Advisory Committee

(Institute of Diplomatic Studies; King Saud University; MIT; IMF; Thunderbird Global Business School) in several subjects in economics. He was a president of Gulf Monetary Council. In addition, Raja worked as a consultant to many government and private organizations (World Bank, ARAMCO, Ministry of Economics & Planning, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Supreme Commission for Tourism, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and KACST…etc). Also, he was a board member in several organizations and Funds. Mr.Almarzoqi is specialized in policy modeling for impact assessment and scenario analysis, Money and Banking, international finance, and Finance. He presented research papers at major international conferences and published papers in major Middle East journals.

Mr. Almarzoqi holds a BA from King Saud University in economics, M.A. from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in economics, and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater in economics and finance.

and a senior research fellow of the Edinburgh University blockchain technology lab, School of Informatics. He is a senior fellow and visiting professor at the School of European Political Economy, Luiss Guido Carli University and also an invited Global Professor at Tsinghua University (2021).  He currently serves as an elected member (2020-2024) of the European Securities and Markets Group, the Stakeholder Group of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Throughout his academic career he has held many prestigious visiting teaching and research posts. He has been a distinguished visiting professor the National University of Singapore, Hong Kong University, Duke Law School, the China-EU School of Law and the Athens University of Economics and Business. He has also been a senior visiting research fellow at Yale Law School (2016), Duke Law School (2009), and Harvard Law School (2016). He has also served for 2 terms (2015-2020) as an elected member of the European Banking Authority’s Stakeholder Group (EBA-BSG) in the section “top-ranking academics”. He served for 2 terms (1/2016-1/2020) as an independent member of the Eurogroup Selection Panel (Supervisory Board) for the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, the major shareholder of the Greek banking sector.

He sits on the editorial board of seven well-known scientific journals including the Oxford University Press Journal of Financial Regulation. In addition, he is a member of the sovereign debt group of the Financial Markets Law Committee (operating under the auspices of the Bank of England), a member of the Royal Economic Society, and a member of the Mocomila, the ILA committee of the world leading monetary and finance lawyers.

the board of the Tunisian Caisse de Dépôt et de Consignation (CDC) that he founded in 2011; and as an independent member of the national joint committee in charge of supervising the reform of the financial system, and the  restructuring of public banks. Mr. Ayed set-up a technology group in 2012 (the Vega-Group of Companies) to empower about 70 young Tunisian graduates and young professionals, many of them unemployed at the time, engaging them in IT career opportunities.

In January 2011, Mr Ayed was appointed Minister of Finance of Tunisia and served in the two interim governments following the Tunisian revolution.  During his tenure at the Ministry of Finance,  Mr. Ayed supervised the preparation of the five-year Economic & Social Development Program (the “Jasmin Plan”) that was submitted to the G8 as part of the Deauville Partnership Agreement. He also served as Tunisia’s Sherpa for the G8 meetings. During his tenure at the Ministry of Finance Mr. Ayed initiated several important regulatory reforms such as those pertaining to Micro-finance and Private Equity.

In 1998 Ayed joined the Moroccan BMCE Group. He created BMCE Capital, the investment banking arm of the group, as a center of competency and bearer of a new culture. In 2000 he set up CapialInvest, the leading private equity firm in Morocco. In 2002 He was appointed Board Member and General Manager of BMCE Bank, and President of the Executive  Committee of BMCE Group. He initiated the African strategy of BMCE making it one of the leading financial power houses  in the continent with a presence in more than 22 countries. He also created BMCE International, a London based investment bank wholly dedicated to the African continent.

Mr Ayed held several other senior positions in FinanceCom, the Group’s holding company, including, but not limited to, Vice-Chairman of the supervisory Board of RMA Watanya, the largest insurance company in Morocco at the time; Director of Bank of Africa, and Chairman of the Board of Axis Capital, Tunis.

