backed by more than 15 years of experience, Al Nakhi has worked in the fields of government development, strategic planning, performance management, government excellence, government services, and operations management in both the public and private sectors. Before joining the MCY, Al Nakhi served as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), where he managed strategic planning for the development plans for Al Maryah Island and Abu Dhabi. He also served as Director of Policy and Regulation at the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport.

H.E. Moza Al Akraf Al Suwaidi

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Community Development

Her Excellency Moza Al Akraf Al Suwaidi occupies the position of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Community Development since 5 April 2020. Her responsibilities include overseeing the social development sector which includes providing care and development to different groups of the community. The Undersecretary works to achieve this by formulating and implementing strategic policies and development programs and supervising the services provided within a series of strategic partnerships with the private sector and non-government organizations
H.E. Moza AlAkraf AlSuwaidi has dedicated more than 22 years in the Smart Services and ICT field, starting at the Department of Economic Development and then joined Smart Dubai Government (Dubai e-government), until she held the position of Acting Director of e-Services.
Furthermore, and ever since she joined DEWA in 2009, she has managed to stand out among other ICT specialists and experts, which led to appointing her as CIO from 2014 till 2017, and in 2018 she was appointed as COO at the Innovation and Future division at DEWA.
H.E. Moza holds Bachelor Degree of Science in Computer Sciences from UAE University and and Executive Diploma in Public Administration from Lee Kuan Yew university of Singapore. She graduated from Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development among Young Leadership program.
Her excellency received several rewards such as Excellent Employee Award for New Employees Category for the year 1999 in Dubai, Middle East Women Leaders Excellence Awards - Women Leader in ICT Excellence Award for the year 2018, Winner of CIO 100 Awards for the year 2018 and .Gov Award – Government IT Leader of the Year (CIO) for the year 2016. Her Excellency is a member of the Smart Dubai Executive Committee since 2014, a member of Smart Dubai Platform Strategic Partners Selection Committee for the years 2016/2015, Member of City Makers «Red Team», Leader of the Smart ICT Committee initiated by Smart Dubai and Member in various steering committees.
Since joining the Ministry of Community Development in April 2020 as the Undersecretary, Her Excellency has become a member of several boards and committees: A member in the Board of Trustees of the National Fund for SCR UAE and heads the Audit and Risk Committee, she is a member of Zayed University Board of Directors, a member of UAE Well-being Council, a member of Digital Well-being Council, in addition to leading the social sector as a member of the National COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Management and Governance Committee.

H.E. Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar

Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai

Mr. Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar has 30 years of experience with Etisalat Group in the UAE, during which time he held various positions, the most recent being Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ahmad has held other senior positions, such as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Thuraya Group and Etisalat Services Holding and Deputy Chair of the GSM Association. Mr. Ahmad has a number of achievements to his name, having been awarded Telecom Leader of the Year in 2014 by the Mobile World Congress and CEO of the Year – Telecom 2013. He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and Computer Science from Gonzaga University and is a graduate of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development. Currently, Mr. Ahmad is the Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai.

H.E. Dr. Maryam Al Suwaidi

CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA)

Currently, the Deputy CEO for Financial Markets Operations Sector- Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA), H.E. Dr. Maryam Al Suwaidi has held several leadership positions over the last 15 years. She has been the Leader of the SCA International Competiveness Team achieving top ranks at both the Board of Director's effectiveness indicator at the World Competitiveness Yearbook of the International Institute for Management Development, and the Investor Protection Indicator in the World Bank Ease of Business Report for MENA Region; Chairperson of the top policy making Technical Committee in the SCA and Team Leader of the UAE Oversight and Supervision on Financial Markets Committee of the GCC Cooperation Council.
A holder of a Doctorate in Law from the University of Leeds (U.K), a Master’s Degree in Commercial Law from the University of Wales (U.K), a License (Shariah and Law) “Honor”, a registered Lawyer (Non-Practicing List) at the UAE Ministry of Justice, and a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program/Executive Leaders organized by the Prime Minister Office (2010-2011).
Listed in Forbes Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen for the years 2016, 2017 & 2018 and among Top 10 Women Heading Government Departments in 2018 and appeared on NASDAQ Stock Exchange Market building on 13/10/2016 as part of the two-week "Women in Technology" campaign.
HE Dr. Al Suwaidi is regarded as one of the few multi-faceted professionals of repute from the region, with expertise across a broad spectrum of specialized disciplines ranging from AML/CFT compliance and corporate governance to securities regulation and markets management to Islamic and conventional jurisprudence.
HE Dr. Alsuwaidi has also featured as a keynote speaker, panelist, and a moderator on a broad range of events, some of which are: Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime – Cambridge University, 2016, 2017, 2018; First Conference of Social Responsibility, Institute of Training and Judicial Studies and "Handy Human Rights," Abu Dhabi, 2015; the Arab Women in Leadership and Business Summit (2ND Edition), Dubai, 2015; Second Conference of the Futures Industry Association (FIA),2015; the Market Maker Conference, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, 2014; Arabian Business Women Forum 2013, the Emirates Government Excellence Conference, 2013; the 5th Annual WIL (Women in Leadership) Forum Middle East & Africa, Dubai, 2013; the 1st UAE Government Summit, organized by the Prime Minister Office, Dubai, 2013; the 3rd Arab Women Leadership Forum, Dubai, 2012; the SMARTS 7th Surveillance conference, NASDAQ, USA, 2011; Trainings and Conferences for Lawyers.
HE Dr. Al Suwaidi has been the FATF Mutual Evaluation Project Manager for the UAE from March 2018 till August 2020, and lead the UAE delegation to FATF Plenary meeting in 2020. She is also a Member of the National Committee for Anti Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing and Chaired the Sub- Committee of the National Risk Assessment on AML/CFT in the UAE )2016- January 2021).
HE Dr. Al Suwaidi is Vice Chairman at Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, board member at Al Etihad Credit Bureau, Ex-Board Member at Abu Dhabi Corporate Governance Centre and the Boards of Insurance Authority, and Rapporteur of Board at SCA until 2020.
• HE Dr. Al Suwaidi Received many accolades and awards for her distinguished work from HH Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum - President of Dubai Women Establishment, the Prime Minister's Office, HE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, HE Minister of Finance, HE Governor of the UAE Central Bank, HE Minister of Economy and SCA Chairman, HE the Director General of the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics, HE the SCA CEO, and the Training and Judicial Studies Institute.

