HAZEM SHAWKI - Managing Director 

Mr. Shawki is Head of EFG Hermes Private Equity. Prior to joining EFG Hermes in 2008, Mr. Shawki was a Managing Director in Investment Banking with Goldman Sachs, covering the MENA region. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 as an associate in the Telecommunications, Media and Technology group within Investment Banking in London. In 2004, he moved to the European Financing Group in London, where he focused on Equity Capital Markets (ECM) for the European New Markets area and in 2007 he moved to Dubai to take on coverage responsibility in the MENA region. Mr. Shawki earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA First Class Joint Honors in Economics and Finance from McGill University.  

WALID ZEIN - Managing Director

Prior to joining EFG-Hermes, Mr. Zein was an Executive Director with Goldman Sachs in its Investment Banking Division.

Mr. Zein spent four years with Goldman Sachs in London, primarily advising clients in the Telecoms Media and Technology sectors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on M&A and capital markets transactions. In 2007, Mr. Zein relocated to Dubai to participate in building the Goldman Sachs franchise in the Middle East and North Africa.

Prior to Goldman Sachs, Mr. Zein spent two years with the Boston Consulting Group based in Paris as a Senior Consultant and prior to that he worked for five years in the telecoms industry in various capacities, including co-founding a telecom consulting company in 1998.
 
Mr. Zein holds an MBA from INSEAD with Honors, a telecommunications engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Telecommunications in Paris and an electrical engineering degree from the Ecole Superieure d'Ingenieurs de Beyrouth.
 

GEHAN FATHI - Director 

Ms. Fathi has been primarily focused on the food and agribusiness and the retail sectors within EHPE.

She joined EHPE from EFG-Hermes Investment Banking Division in 2002, where she was a Vice President involved in the equity offerings of several leading firms in Egypt as well as various M&A deals, especially in the cement, food and consumables sectors.

Ms. Fathi holds a B.A. in Economics from the American University in Cairo.
 

KARIM MOUSSA - Director

Prior to joining EFG-Hermes, Mr. Moussa was a Vice President with Deutsche Bank in Global Banking Dubai with responsibilities for M&A, ECM and DCM advisory in MENA.

He joined Deutsche Bank in 2001 as an Analyst in the M&A execution team in Frankfurt, advising on several mid-cap transactions in Continental Europe. He moved to Dubai in 2005 to join the CEO of Deutsche Bank in MENA in building the bank’s regional platform. In 2006, he joined Global Banking Dubai, where he advised on the sale of Sokhna Port to Dubai Ports World, the financing and acquisition of Egyptian Fertilizers Company by Abraaj Capital and the Dubai Ports World IPO.

Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. Moussa spent a year as an Investment Analyst at Berlin Capital Fund, a Venture Capital Fund managed by the Berliner Bank.

Mr. Moussa holds a masters in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering (Diplom Wirtschaftsingenieur) with honors from the Technical University of Berlin.
  

RAMI SHAMAA - Vice President 

Mr. Shamaa has nine years of experience in private equity, investment banking and management consulting in the MENA region.

Prior to joining EFG-Hermes, Mr. Shamaa was part of Abraaj Capital’s investment management team, where he was involved in the execution and monitoring of private equity investments in the infrastructure, oil and gas, health care and industrial sectors.

Prior to that, he was an Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he advised a number of regional clients on a number of strategy, organizational transformation, business planning, and operations improvement projects. During 1999-2001, Mr. Shamaa worked for the Egyptian affiliate of Morgan Stanley, HCSI.

Mr. Shamaa holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. with highest honors in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.
 

SAMER YASSA - Managing Director 

Mr. Yassa has been primarily focused on the textiles, finance, industrials, oil & gas and healthcare sectors within EHPE.

He joined EHPE from CIIC in 2000, where he worked for three years in Investment Banking as an Assistant Manager. Prior to CIIC, he worked for one year in M&A as an Associate at JP Morgan, London.

Mr. Yassa holds an MBA from Edinburgh University and an M.A. in Public Administration and a B.A. in Economics from the American University in Cairo.