During his 18-year career with Citibank (1980-1998)  Mr Ayed held various country management positions in the emerging countries of North Africa and the Middle East, and as Senior Banker in the Capital Markets Group at Citicorp International Plc.in London. In 1988, Mr. Ayed was appointed Corporate Bank Head of the UAE and Oman. In 1990 he was appointed Country Corporate Officer In Morocco as well as  Director and General Manager of Citibank Maghreb, a Citibank subsidiary.  Mr. Ayed joined Citibank Tunis in 1980. In 1986 he was promoted to Vice President of Citibank/Citicorp.

Mr. Ayed joined Citibank Capital Markets Group in London in late 1995 as Senior Banker in charge of Euromarket syndicated loan activities for France and Greece. He also supervised the structuring of several large syndicated loans in the MENA region.

Mr. Ayed was awarded the Order of the Tunisian Republic in December 2011. He was granted the ‘Distinguished Alumni Award for Leadership & Ingenuity’ by  Citibank New York in May 2014.  During his professional career, Mr. Ayed has had extensive contacts and recurring working relationships. major international financial institutions and development agencies such as the World Bank, IFC, ADB, FMO, ACTIS, KfW, AFD as well as several other organizations.  He served as Director in the Board of PROPARCO, the French Development agency from  2007 to 2010.

Mr. Ayed chaired the Moroccan U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1992-1995), and was elected its Honorary Chairman.

He was also an active member of the U.S.-Morocco Council.

He co-founded, and still is, Vice President of Euromed Capital Forum, an organization aimed at promoting the private equity industry in the Mediterranean region.

In December 2013 he was appointed Chairman of MED Confederation, a Brussels based non-profit organization aimed at fostering socio-economic cooperation between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean.

He is the Honorary Chairman of Carthage Business Angels’ Association and an active member in several  other civil society organizations in Tunisia. He is particularly involved in promoting programs aimed at fostering youth employability and entrepreneurship.

Mr Ayed has authored a book published in January 2013 (Tunisie: La Route des Jasmins, Editions La Différence, Paris)

He obtained a Masters’ degree in Economics at the University of Maryland in 1979 where he was elected member of the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for academic distinction. His academic curriculum includes credits obtained at the University of Colorado (1977) and the University of Florida (1978).

Mr. Ayed is a renowned composer of classical music. His works include piano compositions and symphonic works that were performed in Casablanca, Tunis, and Washington. His music was performed at the Carthage Music Festival (2009) and at the El-Jem Classical Music Festival (2009 & 2014).  He regularly organizes concerts in Tunisia for the benefit of charitable organizations.

He is an avid golfer, and a fervent reader. He is married with three children.

He earned a Ph.D. from Université Catholique de Louvain in 1998, was a Pierre and Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and held the International Monetary Economics chair at University Maastricht from 2001 to 2014, where he is still an honorary professor. He has been invited to lecture in numerous universities including the University of Orleans, Macquarie University in Sydney and City University of Hong Kong and served as a consultant for the European Commission and for the Institute for Capacity Development at the IMF. His research topic covers a large spectrum in macro-econometrics, e.g. macroeconomics (money demand, fiscal policy, raw commodities) and international finance (financial crisis early warning systems, the financial markets co-movements). He has published in top tier journals as Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Business Economics and statistics and International Economic Review.

He has co-founded two entities working on bringing this new paradigm to life – Blue Green World and Rebalance Earth that are engaged in realizing the value of the natural world to our well-being and integrating it into our economic system. He has co-authored a number of peer reviewed publications that value the carbon sequestration service of keystone species such as the Great Whales and Elephants. His work on valuing natural capital has been featured at TED2022, and in National Geographic, Financial Times, Washington Post, WEF, among others. He provides thought leadership and engages with stakeholders across sectors – governmental, financial, private sector, NGOs – communicating this new vision. His approach has been widely heralded, and he is in great demand as a speaker and visionary at this critical time of transition.

