KHALED ABUBAKR

TAQA Arabia - Executive Chairman

TAQA Arabia - Executive Chairman

As a renowned industry veteran, Eng. Abubakr served in a number of top-tier leadership positions in the Egyptian gas industry prior to co-founding TAQA, a leading Egyptian energy distributor and a subsidiary of Qalaa Holdings, an African leader in infrastructure and industry. During this period, he was responsible for different strategic projects through the incorporation and leadership of several companies in both the public and private sectors including EGPC, Egypt Gas, ENPPI, Gas & Energy Group, City Gas and House Gas. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Egyptian Gas Association and sits on the board of several business organizations and a number of affiliated power, oil and gas companies such as the International Gas Union (IGU) where he is the Regional Coordinator for Middle East & Africa. His efforts over the past 29 years have led to the use of natural gas in several countries in the Middle East and Africa. He holds a B.Sc. Degree in Engineering from Cairo University, an MBA in management of Oil & Gas companies from HEC - Montreal University, and several advanced diplomas from Harvard University and the University of Texas.

With over 18 years of experience, TAQA is investing and operating energy infrastructure including gas transmission and distribution, power generation and distribution and retail marketing of petroleum products.

PAKINAM KAFAFI

Taqa Arabia - CEO

Mrs. Pakinam Kafafi, has nearly 25 years of experience within the Energy and Investment Banking sectors. She assumed leadership of TAQA Group as Chief Executive Officer in 2013.

Prior, Kafafi had been serving as the Group’s Chief Investment Officer since 2006 where she successfully contributed to the group’s evolution by acquiring and consolidating several gas distribution companies for BG, ENI, Edison and AMEC. In addition, she led the group’s business diversification strategy into Power Generation and Distribution and Renewable Energy. Kafafi was also the Investment General Manager TAQA’s Gas Division starting 2003.

Before joining TAQA she served as Vice President at EFG‐Hermes Investment Banking where she successfully participated in various acquisitions and privatization projects in Egypt.

In 2016, Mrs. Kafafi was chosen as one of the Top Fifty Influential Women in Egypt. She is also a long-standing member of the American Chamber of Commerce and the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA).

MOHAMED SAAD

ERC, President

Mohammed Saad Ibrahim holds vast experience in the energy sector. He began his career as an engineer at Nasr Petroleum in Alexandria in 1975. He later went on to work at Suez Petroleum where he held various senior level positions between 1977 and 2009, including Chairman of the Board. In 2009 Ibrahim moved to Al Nasr Petroleum Company where he served as Chairman for one year after which he became Vice Chairman of the South Valley Holding Company for Petroleum until 2012.

Additionally, Ibrahim has held a number of executive positions in organizations including memberships in: the Geographical Committee for Suez and Sinai petroleum companies, and the Governing Council of Sukhna Refining and Petrochemicals. He was also the Chairman of the Suez Institute for Management Information Systems and Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering and the Faculty of Science at Ismailia University. Ibrahim received a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of the Suez Canal in 1975, and a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in the United States in 1985. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cairo University in 1995, and has held honorary memberships in a number of companies and scientific organizations.

AMIR NAGUIB

Co-Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, ASCOM

Amir Naguib, was appointed Managing Director, ASCOM in July 2017.

Prior to this, Amir was Commercial Director for Lafarge Aggregates and ready mix concrete in Egypt, market leader in Egypt with more than 30 batching facility and 5 quarries. A role he held from 2009.

Amir joined the Algerian Cement Company in 2002, a subsidiary of Orascom Cement which was acquired by Lafarge Group in 2007, as Technical Sales Manager, where he contributed to the startup of OC cement business and initiated ready mix business in Algeria.

Amir has a strong background in sales, operations, business finance and marketing. Amir holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from the German University in Cairo.

HISHAM SHERIF

Tawazon - CEO

Prior to heading Tawazon, a core unit of Qalaa Holding, Dr. Hisham Sherif was the CEO of Engineering Tasks Group (ENTAG) and the Egyptian Company for Solid Waste Recycling (ECARU). He led both companies — which are now subsidiaries of Tawazon — in biomass management projects (collection, transportation and treatment) for producing biomass derived fuel (BDF), animal feed, and compost. Dr. Sherif previously served as a lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of Minya University. As a leading expert in local and international procurement laws and procedures governing licensing, imports and joint ventures he assisted over 30 municipalities in nine countries in upgrading MSW treatment and disposal projects. Furthermore, he helped direct planning, construction and operation of new MSW sorting, composting, and production of  refused derived fuel (RDF) across the region. He has attended numerous national and international conferences in the field of municipal solid waste, biomass, alternative fuel and  energy management and technologies. Dr. Sherif holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Chemical Engineering Department at Minya University, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering, jointly supervised by Minya University and Strathclyde University in Scotland.