Nilesh Ved is the Chairman of Apparel Group, a retail group that had a humble beginning and has grown since to a group of 150 stores with 75 international brands. Nilesh received his bachelor’s degree at Boston University, after which he returned to Dubai and founded Apparel Group. As Dubai turned into the cosmopolitan city it is today, Nilesh’s company expanded along with it.

Yves Manghardt was born in France and graduated from HEC Lausanne Business School.

He joined Nestle in 1984 and held various positions around Asia and Africa including Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. He worked at Nestle for over 30 years in 10 different countries. Manghardt now lives in Dubai with his wife and 3 children and has been appointed as chairman of Nestle Middle East. In his role, he aspires to make a difference for the region through health, nutrition, sustainability, and creating employment for millions of young people. During this interview Yves Manghardt explains the purpose of Nestle and talks about the many projects to improve working conditions and create more job opportunities in MENA.

Mogens Jensen is an adventurer, a professional mountaineer, a former triathlete for the Danish National Team, former school teacher, and is asthmatic. He moved from his home country of Denmark to Dubai where he is works as a motivational speaker to help others achieve their full potential. Mogens Jensen started out as a professional Triathlete for the Danish National Team and due to severe breathing problems he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with asthma. However, he refused to let this condition limit his goals and dreams and was determined to set an example and break records.

In 2004/2005 Mogens bicycled and ran from Denmark to Mount Everest basecamp. A strenuous trip of 11.500 km through 13 countries which he covered in 100 days. His first attempt to climb Mount Everest was cut short due to frostbite. However, in 2007 Mogens returned and reached the top of the world, setting the record as being the first asthmatic mountaineer to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen. During this interview, Mogens talks about the power of the mind and willpower and how he is driven to help others reach for the top in all aspects.

Walid Hajj is the CEO of Cravia Inc.; a Dubai-based food and hospitality organization that brought world-class franchises to the Middle East, including Cinnabon, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Seattle’s best coffee. He is a Harvard Business School alumni and his work has been developed into a Harvard business case study.
In this video, Walid provides insight into the history of Cravia and the story behind each brand. He also talks entrepreneurship, gaining respect as a leader, his biggest inspirations, and the secrets behind creating a loyal team.

Kate Sweetman holds degrees from both Yale and Harvard and is now one of the world’s most celebrated leadership consultant, author, editor, and speaker. Kate Sweetman has developed strategic leadership programs on a full range of leadership levels and consulted Fortunes100 companies.

She has worked as an editor at Harvard Business Review and has served as a member of the Alumnae Advisory Board for the Women’s Leadership Initiative at Yale. She is currently working as instructor at The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT and is the Founding Principal of Sweetman and Cragun. Kate was named the Emerging Guru by the London Times and is listed among Thinkers50 for her work.

The CEO of Prime Strategy Consulting Group, Ziad Makhzoumi is an award-winning CEO, CFO, business leader and value creator. Ziad started his career with Booz Allen & Hamilton, became CFO and CIO of a Luxembourg-based private holding company and later on became CFO of Arabtec Holding. He has won many awards for his work and was listed among the top 20 influential non-royal decision makers in the UAE by the Wall Street Journal in 2010. Arabian Business listed him among the 500 most influential Arabs in the world in 2012.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Ziad moved to the UK when the civil war started. There he pursued a BSc in Electronic Engineering at the University of Manchester. After graduating, he decided to follow up with an MBA in Banking and Finance at the Manchester Business School.

Throughout this interview, Ziad shares the story of his career path, how the job market has changed and what measures young people should take to find a job in the MENA region.

Mona Ataya is the founder and CEO of Mumzworld. She is a leading entrepreneur and a role model within this region. In 2013, she was listed among the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women by Arabian Business and was listed among the most powerful Arabs, next generation in 2013.

Mona has always been resilient and ambitious. To grow her skills, she started a job at P&G, then started working for Johnson and Jonshon, and later became one of the co-founding members at Bayt.com.

While raising her 3 children, she discovered a gap in the market and couldn’t find enough support for mothers who needed advice and help with their purchasing decision. To address this need she founded Mumzworld, the leading ecommerce website for mothers across the region. Mona Ataya talks about her passion to empower mothers and make a difference to the community.

Yogesh Mehta acquired his interest in petrochemicals at a very young age. When he was 14 years old, he began helping his father at a chemical company. Soon after, Yogesh, and two partners, founded their very own small petrochemical company. Due to lack of experience running a business and many rookie mistakes, the business failed and Yogesh lost all of his money. At the age of 29, Yogesh left India to try out his luck in Dubai. His persistence helped him fulfill his dreams, as Petrochem Middle East was established in 1995 and eventually expanded to become one of the leading petrochemical companies in the region.

Joy Ajlouny is a serial entrepreneur from Sillicon Valley. She currently lives in Dubai where she co-founded Fetchr, a delivery app that has disrupted the Middle Eastern Market. Fetchr has won numerous awards and has become the darling for investors and venture capitalists, as well as an inspiration for other entrepreneurs.Fetchr was listed ranked in 2nd place on the list of the most promising UAE Start-ups by Forbes in 2016. Joy Ajlouny had a series of start-ups, including Bonfaire, a platform for emerging designers, which she successfully exited. Her mission in life is to develop the MENA start-up ecosystem. Her passion is to make a difference in the Arab World, particularly for refugees.

Sophie Le Ray is a successful entrepreneur and author. In 2003, she co-founded Naseba; a business-facilitating organization specialized in emerging markets. She launched the Women in Leadership Economic Forum and is also co-author of Game Changers: How Women in the Arab World Are Changing the Rules and Shaping the Future. In this interview, she shares personal stories about her upbringing in France and what made her the resilient entrepreneur she is today.