During his 23-year career at the IMF, he has been known as an expert on fragile states and low and middle income countries (LMICs); and also as innovative thinker for his research and training. He has served in some of the most fragile and troubled regions, showing his dedication to helping those most in need, and receiving the IMF 2014 Operational Excellence Award for his field work on fragile and LMICs. He oversaw surveillance and program work in Egypt, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen, and was Mission Chief for Libya and Somalia. His book on “Macroeconomic Policy in Fragile State,” has was published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

He also served the Assistant Director in the Institute for Capacity Development (ICD), in the Financial Policies Division. During his time in ICD he oversaw the development and implementation of the internal economics training program for all IMF economists as well as the revamping of the Institute’s external training program for officials from member countries.

Prior to joining the IMF, he was on the faculty of finance at the Mendoza School of Business, University of Notre Dame, IN, USA. Ralph has PhD in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University, MBA from University of Kansas, and BS from the American University of Beirut. His areas of expertise also include: banking, remittances climate change and natural capital. He is a semi-professional musician https://youtu.be/C-1f0UiT8Gg

and understanding of the functioning of the informal economy, as well as the conception and implementation of time use surveys and gender indices at regional and national levels, especially in the MENA region and in sub-Saharan Africa.

Iinvestment and private sector development between MENA and OECD countries. During this period, the MENA Initiative has introduced the process of OECD peer review in the MENA region, supported processes of reform at the national level and conducted capacity building activities. Carlos Conde is also responsible for the collaboration with South Africa as key partner of the OECD. Prior to his current position, Carlos Conde was deputy Head of Division at the Governance Reviews and Partnerships Division of the Public Governance Directorate of the OECD, leading the work of the MENA-OECD Governance programme and promoting the collaboration with Latin American countries. Before joining the OECD, Mr. Conde was associate professor of political science and public policy at the University of Granada in Spain. In this position, Mr. Conde led several projects of academic co-operation, research and network building between Arab and European universities. Mr. Conde had visiting positions at the University of Harvard (1995-96) and Al Akhawayn University of Morocco, where he lectured between 2001 and 2003. Mr. Conde holds a PhD in Political Science and Public Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid.

the Future of Work, where he develops scenarios on how technological innovations, demographic shifts and political vagaries might unfold in the world of work.

His work is widely published in both policy reports and academic studies. His most recent work discusses different policy options to address the socio-economic crisis resulting from the Covid‑19 pandemic. He has also researched on the implications of artificial intelligence, robots and blockchain applications on the future of job, inequality and the transition to a sustainable society.

In 2017, Ekkehard co-founded Geneva Macro Labs to offer a platform to identify, develop and implement solutions to address global challenges and existential risks. Together with his team he brings together international thought leaders and practitioners to promote and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda.

Previously, he worked at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Central Bank. Ekkehard Ernst has studied in Mannheim, Saarbrücken and Paris and holds a PhD from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. He became an IZA Policy Fellow in July 2011.

diverse fields, including First Assistant to the Minister of Trade and Industry since July 2004, as well as board member of multiple institutions and committees, including the Egyptian Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ETRA), the Egyptian Institute of Directors (EIoD), the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA), the Egyptian Bank for Exports Development ,the National Council for Women, and the General Authority For Investment. A Professor of Economics at Cairo University as well as Deputy Director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES), a leading public policy think, Dr. Fawzy is an active contributor to the field of economic research within Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole. She has published extensively on various topics, including; trade, industrial economics, investment theories, multi-national corporations and corporate governance.  Dr. Fawzy received her Ph.D in Economics from Cairo University in 1984. She is married with two daughters, four granddaughters and a grandson.

where, from 2014 to 2018, he was Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs and chaired the Quality Assurance and Library Committees. He also co-founded and chairs the Center for Relationship Banking & Economics (https://sites.google.com/site/cerbelumsa/home) to foster research for a better understanding of relational goods to promote society wellbeing. He founded and chairs the Master in Management of Sustainable Development Goals (http://mastermsdg.lumsa.it).

He previously served at the University of Bari, World Bank, Banca d’Italia.

He visited: ADB Institute, HKMA, NBER, Princeton University, Tokyo University. He consulted for EU Commission/Parliament, Italy’s Treasury and partook in EBA’s Banking Stakeholder Group. He is editor-in-chief of Economic Notes and led (or consulted for) policy/research projects in many countries, including Albania, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam.

He has published extensively on/for several world recognized journals/publishers on various fields: financial shocks, banking structure, rating agencies, corporate governance, migration, firm internationalization, Chinese economy, family firms, inequality, sustainability.

To support the sustainable transition by providing innovative consulting and knowledge building to both public and private sector organizations through an ethically sound business model, he has co-founded (and is scientific chair) of Sustinentes (https://sustinentes.it/).

Director of the Institute of Training and Technical Cooperation with the World Trade Organization (2008-2011). Previously, he performed various directors’ position with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, as director of sub regional office in Central Africa and then director of the Trade and regional integration division and Chief Economist. For many years, he has dealt with Africa’s development and has contributed to the implementation of major programme of actions such as NEPAD. During his career, he has directly supervised key continental publications such as Economic Report on Africa, African Economic Outlook (Afdb, OECD and UN), Assessing regional Integration in Africa

Hakim Ben Hammouda has a PhD in international economics and teaches regularly economic development with several universities. He is the author of over 20 books, several articles in international scientific journals in the field of international trade and economic development and weekly chronicles in different newspapers.

Pantheon Sorbonne in 1984. Professor El Khawaga received the state encouragement award in Economics in 1996 for two of her published research. She has also published extensively on macroeconomics and labor economics both locally and internationally in Arabic, English, and French. She was a member of Shura council from 2001 until 2011 and currently she is a board member of Central Bank of Egypt as well as the Egyptian banking Institute.

Associate Dean at the University of Tunis, Al Manar, and Visiting Professor at Sorbonne University and Nice Sophia-Antipolis University in France. He is also a Research Fellow and former Board member of the Economic Research Forum for Arab countries, and former Board member of the MENA Health Policy Forum.  He has also been member of the Tunisian Socio-Economic Council and Consultant to international institutions such as the World Bank and UNDP. His research and publications have focused on macroeconomic, international trade and competition issues in MENA countries.   Dr. Lahouel holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

b) structural changes and  institutional dynamics and c) new forms of internationalization and competition. – of which    The hardship of nations : exploring the paths of modern capitalism” (Edward Elgar 2006 , edited with  B. Coriat et G. Schmeder),

–  L’économie mondiale en 2030 : ruptures et continuités Economica 2013,edited with    J. Mazier et  D. Plihon

– Challenges for Europe in the world, 2030, Sage Publications , London, edited with John Eatwell and Terry Mc Kinley eds  (2014)

Economics at FEPS. She was also an Assistant to Cairo University President for Research and External Relations since September 2013. Dr. Hala serves as a member of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Egypt and Egypt’s National Post Authority. In addition to her membership in many research centers like Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies and Cairo Demographic Center. She is also a member of board of trustees of International Business Driving License (IBDL). Dr. El Said has a leading role in public service as she is an active member of Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation. She has been also a member of some NGOs as Egypt@Work Advisory Committee- Nahdet El Mahrousa, “Our Children Our Future” Foundation and MENA Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) at World Bank. She has authored several research papers and articles covering financial sector, international finance, financial markets, access to finance and economic reform. Dr. El Said holds a PhD with honor from the Faculty of Economics & Political Science at Cairo University.

economic international relations, in particular with regard to Euro-Mediterranean issues. He started working in the banking sector as representative of the Banque Commerciale du Maroc in Milan (Italy). His career within the Moroccan administration was then marked by his active role in the negotiations of free trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, and several Arab and African countries.

From 1999 onwards, he has held senior positions within the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Director of Multilateral Cooperation (1999-2001), Director of European Affairs and Ambassador to the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean Process (2001-2003). In 2003, he was appointed Ambassador to the European Union (2003-2004) and later to France (2005-2009).

In 2009, he becomes CEO of the Moroccan Investment Development Agency, leading its launch and subsequent growth. Fathallah Sijilmassi is an officer of the Légion d´honneur and grand officer in the Ordre National du Mérite of the Republic of France.
He is a graduate in Political Science, holds a PhD in Economics and speaks five languages: Arabic, French, English, Italian and Spanish.
He is married with two children.