Noor Sweid

Managing Partner

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” - Ralph Emerson

Noor is passionate about enabling disruptive technology companies and their emerging market founders to solve real problems while changing the world with measurable impact. Noor is a founder, investor, and operator. Identified by Forbes magazine as one of the “World’s Top 50 Women in Tech”, Noor's previous roles include CIO at The Dubai Future Foundation, and founder of ZenYoga studio chain (acquired by Cedarbridge). Furthermore, Noor was the first Arab woman to scale, IPO and operate a public company in the MENA region, listing Depa on the NASDAQ Dubai and the London Stock Exchange (DEPA:DU) for US$1.1. billion in April 2008. In addition to board roles on Global Ventures’ portfolio companies, Noor is Chairperson of the Middle East Venture Capital Association and Director for MIT Sloan and TechWadi. Noor is also the independent Chairperson of the board for Clue Health. Noor holds a bachelors’ degrees in Finance and Economics from Boston College, an MBA from MIT Sloan, and began her career as a Biotechnology and pharmaceutical strategy consultant in the US. She is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Finance Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and is recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Medea Nocentini

Senior Partner

What drives me every day is the opportunity and privilege to empower incredible change-makers in frontier markets while giving back to our investors. It's being at the intersection of impact and financial returns.

Medea Nocentini is Senior Partner at Global Ventures. She is also Founder of Companies Creating Change (C3), a UAE-based social enterprise helping impact-driven entrepreneurs in the Middle East and Africa unlock their growth potential and maximize their positive impact on the community.. Before joining Global Ventures, Medea served as Chief Strategy Officer at the AW Rostamani Group, an international and diversified family group, as well as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development at OSN, a leading Pay TV platform in the MENA region. Earlier in her career, she spent several years at Booz Allen Hamilton developing strategies for TMT, consumer, and public sector’s clients across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School (New York, USA), an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and an Engineering Diploma from Ecole Centrale Paris (France).

H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi

Senior Partner

His Excellency Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi is Senior Partner at Global Ventures. He is the Chairman of ENBD REIT and Edelman Middle East. Most recently, he served as the Chief Investment Officer at G42. Prior to G42, he was the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, where he was tasked with expanding private sector activity in the Emirate. He held leadership roles at various institutions, including Emirates NBD, Mubadala and Citibank. He also sits on a number of boards, including Gulf Capital, UAE University, DGCX and Emirates Post Group. He holds a PhD in Economics from Imperial College London and graduate (Master’s) degrees from Columbia University and London Business School. He has an undergraduate degree in business from Clayton State University. He is also a member of YPO.

Said Murad

Partner

"I made the move from the operator side to the VC side with an aim of trying to help enable regional founders in the tech ecosystem to continue to grow and develop. Providing a hands-on value creation approach, stemming from a mix of business builders and operators working with companies to grow and develop sustainably is imperative to achieving long-term success. Combining my hands-on operating experience with my principal investing experience allows me the privilege of working closely with founders on journey to scale!"

Said is currently a Partner at Global Ventures. Prior to joining Global Ventures, Said was COO of the e-commerce platform, Jamalon, where he led the company’s operational efforts and played a pivotal role in helping the company raise its Series B round. Prior to that, Said was COO at EFS Facilities Services leading the security services business and EFS's activities in Jordan. Said also previously held the position of CEO of Groupon UAE, where he was responsible for managing and sustainably growing Groupon’s Local, Goods and Travel business lines’ revenue across the UAE through the acquisition of new merchants. Before Groupon, Said worked with Deloitte & Touche's strategy consulting team, as well as SHUAA Capital as an AVP in the CEO's Office, in addition to previously working in private equity at the firms Dubai International Capital (including Jordan Dubai Capital), and Abraaj Capital. Said holds an MBA from INSEAD, France.

Sacha Haider

Partner

"Growing up, I wanted to be an actress and an astronaut. I guess ending up in VC makes sense because it sits perfectly at the intersection of art and science. For a start-up to be successful, the boldness and originality of founders needs to be reinforced with a data-validated product-market fit. Working with founders who use tech to bring their imagination to life is a pretty exciting day job."

Sacha joined Global Ventures as a Senior Associate in early 2020. She has 5 years of investment experience across emerging markets including MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. Prior to joining Global Ventures, Sacha was an Associate at Colony Capital (US REIT) in Mexico City, for the firm’s sector agnostic Pacific Alliance fund. Sacha has also worked as part of The Abraaj Group's Sub-Saharan Africa Investment Team, based in Kenya, for the generalist fund. Prior to this, Sacha interned at L Catterton in Singapore as part of the value acceleration team. Sacha is fluent in Spanish and Urdu, and holds a BA in History and Politics from the University of Warwick.

Simon Sharp

Partner

"Meeting and supporting passionate, driven and innovative founders on their growth journey, makes each and every day both diverse and rewarding."

Simon joined Global Ventures as a Principal in early 2020, and has over five years of investment experience across venture capital and corporate finance. Before joining Global Ventures, Simon worked in the investment team at Committed Capital, a venture capital fund based in London which focused on early stage technology investments. Simon is a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW, a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments and holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Warwick.

