Forum Agenda and Participant Biographies - Brookings Institution

e-elected as its Vice-President. Recently, he was elected
as member of the Board of Directors of INQAA-
HE. Aboul-Ela chaired and participated in numerous
institutional and program accreditation review teams
in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. He
earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Agriculture from Cairo
University and his Ph.D. in Animal Physiology from
the University of Aberdeen.
ahmed abu haiba
eGypt
Ahmed Abu Haiba is Chairman
of the Revolution TV channel “Al
Tahrir TV,” which he established
after being recently detained while
participating in the Egyptian revolution.
He previously established
4shbab TV, which was the first Islamic music channel
targeting youth. He brought the retired star Mona
Abdel Ghany back to the show “Mona we Akhwatha,”
which became the first television series to approach
social interaction from an Islamic point of view. He
also cofounded Al Resalah Channel and established
Sanaal Sharq for Media Production He has previously
worked as a producer in the Japanese News Network
FUJI TV. Abu Haiba has been asked to speak
at Georgetown University about “Innovations in the
Arab Media,” and was chosen by CNBC as one of
the seven media leaders around the world to appear
on “Executive Vision.” He graduated with a degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Cairo University.
Odeh aburdene
UnIted StateS
Odeh Aburdene is President of
OAI Advisors, which provides advice
and consultancy on Middle
East business, energy, and private
equity. Aburdene previously served
as a managing partner of Capital
Trust S.A., and as an Executive Vice President and
Area Head for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
with First City Bancorporation of Texas in London.
He also served as Vice President for Middle East business
and as an advisor to Senior Management at Occidental
Petroleum. Aburdene has spoken on the topic
of venture capital and economic growth in the Middle
East at the Dubai Strategy Forum and the Jeddah
Economic Forum. He is a member of the Council on
Foreign Relations, the International Advisory Board of
2011 U.S.-ISLAMIC WORLD FORUM
Y e A R OF ChAnge
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the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the Suffolk
University Board of International Advisors, the
Advisory Board of the Rand Center for Middle East
Public Policy, the Advisory Committee of The Sadat
Lecture For Peace, and the Advisory Board of Search
for Common Ground. Aburdene holds a Ph.D. from
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He also
studied the Middle East oil industry at Harvard University’s
Center for Middle East Studies.
aakif ahmad
UnIted StateS
Aakif Ahmad is Vice President
and Co-Founder of Convergence,
a U.S-based firm providing consensus-based
solutions to issues of
national and international policy.
He is also Co-Leader of the U.S.
Muslim Engagement Initiative. From 1996 to 2008,
Ahmad worked at the Corporate Executive Board
Company (CEB), where, as Managing Director, he led
sales organizations across Europe and North America
that generated more than $100 million in revenue
during his tenure. He served as a member of the
Management Committee for Global Sales and Marketing
and was elected to the firm’s Policy Committee
in 2002 as one of the top fifty leaders in the corporation.
Ahmad earned a B.A. from Yale University in
Ethics, Politics, and Economics, and an M.B.A. from
the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern
University.
Salman ahmad
pakIStan
Salman Ahmad is a musician
and one of South Asia’s most influential
cultural figures. He is
also a documentary filmmaker,
physician, and United Nations
Goodwill Ambassador. His band,
Junoon, has sold over twenty-five million albums
worldwide and has shared the stage with artists such
as Melissa Etheridge, Alicia Keys, Sting, Peter Gabriel,
and Wyclef Jean. He has recently authored a memoir,
Rock & Roll Jihad (Simon and Schuster), which tells
of a cross-cultural journey across America and Pakistan.
With his wife, Samina, he launched the Salman
& Samina Global Wellness Initiative (SSGWI), an
NGO that promotes pluralism and interfaith dialogue
through arts and culture.