What I Did Next

I’m excited to welcome Her Royal Highness Nourah Al Faisal as this season’s inaugural guest. She’s the founder of bespoke jewellery brand Nuun, and the founder of design and research consultancy Ahdlal for Design. She’s also the great-granddaughter of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

As someone who grew up in Saudi, I continue to be impressed by the transformation taking place across the country. I talked to her about her work with Vision 2030, and her recent appointment as CEO of the Art of Heritage Center.

Members, we have something special for you to kick off Season 8! You can listen to the next 2 episodes today—just head over to our website (or in Apple Podcasts) and listen now.

Link:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to bring you a new season of What I Did Next, where I talk to people about their pivotal moments and life journeys. Season 8 begins September 24, with new episodes every second Tuesday.

This season, we’re also adding new benefits to our members’ club. You’ll be getting early access to our episodes—in fact, members can listen to the first THREE episodes of our season on Tuesday—we’ll be continuing our bonus episodes with guests and we’ll also be checking in some of your favourite What I Did Next alumni.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hope you’re having a great summer so far. We’ll be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, here’s another one from our archive: my conversation with author, entrepreneur & tech giant, Mo Gawdat.

Mo was Chief Business Officer at Google X, and is now the popular author of Solve for Happy, Scary Smart, and more recently, That Little Voice in Your Head, with more books to come. He is also behind the One Billion Happy movement which is inspired by his late son, Aly, who died tragically in 2014.

Mo today is more monk than mogul. He has gone from corporate man to living out of a carry-on bag, lugging his podcast equipment around the world, and having conversations with people who will shine a light on a hidden corner of the human experience. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ll be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, here’s one from our archive–actor and comedian Ramy Youssef. Ramy is the starof the eponymous hit show, Ramy, which has won Golden Globes and Peabodies, as well as Emmy nominations. He's also the co-creator of Mo with Mo Amer, and can be seen later this year in Poor Things with Emma Stone, William Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo among other big wigs of the industry.

As writer, actor, director and producer of the show, Ramy brings nuance and subtlety to what are, on the surface, extremely difficult issues to broach on US TV and he does so with the one tool that always breaks down prejudices—humour.

He talks about growing up in New Jersey, the show, and how his life has changed before and after the show's global success.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m joined by the show’s producer, Chirag Desai, to look back at some of the season’s highlights & themes from our latest line-up of incredible guests.

You’ll also hear from Mostafa Gad, Global Head of Investment Banking at EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding Company. EFG Holding has been an incredible partner for the show & I talk to Mostafa about his life's trajectory and his stellar career with the bank.

Thank you for joining me on an incredible Season 7, and for your feedback and comments. We’ll be back with new episodes in September. Until then, you can catch up on our previous episodes, and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and on X for updates, and on YouTube for extended video clips.

Thanks to our partners EFG Holding for their support of this season. EFG Holding is a trailblazing financial institution with a Universal Bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a multidisciplinary artist, Ghada is as comfortable working with a needle and thread as she is with a paintbrush, or forging steel for sculptures or working on one-of-a-kind garden installations. She began exhibiting her work in the 90s, and her art continues to focus on women equality and female sexuality. 

Ghada’s work has been shown at the world's finest fairs and exhibition spaces, including, the Whitney Biennial and PS1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, at the Venice Biennale where she won the UNESCO Prize, at the Johannesburg Biennial, and the Istanbul Biennale among many others. 

If you’ve enjoyed Ghada’s story and want to hear more, we have a bonus episode for members where she tells me about her artistic process, and what’s in her creative inbox. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts or on our website, and you’ll also get extra content from all our previous guests where we offer a deep dive into their worlds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mohamed Al Fayed is the co-founder & CEO of Grubtech, he's a digital advisor as well as a mentor, and he calls himself a tech disruptor. Even if you may not have heard of him directly, you’ll have come across some of his work. Beginning his career with Macy’s, one of the largest retailers in the U.S., Moe led the launch of Mamas & Papas and Gap in the GCC as well as the region’s largest luxury online marketplace, Ounass. He also served as Senior Vice President of Omnichannel at Al Tayer Group, where he worked for 12 years before launching his startup, Grubtech.

Moe has a great professional story, and a very moving personal story that shapes his outlook today. He shares how much he has changed from the guy starting out 30 years ago in the US, and what failing early in life has taught him.

On our bonus episode for members next week, Mohamed tells me about his early years, and how Ounass was launched out of Al Tayer Group.

This episode is brought to you by:

EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a Universal Bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Becky Anderson is the Managing Editor at CNN Abu Dhabi, and one of the channel’s most visible international anchors. From being the first team to broadcast from Riyadh after the ban on women driving was lifted to Tunisia during the Arab Spring, she has spearheaded special shows from Tehran, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Beirut and many more region capitals.

I was excited to indulge my love for all things news with Becky. We talk about the industry as a whole, her pivot to broadcasting, and her mission to change the perception of this region through her work.

On this members’ bonus episode next week, we’ll talk about her role as Managing Editor and how our region fits into the larger CNN programming agenda worldwide.

This episode is brought to you by:

EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a Universal Bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Mounir Neamatalla is the founder of Environment Quality International, EQI, which he founded in 1981. EQI started out as the first environment-focused advisory in Egypt and went on to become a pioneer in the world of micro-finance. Then in 1996, Dr. Mounir’s visit to the remote oasis of Siwa led to the launch of the pathbreaking Siwa Sustainable Development Initiative.

My conversation with Dr. Mounir was special for a number of reasons—he is a family friend, I’ve long-admired his philosophy on life and how he sees the world, and he has all the characteristics of what is fast becoming a bygone era. He is a romantic, a dreamer, a deep thinker, choosing the slower measured approach over today's fast and frenetic pace. He has been on my podcast wish list since the show's inception but he kept resisting my requests to come on and share his story...until now. 

This episode is brought to you by:

EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a Universal Bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m joined this week by Malak El Baba, Egypt Country Manager for Visa, and a leader and role model for so many in her industry. We had a wonderful conversation that spanned different countries and phases of her life.

Although she has spent nearly two decades in banking and finance, she actually started out wanting to become a diplomat. But destiny had other plans, shaping not just her career but who she married and where she lives today.

Like a true marketer, Malak is very much a people-person, a team builder, and a team player. She’s also an optimist. She truly embodies the traits I find is most successful people. Malak also leads Visa’s Women Leadership Network for MENA, and is the winner of several market leadership awards including four MENA Effies’ awards and 2 Media Efficiency awards.

This episode is brought to you by:

EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a Universal Bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices