Advisory Board

Ahmed Al-Darwish is a technology investor, advisor and board member.

Ahmed founded Noa Capital in 2019 with a mission to invest in technology companies and funds, emphasizing cross-border growth in the Middle East through strategic capital and partnerships. Leveraging his extensive international network and proven track record, Noa Capital specialises in supporting global technology companies during their growth phases, with a particular focus on scaling technology investments and business expansion in the MENA region. Additionally, he serves as a board member of the Saudi British Joint Business Council and the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA).

Ahmed holds a BA in International Relations from King’s College, London and an Msc in Financial Strategy from Oxford University.

Antoine Yazbek has 22 years of experience in investment management for family offices, specializing in both top-down and bottom-up multi-asset strategies.

He spent nearly 15 years at The Olayan Group, one of the world’s largest and most institutionalized family groups. There, he managed a multi-billion-dollar macro portfolio focused on emerging markets, based in Athens and alternating between London and New York.

Antoine later founded a boutique advisory OCIO firm, guiding family offices in expanding their investments into alternative assets, with a particular focus on tech and venture capital.

In 2023, he joined Al Jomaih Holding, a major Saudi conglomerate, to establish a family office investment arm and develop a diversified global multi-asset, long-term portfolio.

Antoine is an alum of AUB (Economics), Georgia Tech (Finance), and HBS (exec.).

James Morgon is CEO and Co-founder of ‘Mindstruck’ , an investment holding company that acquires and operates incredible businesses that fuel human potential.

He sits on the impact advisory board of White Oak Global Advisors, a US based asset manager with $12bn AUM.

Earlier in his career, he served as the Managing Director of Europe at the Milken Institute from 2015 to January 2022 and continues to work closely with the Institute as a Senior Advisor.

James previously worked in financial services and held the title of Managing Partner of a family office in Mayfair, London. Earlier, he worked in investment banking and wealth management in London, New York and Sao Paulo, Brazil and he served as a Global Partner at one of the world’s best performing Venture Capital firms, ‘Antler’.

At 24, he founded an award-winning energy company that helped more than 2,000 UK non-profit organizations reduce their energy consumption while creating sustainable, meaningful employment for disabled and disadvantaged people. It was sold in 2013.

He is an Advisory Council Member of the Toucan Project, an educational charity which is part of the Said Family Foundation.

Manuel Rogl is a senior investment professional at JIMCO, the global investment arm of the Jameel family. Focus areas range from energy transition and sustainable agriculture to the advancement of mobility, technology, and healthcare.

Prior to joining JIMCO in 2018, Manuel worked in the investment structuring group of UniCredit CIB. He began his career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank.

Manuel received a Master of Commerce in Finance and Accounting from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, and a Master of Science in Finance and Information from University of Augsburg, Germany. He is a CAIA charter holder.

Maxime Franzetti joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is a Senior Partner and the Co-Head of Mubadala Capital Solutions. Since the founding of Mubadala Capital, Maxime has held a number of senior positions across the firm, most recently acting as the Head of Public Investments where he was overseeing Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives.  Prior experiences at Mubadala Capital includes having worked on a number of private market transactions.  Maxime is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital which approves all deals across PE, VC and Brazil.  Prior to joining Mubadala in 2008, Maxime worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of Dresdner Kleinwort and R.W. Baird in London.  Maxime graduated with First Class Honours from Queen Mary College, University of London.

Mohammed Sulaiman Al-Muhaidib is a seasoned investment professional with extensive experience in private equity, venture capital, and strategic partnerships. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and an MBA from London Business School. Over the past decade, Mohammed has worked in various sectors, including banking, investment management, and private equity.
Currently, Mohammed serves as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Vision Invest. His responsibilities include developing and implementing new projects and unlocking potential opportunities within the Saudi privatization program.
Before joining Vision Invest, Mohammed worked for Al Muhaidib Group for six years, specializing in the Food & Consumers Investments Vertical, where he managed private equities, market analysis, and public equity trading. He has also held roles at SABB (Saudi Arabian British Bank) and Quilvest Private Equity, gaining experience in financial analysis, market research, and investment strategies. Mohammed’s entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his founding of multiple companies between 2019 and 2021, showcasing his ability to identify and capitalize on market opportunities.

