What I Did Next

On this episode, you'll hear about the incredible message through art with designer Nada Debs and entrepreneur Sarah Beydoun, and the importance of preservation from Omniya Abdel Barr and artist Louis Barthelemy. This episode is part of our new segment, Double-Take, where I take a deep-dive into a single topic and connect the dots between some of our best conversations.

This episode is brought to you by Azza Fahmy Jewellery⁠

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!

I'm re-connecting today with award-winning film producer Mo Hefzy. Since I first spoke to him in 2022, Mo has had a series of successful releases, including 'Flight 404', 'Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo', 'Darwish', and many more. 

This episode is part of Encore, where I check-in with some of your favourite WIDN alumni. We’ll continue this segment with more of the show’s alumni, so stay tuned. 

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to a new Encore

0:44 Growth of Saudi cinema

2:50 Challenges in Egyptian cinema

8:00 The impact of streaming

23:34 The Lightning Round

We’re continuing my conversation with legendary architecture Abdel Wahed El Wakil. Today, we’re diving deep into the world of architecture and materials. This episode is a crash-course whether you're in the field, an enthusiast like me, or just want a better understanding of the world around us. Abdel Wahed also tells me about the spiritual connection that traditional architecture fosters with nature and our experience as humans.

Chapters 
0:00 Coming up 
0:35 The masters of modern architecture 
10:43 The essence of traditional art 
13:02 The shift to individualism 
19:20 The significance of courtyards 
20:31 The importance of brick 
27:16 Timeless Truths

This episode is brought to you by:

• EFG Hermes One: your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!
• Azza Fahmy Jewellery

I‘m joined today by a legend of from the world of architecture, Abdel Wahed El Wakil. I sat down with him a couple of weeks ago in Doha, where he now lives, to document his incredible journey, his vision for architecture as an industry, and Islamic architecture in particular.

Abdel Wahed has designed buildings around the world, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Paris and London. He also studied and worked under his mentor, Hassan Fathy, an architecture legend in his own right.

Chapters:

0:00 Coming up

10:42 Architecture's Purpose

19:10 Materialism vs Spirituality

23:21 Cultural Revolution

26:34 Designing for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

37:58 Reviving Community Spaces

41:40 Lightning Round

This episode is brought to you by:

• EFG Hermes One: your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!
• Azza Fahmy Jewellery

I'm re-connecting today with celebrity chef & author Bobby Chinn. I first spoke to Bobby during the summer of 2021 in preparation for Season 2. That feels like such a long time ago, we were just 8 episodes in at the time, and we're now in our 6th year with more than a 100 episodes!

You can listen to that episode in your podcast app or our website.

This episode is part of Encore, where I check-in with some of your favourite WIDN alumni. We’ll continue this segment with more of the show’s alumni next month, so stay tuned.

Chapters 
0:00 Coming up... 
2:03 Bobby's dream project 
4:00 Sustainable seafood 
10:11 Crying on TV 
15:21 Climate Change and Food Systems 
24:43 Lightning Round

We’re continuing my conversation with luxury travel journalist and editor Maria Shollenbarger. Today, we’re delving into the travel industry—how and why certain destinations trend over others, how preferences have changed since COVID, and the future of travel in the age of AI. 

I’ll be back next week with a new Encore episode with all-round rockstar Bobby Chinn.

Chapters

0:00 Coming up...

2:30 Travel in a post-COVID world

5:56 The Impact of Social Media

7:22 The role of Airbnb

9:03 Life as a Travel Journalist

11:47 The evolution of luxury travel

16:37 Travel in the age of AI

This episode is brought to you by:

• EFG Hermes One: your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!
• Azza Fahmy Jewellery

I’m excited to be kicking off the year with Maria Shollenbarger, travel editor at the Financial Times’ HTSI magazine. I got to know Maria last year at The Narrative Summit, where she was on a panel that I moderated. 

Maria has been with the FT now for 17 years and had always dreamed about working as a travel journalist. On Part 1 of our conversation, we unpack her journey traveling and living around the world. 

Maria has a sophisticated eye, an instinct for what travellers need and want, and we’ll her industry in a lot of depth on Part 2 next week, so stay tuned.

Chapters:

0:00 Coming up

3:53 Early Career in Magazines

14:56 Moving to Europe

21:37 Life in Singapore

25:22 Reflections on an itinerant life

This episode is brought to you by:

• EFG Hermes One: your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!
• Azza Fahmy Jewellery

We all know the value of looking back to understand our path. But as the world becomes increasingly uncertain, I wanted to open a new chapter on the show.
In 2026, in addition to reflecting on the past, we’re also tackling the big questions about our future. I’ll be asking my guests how they're navigating the same anxieties and opportunities we all face, from AI to climate change to the changing world around us.

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

We’re closing out the year with a special episode with EFG Holding, and I’m joined today by the Group’s Chief Finance & Operations Officer, Mohamed Abdel Khabir. Mohamed joined the investment bank in 2008 and took on the CFO role in 2016. Earlier this year, he took on the additional responsibility of Operations, which includes Marketing, Technology & Administration. 

Mohamed has been actively involved in EFG Holding’s transformation from a MENA-based investment bank to its current avatar—a leading financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and a leading investment bank in MENA. 

We’ll be back in the New Year with a bit of a refresh, new episodes with some amazing guests from across the region. In the meantime, you can catch up on episodes you might have missed here: 

Chapters 
0:00 Coming up... 
2:54 EFG Holding’s transformation 
3:53 Regional strategy and global footprint 
10:00 Lessons learnt from acquisitions 
17:34 Leadership and fostering talent 
23:04 Investor relations 
25:51 ‘Resilience is not a choice’ 
29:21 The Lightning Round

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!

Last week, Mounir Nakhla told me about his entrepreneurial journey with MNT Halan, and how the company has risen to become of the Africa’s fastest growing start-ups. On this bonus episode, Mounir talks to me about the strategy behind their recent expansion into 3 new territories — Turkey, the UAE & Pakistan. 

Chapters:

0:00 On this episode...

5:12 Consolidation vs. Expansion

8:36 The impact of geopolitical factors 

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets. Start investing today!