ADVISORS

Wael Bayazid is the Head of Fundraising, Business Development and Investor Relations at The Carlyle Group, the largest Private Equity firm in the world. The Carlyle Group operates in four business areas: corporate private equity, real assets, market strategies and fund of funds through its AlpInvest subsidiary. In its 2012 annual report, Carlyle reported assets in excess of $150 billion under management diversified over 84 distinct funds. The firm employs more than 890 employees, including 495 investment professionals, in 20 countries with offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and its portfolio companies employ more than 415,000 people worldwide. The firm has over 1,300 investment partners in 71 countries. Wael is based in New York City. Prior to joining The Carlyle Group at its inception in 1987, Mr. Bayazid was the Global Country Head for Saudi Arabia in the Global Asset Management Group of Chase Manhattan Bank, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Previously, Wael headed the Middle East Private Banking Group for Chase Manhattan in New York City. Prior to that, Wael was a Vice President for the Middle East at Bankers Trust Private Bank in New York City. Mr. Bayazid is a Board Director of the Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA) and serves on the Board of Trustees of International College, Lebanon. Mr. Bayazid is a graduate of International College, Beirut, Lebanon and also a graduate of the American College of Switzerland.

Jonathan is a Managing Partner at Manhattan Venture Partners (MVP), a research-driven merchant bank focused on mid to late stage private technology companies. Prior to joining MVP, Jonathan was a Director in Deutsche Bank’s principal finance group where he sourced and structured bespoke transactions across all sectors and a wide spectrum of asset classes, including credit opportunities for corporate and ultra-high net worth individuals, asset finance, commercial real estate and financial institutions. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was a Vice President at Credit Suisse and an Associate at Lehman Brothers, in each case within the Leveraged Finance Group, where he structured and executed leveraged loan and high yield bond transactions, primarily in the mergers and acquisition context. Prior to Lehman Brothers, Jonathan was a corporate attorney at Latham & Watkins where he represented financial institutions in complex leveraged finance transactions, with a particular focus on cross-border transactions and acquisition financings. He is a founding Partner of Ares Group, an agency that sources sponsorship for star athletes and leading sports properties in the US and Europe, including stadiums, arenas, teams and leagues. He holds a JD/MBA from Columbia University, and an AB in Government from Harvard University. He is admitted to the New York State Bar Association, and holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Karl is the COO of Digital Ocean, one of the hottest global cloud startups. Besides Digital Ocean, Karl is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in starting, developing and selling high growth businesses in various market segments. Karl has not only co-founded two successful ventures of his own, but has also served as an interim executive or executive advisor to numerous distressed to high growth young businesses while acting in his capacity as a principal at AC&E Partners. Karl received his MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London. With a strong technology pedigree and over 18 years’ experience in executive management roles in institutionally funded businesses. Karl acted as cofounder and CEO of China Export Finance, pioneering open credit trade as an alternative to traditional Letter of Credit and at-sight payment terms in China and securing $300,000,000 of trade in three years. As such, he is recognized by global media outlets as an expert on finance in China. Prior to China Export Finance, Karl brought a groundbreaking technology to market and shepherded Clearview Networks from startup through the company's profitable sale. Prior to Cleraview Networks, Karl secured almost $1,000,000,000 in contracts for Petrotec, an engineering procurement and construction company in the petrochemical industry, while developing the brand in the emerging markets.

Marwan is the President at American Properties Inc. (API), a leading Owner and Developer of prime commercial and residential real estate across the world. API's primary areas of focus are the United States and Middle East markets where API completed several landmark real estate transactions over the last 25 years. Marwan is also a Managing Partner at Dalfa Group (a global investment firm) and Eat and Go Nigeria (a Food and Beverage concern and the holder of several global franchises such as Domino's Pizza and Coldstone Creamery for Nigeria and other African countries). Marwan also has previous in-depth experience with the prestigious Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the largest institutional investors in the world. He holds a bachelor degree from the American University in Washington DC and completed the Building Construction Program delivered by New York University. Marwan also holds a Masters in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a MBA from Columbia Business School, both in New York. He is also a respected member of the Real Estate Board of New York.