Omar Alkhawaja

Executive Advisor

Omar Alkhawaja is an Executive Advisor at Global Ventures. He is the Founder & Managing Director of AMK Investment Office. AMK Investment Office is a second generation family office for the Alkhawaja family, investing in Real Estate, Public Markets, and Venture Capital. The firm identifies and invests in venture funds in the US, Europe, and the MEA region. The firm also invests in top performing companies in the fintech, infrastructure technology, enterprise technology, consumer-tech, digital health, and AI sectors among others. Omar is also the Managing Partner of Omakase Investment Club, a food & beverage fund based in Europe which invests in food & beverage companies as well as food-tech companies. Along with the above roles, Omar serves as a Strategic Advisor and Board Member to Al Arabia Cinema, and Renaissance Cinemas in Egypt. Prior to this Omar was the Executive Chairman of Four Winters, a global Ice Cream & Dessert chain with stores on 4 continents at the time. Omar was also employed in private banking in 2014 working for Coutts Bank in London and then left to set up the businesses and investment firms mentioned above. Omar is a serial investor who started his career making investments in several sectors and companies while studying in the UK. These include small investments in companies like Roznama Media which he exited, and today is one of the large Egyptian film and TV production companies, producing well renowned TV shows as well as theatrical films for the big screen. Omar obtained his Bachelors of Science (BSc) degree in business management from King's College London in 2012. Followed by obtaining his Masters (MSc) degree in Real Estate from Cass Business School (now known as Bayes Business School) in London in 2013.

Nina Carpio

Human Resources Director

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelo

Nina Carpio is the Human Resources Director at Global Ventures. Nina is a highly dedicated and results-driven human resources professional with the necessary skills and passion to drive new levels of business growth and work culture advancement. She has an extensive 10+ years background involving people development and transforming business objectives into executable plans. Nina has been heavily involved in the HR field for the last decade, holding roles such as HR Operations Partner, a Regional Recruiting Manager, and has held a Human Resources Director since early 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management. Furthermore, she has a strong creative foundation that has earned her the ‘Top 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World’ award by the Filipina Women’s Network based in San Francisco.

Mohamed Aladdin

Principal

"The best startups generally come from somebody needing to scratch an itch." – Michael Arrington

Mohamed Aladdin joined Global Ventures as Senior Associate in October 2020. He comes from a European Venture Capital background with investment experience across the EU, US, and Southeast Asia. Before joining Global Ventures, Aladdin was Investment Associate at Allianz X in Munich, sourcing and executing late-stage and growth deals across five main eco-systems related to the insurance industry. Aladdin has also worked for Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners in Hamburg as part of the European venture capital team investing in B2B SaaS solutions across the EU and the US. Prior to Venture Capital, Aladdin worked on the operating side with multiple early and late-stage Berlin-based startups in the HealthTech and FinTech space. Aladdin holds a Master of Business Administration and Engineering from Berlin University of Applied Sciences and a B.Sc. in Engineering Mechatronics from the German University in Cairo.

Jules Chasles

Principal

Jules joined Global Ventures as a Principal in early 2022. He has 2+ years of investment experience across emerging markets including MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining Global Ventures, Jules worked in the investment team of Outlierz Ventures in Morocco, a seed capital fund investing in tech-enabled African Startups. Jules also worked as part of the AfricInvest’s West African investment team in Côte d’Ivoire and their ESG team in Tunisia. Jules holds an MBA from HEC Paris, an MSc in International Management from Bocconi University, and a BSC in Management from the University of Warwick.

Hugo Cugnet

Legal Counsel

“He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” Gabriel García Márquez

Hugo joined Global Ventures as a Legal Counsel in 2021. He has over three years of experience advising venture capital funds and entrepreneurs across Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining Global Ventures, was an Associate in the venture capital team of Al Tamimi & Company in Dubai. Hugo is a member of the California bar and holds an LL.M. from the UC Berkeley School of Law.

Rayan Al Halabi

Director of Operations

"Two roads diverged in the woods, and I- I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference” - Robert Frost

Rayan is the Senior External Relations Manager at Global Ventures. She is highly skilled in relationship building and community engagement with a focus on business growth and partnership development. Rayan’s mission is to play a key role in helping grow the MENA venture ecosystem. Her other areas of interest include fintech and the future of work. Rayan has over 14 years of experience in Personal and Private Banking and Financial Institutions. Prior to her role at Global Ventures, Rayan was a private banker at Banque Libano Francaise SAL in Lebanon where her role was to manage and grow a portfolio of key personal banking clients by building relationships, maintaining quality service and providing business insights. She worked as part of the team that developed the bank’s expansion strategy. Rayan also developed a proprietary platform to improve customer relationships by leveraging key functions in the bank including private, retail, corporate, legal and marketing. Before this, she was the Product Development Manager at FNB Finance where she managed various retail products. Rayan also previously held the Business Support Manager position at the investment arm of Group Med in Lebanon, Medsecurities Investment SAL where she launched and managed their website, developed research reports and models on the industry and economy, and contributed to the annual Business plan. Rayan holds an MBA from Lebanese American University and is a member of Lebanese American University’s Student Honor Society for the years 2005 through 2007.