H.E. Hanan Ahli

Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre

Hanan Ahli is currently the Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), a government entity affiliated with the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The CentreThe Centre works on developing and enhancing the UAE’s performance in the sectors of global competitiveness, statistics and data through coordination with partners to implement initiatives and define policies of importance to vital sectors across the UAE. The Centre is considered as one of the most important government sources for national data, and for monitoring the competitive performance of the UAE in global reports, and hold the responsibility for the SDGs in the UAE.
In her capacity as the Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, Hanan looks after a range of policies outlined in the UAE’s National Agenda, with a particular focus on supporting gender balance, promoting favorable business regulations, and strengthening the performance on UAE’s public sector.
Prior to this designation, Hanan held the position of the Executive Director of the Competitiveness Sector at the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) (name amended to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre in 2020), a UAE federal entity created by a Presidential decree in 2015. During her tenure as Executive Director, Hanan focused on supporting the competitiveness of the United Arab Emirates, by enhancing the performance of major economic, commercial and social sectors in the country, through launching initiatives and strategies that aimed at improving the performance of country’s institutions in global competitiveness indexes and reports.
Hanan Ahli has extensive experience in business administration, policy-making and financing programs. Prior to joining the government sector, Hanan worked for Mawarid Finance, PJSC, and leading finance operations with the focus on Islamic finance.
Hanan holds an MBA from the American University of Sharjah (UAE) and a Bachelor degree in Business Sciences from Zayed University (UAE). She is a graduate of the UAE Government Leadership Program, in the Future Leadership category and Policies Diploma, and has credentials from the London Business School, Institute of Management Development (IMD), and Harvard Kennedy School.

H.E. Abdulaziz Khalid Al Jaziri

Deputy CEO and Chief Operation Officer for Dubai Future Foundation

Abdulaziz Khalid AlJaziri was appointed the Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) on December 8th 2017. As Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer, AlJaziri leads a number of projects at DFF in partnership with Government, Private Sector and Academia.
In DFF, Abdulaziz leads the Research, Content Dissemination, Capacity Building and Design and Acceleration streams. AlJaziri’s focus is to support Dubai leaders better navigate the future, develop high-quality content about the future, equip generations to come with skills of the future and foster an innovation ecosystem that develops experiments. AlJaziri is part of the integral team behind the Museum of the Future.
Additionally, AlJaziri has led, managed and launched DFF’s AREA 2071 in 2016, an innovative ecosystem where a diverse set of partners design the future.
Before his role at DFF, Abdulaziz AlJaziri worked at The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (TEO) as well as the Ministery of Cabinet Affairs. In his role at TEO, AlJaziri worked on developing innovative programs and key initiatives, such as Dubai Capital of Islamic Economy, Dubai Smart City and Hatta Development Project. AlJaziri also served as the CEO of Palmwood, a partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the global design firm IDEO.
Currently, AlJaziri sits on the board of several organizations including the Higher Colleges of Technology, Palmwood and the Dubai Future Academy. Abdulaziz holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering Technology, and is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program.

