Meet our keynote speakers for the undergraduate and graduate commencements, respectively: AUC Trustee Ahmed Galal Ismail '97, CEO and board member of Majid Al Futtaim Holding, and Nabil Fahmy '74, '77, dean emeritus of AUC's School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Egypt's former minister of foreign affairs.

Ahmed Galal Ismail '97

Ahmed Galal Ismail is the chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Majid Al Futtaim Holding, a leading organization in shopping malls, retail and leisure across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. With assets exceeding $18 billion and 44,000 employees, the company stands at the forefront of development in the region. 

Ismail's tenure at Majid Al Futtaim spans 16 years, during which he held multiple executive roles. He recently served as the chief executive officer of Majid Al Futtaim Properties, overseeing the company's diverse portfolio of shopping malls, hotels and mixed-use communities across multiple countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain and Lebanon. Prior to this, Ismail led Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, managing seven business verticals such as leisure and entertainment, cinemasa nd consumer finance. 

Before joining Majid Al Futtaim, Ismail worked with Procter and Gamble in Egypt and Germany, followed by a role at Booz Allen Hamilton as a principal, advising organizations in retail, media, tourism and transportation sectors. 

Ismail serves on the Board of Endeavor UAE and the Arab Investment Bank. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s CEO Alliance for Climate Change an AUC trustee. He holds an MBA with distinction from the London Business School and a BSc in computer science from AUC.

Nabil Fahmy '74, '77

Nabil Fahmy, dean emeritus of AUC's School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Egypt's former minister of foreign affairs, is a distinguished diplomat and academic leader. With over three decades of diplomatic service, he held key roles, including ambassador to the United States and Japan, focusing on international and regional security, disarmament, conflict resolution and Arab-Israeli diplomacy. 

Fahmy also served as chairman of the United Nations Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and vice chairman of the General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. He represented Egypt at numerous conferences, including Review Conferences of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the United Nations Conference on Promoting International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the 1991 Madrid Middle East Peace Conference. He has been instrumental in both shaping Egypt's foreign policy and contributing to international security and conflict resolution efforts. 

At AUC, Fahmy established the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and served as its founding xean. He is also the founder and chairman of LYNX Strategic Advisors, providing support to international and domestic firms in pursuing best business practices. Fahmy is a member of the Supreme Advisory Board of the Beijing Forum and has received honorary recognitions, including the Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from Japanese Emperor Naruhito. 

Fahmy's book Egypt’s Diplomacy in War, Peace and Transition was published in English in 2020, with an updated Arabic version titled At the Center of Events released in 2022. He holds a BSc in physics and mathematics and an MA in management from AUC. He regularly contributes syndicated articles on global and international affairs, Middle East politics and governance in both Arabic and English publications. 

Professor Amal Esawi ’89, ’90, the first Egyptian woman mechanical engineer to be chartered in the United Kingdom and the first scientist in Egypt to specialize in nanotubes, is making waves in the field of nanocomposites, leading a project that utilizes the power of AI to enhance water desalination membranes. 

“We’re finding sustainable solutions to water scarcity through the use of novel, nano-enhanced membranes,” said Esawi, who is principal investigator of this project, which is managed by AUC's Center of Excellence for Water, funded by the United States Agency for International Development and implemented in collaboration with Ain Shams University. “AI tools, such as Artificial Neural Networks, can help us in optimizing the membrane itself and building models that predict how it will perform when operating for a long period under different conditions. Our ultimate goal is to improve and strengthen the membrane’s structure and performance, leading to a more efficient desalination process." 

These nano-enhanced membranes use materials like carbon nanotubes that help increase structural integrity and filtration efficiency. They also offer better performance by aiding in capturing finer particles and enabling effective purification during the water desalination process.

Nanomaterials, particularly nanocarbons, first caught Esawi’s attention for their robustness and lightness. "My initial focus in nanotechnology was centered on utilizing carbon nanotubes to engineer lighter and stronger materials,” she explained. “Upon discovering their potential in desalination membranes, I pivoted my research toward enhancing filtration applications.”

Egypt is currently investing in desalination plants to address water scarcity in the region. Esawi asserts the need to not just innovate membranes but also localize their production to potentially reduce costs. “Because membranes are the most critical component in the desalination plant, they are imported from the United States or Japan. Building the local know-how of membrane manufacturing will be very useful and valuable for Egypt,” she said.

The two-year project is still in its early stages, but Esawi is optimistic about its potential impact on desalination technology. 

“This project could lay the foundations for the local production of advanced nano-enhanced membranes, benefiting not only Egypt but also other regions facing water scarcity,” she said.

Esawi presented the project, “Using AI Tools to Optimize the Development of Novel Nano-enhanced Membranes for Water Desalination,” at the Second International Symposium on Water Research, organized by AUC’s Center of Excellence for Water in collaboration with Ain Shams University in late 2023. Mohammed El Morsi, mechanical engineering professor, and Adham Ramadan ’90, chemistry professor, dean of graduate studies and associate provost for research innovation and creativity, are co-principal investigators of the project with Esawi. El Morsi emphasized the power of membrane technology. “It has emerged as a more energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to thermal desalination techniques,” he said. “By utilizing AI tools to optimize the process, we are hoping to further reduce energy consumption.”

Besides her innovative research in water desalination, Esawi was recognized as one of the top 2% impactful scientists globally, named in the Stanford-Elsevier's Scopus database as one of the most cited scientists. Hoping to inspire her students and other women engineers in Egypt, she expressed pride in witnessing an AUC graduate, Sarah Hussein ’07, become the second female Egyptian mechanical engineer to be chartered in the United Kingdom. “I am humbled to pave the way for aspiring engineers in Egypt, especially women,” she said.