Ankit Kavadia

Finance Director

Ankit Kavadia is a strategic finance executive with 12+ years of experience across diversified business verticals ranging from education to manufacturing and professional consultancy with core competencies in strategic planning, financial performance management, governance and risk management, JV setup and divestiture, business process re-engineering and cost optimization with exposure across the UAE and Indian markets. On the education front, Ankit is a qualified chartered accountant (CA) a cost & management accountant (CMA) & a company secretary (CS).

Maria Najjar

Senior Content Manager

Maria joined Global Ventures as a Content Manager in July 2020, prior to which she worked as a Digital Marketing Executive at TAP MENA where she oversaw strategy and implementation of digital marketing for clients across MENA. Maria graduated with an MA in Gender Studies from SOAS, and an MA in Marketing from the American University of Sharjah.

Tala Malhas

Senior Associate

Tala joined GV through the internship program and is now an Associate. Prior to GV, Tala worked as an Assistant Vice President at Credit Suisse, where she was involved in constructing and managing portfolios for individuals and family offices across MENA. Tala has a BSc in Business Studies and Finance from Cass Business School, City University.

Diya Kumar

Chief of Staff

Diya joined Global Ventures as an Associate in November 2021. Prior to this role, she worked at ITP Media Group. At ITP, she launched ITP Live’s expansion into India, a full-service talent and digital agency. During this time, her primary responsibilities included the preparation and execution of the agency’s go-to-market strategy, alongside brand building and revenue generation across the key pillars of the business. Prior to ITP Live, Diya worked on the marketing team at ITP Media Group where she was involved in the pre-launch strategy for GQ Middle East, and oversaw a multitude of events and activations for luxury brands. Diya holds a B.A. in Political Science and Business Management from Columbia University, and completed numerous internships at organisations such as Grey Group, Ralph Lauren and LVMH during her time in New York City.

Adithya Manoj

Senior Associate

Life is one big tug of war between mediocrity and trying to find your best self – David Goggins

Adi joined Global Ventures as a Data Analyst in March of 2021 following a six-week internship at the company. Prior to Global Ventures, Adi completed his Masters in Economics from the University of St Andrews and his Bachelors in Economics from the University of Warwick.

Aly Khairy

Associate

Aly has over 5 years of experience in financial advisory and equity research. He was previously an associate at Modus Capital, where he worked with seed-stage startups on business strategy. Prior to this, Aly was an equity research analyst at CI Capital, where he covered companies in the healthcare and transportation sectors and worked on the IPO of a global automotive company. Aly holds a BA in business and a concentration in finance from the American University in Cairo.

Rayan Tabbara

Senior Analyst

Rayan is a recent graduate of Babson College with a Masters Degree in Management. He also has a Bachelors Degree in Finance & Entrepreneurship. Most of his work experience has been in the Financial Services field, ranging from Asset Management to Consulting. His most recent position was at Grant Thornton in Dubai, where he worked with SMEs in the region. He was first introduced to the VC space during his graduate program, where he co-founded a startup. Exposing him to pitching and various valuation models. He believes the VC space bridges his education in finance with his entrepreneurial mindset. On a more personal note, Rayan is of Lebanese origin and grew up in Switzerland. He speaks three languages and is passionate about charity work. When in college, he volunteered at an orphanage and has worked with refugees. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, cooking, and traveling to discover new places.

May Carmona

Senior Executive Assistant

May joined GV as an assistant to General Partner then as Team Leader in mid-2019. Before joining GV, she worked as an Executive Assistant at Depa and as a Customer Service Supervisor at Emirates Group. May earned her undergraduate degree from Western Philippines College.

Koleen Ocampo

Office Manager

"The best view comes after the hardest climb.”

Koleen joined Global Ventures in 2022 as Office Manager. She is a jack-of-all-trades with over ten years of professional experience in the Philippines and UAE. She has taken different roles such as a Paralegal, Executive Assistant, Office Manager, HR Administrator, and Marketing Executive in various industries such as Professional Services, FinTech, General Trading, F&B, and e-Commerce. She is very detail-oriented and passionate about developing process flows and continuous improvements. She is an alumna of the University of the Philippines – National College of Public Administration and Governance, having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration in 2011.

Liz Smith

Executive Administrator

Liz joined GV as an Executive Administrator to the Managing Partner in 2023. After taking the plunge to leave the UK without a job to start a new life in Dubai, Liz landed a role at ITP Media Group as a Group Personal Assistant. At ITP, Liz worked closely with the Managing Directors across various departments including ITP Live, Hospitality and the Consumer brands. She worked her way up and started supporting the team in KSA, occasionally flying back and forth to ensure the office was up to company standards. Liz's most recognised achievement is for her work with NEOM on their KSA Internship collaboration with ITP Media Group. Liz holds a Bsc. in Business Management from Canterbury Christ Church University.