In addition to being a Founding Partner at Inco Capital, Jean-Marc is the CEO of Elcir ®, a global contracting company specialized in wood works for five star hotels and high end real estate projects. Under his tenure, Elcir conducted projects in countries as varied as the Bahamas, Barbados, France, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. Elcir's reference list includes, among others, prestigious projects such as Atlantis in the Bahamas, Sandy Lane in Barbados, Four Seasons in Cairo, Four Seasons in Amman and Ritz Carlton in Doha. Prior to becoming CEO and since 1994, Jean-Marc served as Elcir's CFO, effectively restructuring the company's capital. Jean-Marc has in-depth knowledge of global real estate. He has advised some of the world's leading companies such as Walt Disney in its development of one million square meters of commercial and office space around the company's French theme park in 1993. Prior to Elcir, Jean-Marc was a business unit manager at Bouygues, France's construction giant, identifying and negotiating residential projects worth 100 million euros and above. Jean-Marc sits on the boards of several companies and non-profit associations. Among others, he is the Vice President of the Harvard Business School Club of Lebanon. Jean-Marc holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from McGill University in Canada as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Nima is responsible for building relationships among IdeaMarket’s key constituencies of investors, inventors, corporate innovators, and entrepreneurs, all to the purpose of prospecting for ideas that will serve as the starting point for the company’s unique way of creating companies. He’s also charged with extending this approach to established companies to help them source, fund, and develop internal startups as a way to become more nimble, cutting-edge, and competitive. In addition to his role at IdeaMarket, Nima is the founder of PITME (Progress in Technology Middle East or Peace in the Middle East), an organization devoted to turbo-charging the region’s startup eco-system. PITME Labs brings select growth stage startups from the region to Silicon Valley for a month-long accelerator program supported by more than 300 top mentors, a group he gathered into what Nima considers to be one of his proudest professional achievements. He’s also the host of "Technology in a Tent," an online video interview series that uses storytelling to illustrate startup and business lessons. On the show, he’s hosted more than 125 of the world’s top entrepreneurs and investors, including Steve Blank, Tim Draper, Vivek Wadhwa, and Naval Ravikant. Previously, Nima was the Head of Business Development at Founder Institute, where he helped launch more than 400 startups in more than 15 cities. Nima is half German and half Iranian, has traveled to 65 countries, and speaks 4 languages.

​Theodore Hatem is the CEO at ICA, an investment holding company for a number of firms operating in the fields of real estate, technology and trading. In 2014, ICA reported consolidated revenues of 1.2 billion dollars and a net profit of 258 million dollars. ICA, through its operating companies owns and manages a network of income generating real assets in Asia. ICAs trading companies include firms operating in the fields of gold, silver and copper. ICA's technology companies include six firms in Shenzen and Shanghai. A self-made man, Theodore was one of the first businessmen to invest in post-communist China. Shunning the limelight, ICA's operating companies typically invest in opportunities not available to most investors. A contrarian thinker, Th​eodore has often gone against the tide and reaped extraordinary rewards. He and his two sons Marcus and Roger, both brought up in the US, have recently setup an investment holding company to capitalize on opportunities in mainland China where Theodore has extensive personal connections. Theodore's daughter Pita is the founder and CEO of a Korean technology company listed on the Seoul stock market. Theodore was born in Los Angeles to a Lebanese father and an American mother. He holds a BA in Communication as well as MS in Management from the University of Hong Kong.

Ash Narain is a globally known Fintech serial entrepreneur. He founded BankerBay (www.bankerbay.com) and built it into the fastest growing deal origination platform (PEVC) in the world. It is used by leading financial institutions globally and has made over $20 Billion in introductions so far. Ash then went on to start ZoukLoans, an upcoming online lender to SMEs in developing economies seeking to disrupt the $200 Billion SME credit markets. Ash spent 5 years in investment banking and has worked with teams at top financial institutions in New York, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangalore and Mumbai. Ash has had exposure to transactions worth over 3 Billion USD across different sectors and geographies. A non practicing corporate lawyer, Ash is deeply interested in finance and technology. Ash is also on the Advisory Boards of a number of rapidly growing startups. Ash holds a BBA LLB (bachelors in law) from Symbiosis Law School, India’s leading law school.

Paulo is the CEO at SAFI (South American Financial Investments), a 3 billion dollars investment holding company. SAFI regroups four South American families from Brazil and Argentina. These families have interests in construction, oil and gas, real estate and trading. SAFI was setup to manage their financial interests. SAFI is heavily invested in alternative investments such as private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. Paulo joined SAFI in 1998 and was responsible for building the private equity and venture capital investing division from three to eight investment professionals. Before SAFI, Paulo spent three years as the personal advisor of a South American billionaire. From 1991 to 1995, Paulo and his brother Ricardo managed his family's boutique investment banking business, increasing revenue from 25 million dollars to over 75 million dollars. Paulo continues to sit on the board of the company. His brother Ricardo is currently the company's CEO. Paulo has a BA in Management and an MS in Finance from Sao Paulo University. He also holds an MBA in Finance as well as a PhD in Advanced Financial Structuring from Brasilia University.

