Ahmed Bin Jamal Bin Hassan Jawa

Mr. Ahmed Jawa, a Saudi Arabian entrepreneur, fits the profile of a true international business magnate with business experience in a host of different countries including the US, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent.Cutting his teeth in business on his own, Mr. Jawa was fresh from college when he established Starling Holding Limited, a global investment group that deals with private equity and direct investments worldwide (www.starlinggroup.com).He is also the Founder of Contracting and Trading Company (CTC), which oversees investment opportunities and options in the GCC region and the Middle East. His expertise, professionalism and contribution to international business was underscored at the World Economic Forum in 1996 in Davos, Switzerland, where he was honoured as one of the ‘Global Leaders of Tomorrow.’Mr. Jawa is credited with introducing a range of Walt Disney licensed products to the Middle East markets through the Disney-Jawa Enterprises, a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and the Jawa family. Helming the joint venture as Chairman, he supervised the sales and marketing of Disney computer software, interactive multimedia, toys, home furnishing, personal care products, consumer electronics and English and Arabic videos in the region.Mr. Jawa served as a Board member of Tricon Group, a US based oil and securities trading firm, from 1983 to 1991. He was also Chairman of Stallions Home Video LLC, a video distribution company in the Middle East, and successfully spearheaded the anti-piracy initiative in the region.He is Board member of Emaar, The Economic City, Member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, a company listed on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange, and involved in the development of the Middle East’s largest private sector project – King Abdullah Economic City. He is Board member of Emaar Turkey and serves on the Board of Emaar MGF India.Mr. Jawa is a Board member of Al Salam Bank and Member of the Executive Committee, a Bahraini publicly traded Islamic bank. He is also Board member of RAK Petroleum, an oil exploration company partly owned by the Ras Al Khaimah Government.He has also served on the Boards of the Novapark Swiss Hotel Group and Mirapolice, an entertainment company that builds theme parks in France. He also served as Chairman of Coflexip Saudi Arabia, a joint venture with the French giant Elf Aquitane, which was only one of two companies in the 1980s involved in laying underwater pipes for crude oil transmission.Mr. Jawa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of San Francisco.