Board of Directors
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Ossama Hassanein, Chairman of the Board Ossama is an entrepreneur, mentor and venture capitalist. Over the last 35 years, he has managed over $1 billion in 14 international technology funds, spearheaded the mezzanine financing of 80+ IT companies, and been the founder or Chairman of 8 successful technology companies. He is currently General Partner with Global Technology Innovation Partners (GTIP), a venture capital firm focused on developing entrepreneurship in the MENASA region, operating through the Rising Tide Fund. He is also Chairman of the Boards of BDNA, Echovox and Zong, as well as TechWadi and the Egyptian American Society. He is a frequent guest lecturer on international business leadership at AUC, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and the University of British Columbia. |
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Dolly Chammas, Board Member Dolly is Founder and President of Middle East Online (MEOL), based in Beirut, Lebanon. Dolly is also a Director of Mectapharm, Mecattaf Trading and Mecta Offshore, a diversified family holding specialized in pharmaceuticals, consumer products and financial services. Dolly has extensive experience with non-profit organizations. She recently served as President of the Modern Art Council for the San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and has served for 9 years on the Board of Trustees of Crystal Springs Uplands School. As a volunteer community leader, she has chaired many successful events for the Junior League of San Francisco (JLSF), SFMOMA, PARCA, Save the Children and the San Francisco Symphony, and received numerous volunteer awards. |
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Dina Ibrahim, Board Member Dina is an Assistant Professor in the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts department at San Francisco State University, where she teaches Radio and Television News Production courses. She is also a co-producer of the radio show Arab Talk on KPOO 89.5 FM in San Francisco. She has reported for the BBC World Service Radio in London, CNN in Atlanta and Cairo, NPR in Austin, Texas, UPI in Cairo and Arab News newspaper in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Her research interests are in the area of American television news representation of Arabs and Muslims. She holds a B.A. and M.A. from the American University in Cairo and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. |
| Habib John Lahlouh, Board Member Habib is Chairman of the Board, CEO and Co-Founder of Lahlouh, Inc., a full service marketing, printing and fulfillment house and one of the largest companies in the Northwest, employing over 300 professionals with clients including Yahoo!, Stanford University, Google, Genentech/Roche, Intel and Oracle to name but a few. In addition to the full range of marketing services they offer, Lahlouh, Inc. has dived into software development with a proprietary SaaS model for online ordering and fulfillment. Habib is President and Co-Founder of the Syrian American Association of Northern California as well as a Board Member of Kalima Foundation, a non-profit based in Syria that owns both a hospital and a senior center. |
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Bassel Ojjeh, Board Member Bassel is the co-founder, President and CEO of nPario, a leading data analytics company. Prior to nPario, Bassel served as Senior Vice President of the Strategic Data Solutions division at Yahoo. Ojjeh joined the company as a result of Yahoo’s acquisition of his previous venture, the DMX Group, a business intelligence and data mining company. Prior, Ojjeh co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer of digiMine (now Audience Science). Before founding digiMine, Ojjeh was Group Program Manager in the Internet Business Server division at Microsoft, where he drove key initiatives in areas such as data warehousing, data mining, personalization and predictive capabilities. He started his career in Fox Software, later acquired by Microsoft for $1.5 Billion. |
Executive Team
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Joe Kell, Chief Financial Officer In addition to his duties with TechWadi, Joe is Chief Financial Officer of Newbury Ventures, a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Newbury, Joe was audit manager in the Technology Assurance and Advisory Group at Ireland San Filippo, working with privately-held clients in a variety of technology-related industries including venture capital, software, semiconductors, and device designers and manufacturers. Joe is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from Saint Mary’s College in 2001 with a BS in Business Administration and a minor in Accounting. He lives in Pacifica with his wife and enjoys tackling home improvement projects, golfing, sailing, and various outdoor activities. |
| Roham Gharegozlou, Program Manager Roham is at the front-line of TechWadi initiatives and is responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of TechWadi conferences, mentorship activities, partnerships, online resources, and the member community. In addition to his responsibilities with TechWadi, Roham is an Associate with Newbury Ventures, helping entrepreneurs turn their innovations into successful enterprises. Prior to joining Newbury, Roham worked in Dubai, UAE with a leading industrial gases firm as well as a boutique private investment fund. He holds a B.A. in Economics and dual B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology from Stanford University. |
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