Prakash is the COO at Krishan Holdings (KH), an investment holding company with assets in excess of 2 billion dollars. Founded and still managed by Prakash's father Mahesh, KH is currently owned by several Indian families with interests in oil and gas, manufacturing and technology. KIH's operating companies include a petroleum distribution company, two textile manufacturing plants, a call center, eight technology companies as well as several real estate assets. KIH recently acquired several manufacturing plants and spun off its technology assets as a separate entity, Krishan Technology Holdings (KTH), managed by Prakash's younger brother Ajay. As a group, KTH alone reported 2014 revenues of 275 million dollars and a net profit of 72 million dollars. As KH's COO, Prakash is constantly looking for global investment opportunities. Prakash holds a BA in Mathematics as well as an MBA in Management from Delhi University.

Gabriel Lang is a Managing Partner at DBL Partners. DBL Partners is a global real estate investment manager. With 28 people covering more than 12 countries, it manages international private and public property equity investments. Its diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. It invests only in real estate and therefore has a unique focus and depth of expertise in the sector. Prior to DBL, Gabriel was a Managing Director at Tishman Speyer. Tishsman Speyer is one of the leading owners, developers, operators, and managers of first-class real estate in the world, having managed a portfolio of assets since its inception of over 123 million square feet across the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Gabriel holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Michigan as well as a Master's degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Tarek is the Managing Director of Endeavor Lebanon (the Lebanon chapter of Endeavor Global), a highly influential Economic Development non-profit focused on supporting and growing outperforming entrepreneurs to transform economies chaired by Edgar Bronfman. Prior to Endeavor Tarek was co-founder and Managing Partner at MEVP, the Middle East's leading Venture Capital fund. He served on the investment committee of ABAN, DIC’s early stage fund. He was also a Partner at Access Media, a London-based venture firm, geared at investing in early stage Technology and Media start-ups. He co-founded, built and successfully exited two ventures in mobile content and automotive services. Tarek sits on the Board of Directors of five companies ranging from green technologies to e-commerce. Tarek has a BS in Political Science and Economics from Georgetown University, and an MBA from London Business School.

Tom is the Owner at Ashford Fine Art. The Ashford Fine Art gallery is committed to seeking out and showing the work of emerging and mid-career artists with a focus on figurative portraiture, mixed media and contemporary landscape. The gallery’s intent is to foster the careers of our artists through exposure to new and diverse markets both nationally and internationally. Prior to establishing his own business, Tom was a Director at Sotheby's. Sotheby's is a global company that engages in art auction, private sales and art-related financing activities. Founded in 1744, Sotheby's auctions fine arts, antiques, and collectibles, offering property in a wide variety of collecting categories. The Company conducts auctions in the United States and other countries. Prior to Sotheby’s, Tom was a Brand Manager at Richemont. Richemont owns several of the world's leading companies in the field of luxury goods, with particular strengths in jewelry, luxury watches and writing instruments. The Group's luxury interests encompass several of the most prestigious names in the luxury industry. Tom holds Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from Imperial College London as well as a Master's Degree from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Romano Ferragamo is the owner of RFPI. RFPI is a private investment structure that invests in emerging businesses with a focus on the apparel and fashion sectors. With over 30 investments made since 2003 (and counting), RFPI's goal is to build a solid portfolio of premium and complementary brands. After 6 years working at INDITEX as Executive Director in charge of Business Development and thanks to a substantial financial reward for joining the company at its most rapid expansion phase, Romano started his own firm to emulate what he learned in Spain. Romano also acts as consultant to two INDITEX brands, namely MANGO and PULL&BEAR, where he advises on business development. Romano holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Rome Business School as well as an MBA from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.

Yazad Patel is the Chief Executive Officer of Board Titans and oversees the firm’s strategy and operations. Besides himself having held various C-level and Board positions, he is passionate about advising organizations on Strategy and Corporate Governance. Yazad has worked with and for multinationals, privately held enterprises, family owned businesses as well as government entities across sectors. Prior to leading Board Titans, Yazad handled assets in excess of USD 500 million. Yazad’s passion for advisory enables him to partner with Chairmen, Owners, Directors and Senior C-Suite Executives ranging from Start-ups, PE/VC led SMEs, mid-market companies as well as multinational conglomerates. Yazad has an MBA with Distinction from Hult International Business School, is a certified accountant (CMA), holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance & Economics and has attended the Executive Leadership programs at Columbia Business School. He is the winner of the Standard Chartered Award for exceptional “best-in-class” Finance Performance and is an adjunct faculty at Hult International Business School, a member of the Harvard Business Publishing for Educators and a speaker at various forums on Strategy, Corporate Governance, Ethics and CSR.