Leadership

Mr. Namir El Akabi is a prominent Iraqi businessman, investor, and institutional real estate developer with over three decades of impact on Iraq's economic and urban development. He is the Founder and Chairman of Amwaj International for Real Estate Investment, Iraq's first real estate development company and one of the largest development platforms in the Middle East.

Under his leadership, Amwaj evolved into a publicly listed, institutionally credible developer, delivering large-scale, multi-billion-dollar master-planned projects. Mr. El Akabi has overseen the deployment of more than USD 7 billion in capital across Iraq's housing and urban regeneration initiatives, enabling over 35,000 residential units and generating employment for more than 12,000 Iraqis nationwide.

Ms. Roula Jouny is a highly experienced tourism and hospitality executive with over 30 years of leadership experience. She founded and led Meeting Point International as Group CEO, expanding the company across 21 countries and serving more than 4 million guests, while also developing Meeting Point Hotels and its brand portfolio.

She later served as CEO of Tourism 365, where she founded and grew the business, strengthening Abu Dhabi's inbound and outbound tourism sectors. Currently, she is the CEO and shareholder of Rocket International, a global destination management company operating across multiple regions worldwide.

Dr. Loay M. Sehwail holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering & Management from Oklahoma State University, USA (honours). He is an entrepreneur and senior executive with an established record of investment leadership across major economic sectors — finance, real estate, fintech, banking, investment, and manufacturing — with wide-ranging relationships in the public and private sectors regionally and internationally.

Mr. Raed Hanna is an Iraqi expatriate from Basrah with long-standing experience in the United Kingdom's financial services and infrastructure finance sectors. He holds a Master's degree in Engineering and Financial Management from City University, London. He established Mutual Finance Ltd. (now MFL Finance Limited), a leading project and infrastructure finance advisory firm arranging over £2 billion in lending annually.

His work covers major global infrastructure projects, including power, transport, oil and gas, and PPP and sovereign-backed developments. He has been involved in several high-profile projects in Basrah and has actively supported efforts to encourage British and European investment in Iraq alongside senior UK political figures.

Mr. Patrick Rouse is an experienced real estate and construction development professional with over 25 years of international experience across the full project lifecycle. He is skilled in leading multidisciplinary teams, managing complex projects, and delivering results across diverse markets and asset types, including residential, retail, hospitality, healthcare, commercial, marina, and infrastructure.

He combines strong technical expertise, hands-on engineering experience, and commercial acumen with practical site knowledge and robust financial understanding, and is recognised as a collaborative, solutions-driven leader who thrives in dynamic environments and values continuous improvement.

Mr. Othman Al Jeda is a global executive with 30 years of experience in logistics, supply chain, and e-commerce. As CEO of Aramex, he led strategic transformation, digital innovation, and international expansion, managing multi-billion-dollar operations and teams of over 17,000 employees across more than 350 offices worldwide.

He successfully guided the company's post-pandemic recovery, drove growth through acquisitions in the US, Europe, and Asia, and strengthened Aramex's position in cross-border e-commerce while optimising technology and operational efficiency.

Mr. Harshit Garodia is a seasoned real estate and capital planning professional with deep expertise in large-scale development strategy and operational execution. At Emaar, he led high-impact initiatives including a landmark IPO, the divestment of hospitality assets worth over AED 4 billion, and M&A transactions totalling more than AED 50 billion.

He currently oversees the development of multi-billion-dollar real estate projects across complex portfolios. An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad, he is recognised for his execution-focused approach and strategic leadership in capital planning and development.