Amjad Al Aryan CEO and Founder of Pharmacy 1 in Jordan. Dr. Aryan started his career at CVS pharmacies as a cashier in the 80's to become an Area manager for the Boston metropolitan area in 1994.  In the mid 90s The Aryans Founded Pharmacy 1 in Miami, Florida. In 2001 the first branch of Pharmacy 1 opened, in Amman. Eight years later, the company is the number one retail pharmacy chain in the country.  In acknowledgement of his achievements especially his entrepreneurial role, Dr. Amjad was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur at last month’s International Selection Panel in Jordan. Besides his post at Pharmacy 1, Dr. Amjad Aryan also holds the positions of Chairman of Mazaya Investments Company, Chairman of Pharmasure chain pharmacy, Chairman of Advanced soft, IT Company, Vise chairman of Pharmanet, Pharmacy Benefit Management: Insurance Management Company, Member of the board of trustees at Israa' University. Dr. Amjad Aryan was born in Jerusalem and holds a Bachelor degree in Retail Pharmacy Management from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston and received a specialty from University of Utah in Salt Lack City on Alcoholism and other Drug Dependencies and the American Board of Pharmacy from Massachusetts and Florida

Iman Bibars joined Ashoka in 2003 as regional director for the Arab world establishing Ashoka’s operations at a time when “social entrepreneurship” and associated concepts were not well-known in the region. She has since expanded Ashoka’s operations to engage 53 of the region's leading social entrepreneurs from seven countries who are now part of Ashoka's global network of fellows.  A regional expert and entrepreneur in her own right, Bibars has more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning, policy formulation, community development, and project design. She is also co-founder and current chairperson of the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women, a citizen sector organization that provides credit and legal aid for impoverished female heads of household. In July 2009, Bibars published one of the first books in Arabic on US President Barack Obama, Dreams of a Good Fellow.  She has a BA and an MA in political science from the American University in Cairo and a PhD in development studies from the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University in the United Kingdom.

Jad Chaaban is assistant professor of economics and assistant dean for academic affairs at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) at AUB. Prior to joining AUB, Chaaben was an economist in the World Bank’s Middle East regional office where he covered Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt and conducted research related to poverty reduction and economic management. Chaaban is currently the president and founding member of the Lebanese Economic Association and an expert for the Middle East Youth Initiative at the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the Brookings Institution.  He is also an associate researcher with the Toulouse School of Economics in France.  Chaaban has published his research on Middle Eastern development issues in the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, the Middle East Development Journal, Middle Eastern Studies, and the Arab Human Development Reports Research Paper Series.  His current research interests include poverty and inequality in polarized societies; youth development, and the economics of agro-food industries.  Chaaban received his PhD from Toulouse School of Economics in 2004.

Rana El Chemaitelly (BE ’93, ME ’08) is the founder of “The Little Engineer, Lebanon.”  Launched in 2009, it is a Beirut-based program that uses proven hands-on learning activities to educate children and maximize their potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  The Little Engineer provides after-school activities that supplement the traditional learning environment related to robotics, renewable energies, and innovation.  El Chemaitelly, who has been recognized as one of MENA's most promising entrepreneurs, was awarded $50,000 in start-up capital by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for The Little Engineer.  She now teaches at AUB. 

Tarek Dajani (BE ’98) Initially trained as an architect, he branched out into the new media domain and founded Cleartag in 1999. Later went on to earn a Master of Engineering degree, with a focus on information technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is currently a System Design and Management (SDM) Fellow at MIT. Tarek also taught the Interactive Media course at the Department of Architecture and Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut. In 10 years Cleartag grew to become a leading digital agency within the Middle East and is very active in research, development and consultancy on emerging media, social media and new patterns of digital citizenry. Currently hold the position of CEO of Cleartag and Tagventures Holding (holding company for Cleartag, Taglogic, Taglogic RFID and Tagbrands).

Nader Kabbani is the director of research at the Syria Trust for Development, a nonprofit NGO headquartered in Damascus, Syria. Prior to joining the Syria Trust, Kabbani was an assistant professor of economics at AUB.  Kabbani also worked as an economist with the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture and a research analyst and fellow with the California State Senate Office of Research. Kabbani has been a consultant with the World Bank, the European Training Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the United Nations Program on Youth. He has published numerous articles in edited volumes and international journals, including Journal of Human Resources and Teachers College Record.  Kabbani earned a BA in economics from Claremont McKenna College, an MA in pubic management from California State University, Sacramento, and a PhD in economics from the Johns Hopkins University.

Krystel Khalil is the program manager at Berytech where she handles programs, events, and training for entrepreneurs and assists startups with marketing and communication. Khalil is also an instructor at University of the Holy Spirit Kaslik (USEK) where she teaches marketing research.  She previously worked in the field of new media and has been responsible for marketing and communication in the mobile and multimedia sector.  Khalil has also worked at the University of Saint Joseph’s Cemadimo research center on feasibility studies for several local and regional projects.  Khalil earned a bachelor’s in business and a master’s in marketing from the University of Saint Joseph.

Flare Zawati Majali (BA ’75) lives in Amman, Jordan where she has been involved with the AUB Alumni Club almost continuously since 1975 serving as its president for four years (2004-08).  Formerly CEO of the Arab Commercial Clothing Company (1984-96), a lecturer at the University of Jordan (1982-84), and third secretary at Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1975-82), Majali has extensive volunteer experience.  She has been a member of the board of the Friends of Liver Patients Society (1984-98), of Khair & Ata Society (since 1998), and of the Friends of Jordan Society (since 2000).   Majali was a member of the Implementation Task Force that the Board of Trustees appointed to establish AUB’s worldwide alumni association (WAAAUB) and is currently chair of the WAAAUB Chapters Committee. 

Khalil Makkawi (BA ’54) lives in Beirut and is president of WAAAUB, AUB’s worldwide alumni association.  He was previously president of the AUB Scholarship Fundraising Committee (2001-07).  During a long and distinguished diplomatic career, Makkawi served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, and Italy.  He was also Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) in Rome and the president of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee.  Makkawi earned a master’s degree from Cairo University and an PhD from Columbia University. 

Elie Nasr (BE ‘03) is co-founder of FOO, which is a leading mobile app development firm in the MENA region that he established with Ghady Rayess (BE ’03) in 2009. Immediately after graduating from AUB, he joined BMW Financial Services in Munich where he worked as a project lead for four years.  Nasr then became a consultant and joined Accenture for two years working with leading worldwide operators like Vodafone. Since returning to Lebanon in 2009 and co-founding FOO, Nasr has been working on different ventures in the mobile app space.