H.E. Dr. Alyazia Ali Kuwaiti

Executive Director Upstream and integrated petroleum& petrochemicals Mubadala investment company

Dr. Alyazia Ali Al Kuwaiti is the Executive Director of the Upstream and integrated sector of the petroleum & petrochemicals business at Mubadala investment Company(MIC). In her role, Alyazia is responsible foe ensuring the effective management of the operating upstream and integrated companies within the portfolio this includes overseeing the company's business plans, growth strategy and overall performance.
With over 15 years of industry experience, Al-Yaziya Kuwaiti was previously the Director Midstream and Upstream investments Department at the international petroleum investment company (IPIC) where she established effective approaches to the overall operations of the portfolio companies. Prior to that, she worked at Abu Dhabi Gas industries Ltd.(GASCO) since2003. in 2016, she was appointed as a member of the steering committee that was assembled to ,manage and execute the merger between two Abu Dhabi owned sovereign wealth funds Mubadala and IPIC to combine assets worth more than 100$ Billion.
In 2013, Alyazia’s achievements as a leading female figure in the nation’s energy investments industry were recognized by the Emirates Women’s Awards and she was awarded as the winner of the Career Achievement Category. Alyazia is an advocate for the advancement of women as valuable members of both the international oil and gas and broader local workforce. In October 2018, Alyazia engaged with a group of Emirati youth in an inspirational mentorship session at the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Majlis Future Generations event.
Alyazia serves on the board of the global integrated oil and gas Company, CEPSA, Mubadala petroleum and Austria’s largest listed industrial company OMV. Moreover, Dr.Alyazia plays a key role advising a number of other YAE and Abu Dhabi government entities as a Board Member of Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and as a Board Member of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. As pervious board member of SENAAT General Holding Corporation, NPCC and Emirates Steel.
Alyazia is a graduate of portobello College, Dublin with bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance, and holds a master’s international Business From the University of Wollongong, Dubai. She has also successfully earned her PhD degree in Business Administration from UAE University on the topic of Corporate Governance in publicly Listed Companies.

Ms. Bedour Al Raqbani

Emirati social entrepreneur and a social activist

Bedour Saeed Al Raqbani is an Emirati social entrepreneur and a social activist. A recipient of the UAE Pioneers Award for founding Kalimati Communication and Rehabilitation Center, she is a recognizable voice for social inclusion and systemic integration in the country.
An alumna of the American University of Sharjah, Bedour graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication, along with the AUS Chair’s Award and the Sheikh Rashid Award for Scientific Excellence. Bedour’s philanthropic accomplishments stem from her support of grassroots initiatives working towards an equitable society. She is a Board of Trustees Member at the American University of Sharjah, co-chair of the School Advisory Board at American Academy for Girls, member of the UAE Sign Language Dictionary, and an active participant in local and international colloquia and conferences addressing the empowerment of People of Determination. Among her many projects, she headed the organizing committee of Hear My Voice: Empowering the Deaf International Conferences, was part of CDA’s Brainstorming Lab on elevating sustainable community development, and co-organized the UAE’s first Innovation Lab for The Deaf. She is also the first Emirati to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program in NGO Management, organized by the US Department of State Bureau. She was a member of the UAE Advisory Council for People of Determination.
A strong advocate of the power of creativity merged with education, Bedour founded other Emirati Social Enterprises and several Social Design Campaigns in collaboration with UNHCR. She was a speaker at Majlis Mohammed Bin Zayed in Youth & Leadership, participated in the UAE’s First Government Retreat for People of Determination, and joined Design for the UAE National event.
Her accolades span academic excellence awards and national leadership honors. She is the recipient of the Arab Women Award in Education, the GCC Women Leadership Award, CDA Award for Mothers of Special Children, Princess Haya Award in Special Education and Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum Award for UAE Woman Excellence.

Ms. Mariam ALQassab

Manager of the Chairman office at Sharjah Book Authority

Mariam ALQassab is the Manager of the Chairman office at Sharjah Book Authority since (2016), Assigned as a Member Board of Trustees at CSR UAE Fund (2021), Member Board of Directors at National Media Council (2020).
Since 2013, She works passionately in the entrepreneurship and community engagement area. She holds a Master of Science in Organizational excellence from HBMSU (2021) and a bachelor’s degree in International Business Management from HCT (2013).
Successfully graduated from the UAE Government Leaders Program - Future Leaders Batch (2019) and Academic Training Program from Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education in Scotland- UK (2015).

Ayman Farouk Heikal

Legal Advisor at the Securities and Commodities Authority

Ayman Farouk Heikal is the Legal Advisor at the Securities and Commodities Authority and has been in this position since 2008. In 2017, he appointed as Legal Advisor to His Excellency the Minister of Economy in addition to his position with the Securities and Commodities Authority. Between 1996 and 2008 he was the Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Economy and prior to that, he was a legal adviser at the Arab Investment Bank.
Ayman Heikal participates as a member of legislative committees, involving Securities and Commodities Authority and Ministry of Economy created for preparing various draft legislations, including Insurance Regulatory Authority Law, Foreign Direct Investment Law, Arbitration Law, the Law Regulating Auditors’ Profession and many other Laws, regulations and resolutions.
Legal Advisor Ayman Heikal took the leadership of the legal team for the preparation of the commercial companies Law issued for 2015 and its amendments. Legal Advisor contributed in providing many programs and lectures to the shareholders of public shareholding companies and members of their boards of directors and the financial market.
Legal Advisor Ayman Heikal holds a Bachelor of Laws from Ain Shams University, Cairo and a Master and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Trade Law (International Trade Contracts, Commercial Arbitration, and Banking Operations) from the same University. In addition, He has legal research in the field of banking, corporate default and commercial cover-up.