Özgür is a Senior Managing Director of CVC where he heads the firm’s investment activities across the Middle East and Turkey. He is based in Dubai.

Prior to joining CVC, he worked for UBS Investment Bank and Booz Allen & Hamilton.

Özgür holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as a BA in Economics and BAS in Systems Science from University of Pennsylvania where he was a Simon Kuznets Fellow.

Rina Bardic is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience ranging across marketing, investment attraction and economic development, covering  areas of Investment attraction, facilitation and ecosystem building.

In her current role she serves as an expert advisor for Partnerships and Investment Promotion to the Ministry of Investment UAE.

With a background spanning Europe, the US, and the Middle East, Rina brings a diverse and rich perspective.

She was part of the founding team of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office  (ADIO) and later served as Investment Attraction Section Head – where she has spearheaded initiatives resulting in the deployment of significant investments across various sectors. Her expertise in facilitation, strategic consulting, stakeholder management, and building long-lasting partnerships has been instrumental in driving economic growth in the region.

Bardic worked with the Investment Promotion team at the World Bank on initiatives covering digital and green FDI as well as best practices for Investment Promotion Agencies can adopt to remain relevant and competitive.

Bardic served as a Director in the Government and Public Sector Advisory Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), specializing in foreign direct investment promotion and sectoral diversification. This regional experience across the Middle East has provided her with invaluable insights into regional dynamics and investment landscapes.

In her career as a strategist and facilitator, Bardic worked with several governments in the GCC and over 1000 CEO’s and investors seeking market entry and facilitation.

Roberto Croci is currently the Director of Value Creation & Transformation at the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in Riyadh-KSA. Prior to this role, he was the Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups in the MEA region with a vision to drive innovation and develop market-defining ideas in the Middle East. He previously served as Regional Head, Google Marketing Platforms – EMEA Emerging Markets (Middle East, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Africa), having started in Google Milan & London (6 months each), then promoted and transferred to Paris & Singapore and then to Dubai. He has been Awarded and Nominated twice by Google for “Best Coaching Manager” and “Best Googler Inspiring Hero” in 2018 and 2016, respectively. He is also an active conference speaker and panelist, especially around VC Investing and MENA Growth. He regularly speaks at prominent universities and within local school systems. Roberto is passionate about mentoring young people and helping them develop an entrepreneurial mindset to find solutions to problems they see in their community, country, or across the globe. Roberto has earned his Industrial Engineering Degree from Politecnico di Milano. He also did his Master in Business and Management from Duke University in 3 locations (US, UK, Singapore). Along with this, he has earned EMBA from Harvard Business School as well focused on leadership, change, and innovation.

Saskia Howard is Managing Partner of Blakeney Point, a strategic, long-term partner to founders, families and businesses. 

Saskia has over a decade of experience in building global, multi-billion dollar asset management businesses, and mobilising strategic capital in private and tech markets.

Saskia managed relationships with sovereign institutions across EMEA & Central Asia as Director of Institutional Client Coverage at UBS, before moving to SoftBank Vision Fund. There, she played an instrumental role in the CEO Office launching the world’s largest technology investment manager, and going on to lead the External Relations function globally.

Saskia later joined venture capital firm 500 Global as Head of Strategic Relations to build the firm’s global growth-stage business, before founding Blakeney Point.

Cohesion is a specialist investment management business with a focus on India through its exclusive partnership with renowned investor Madhu Kela. Madhu is one of the best-known and most celebrated investors in the Indian capital markets, with many accreditations and awards to his name having managed one of the most successful funds in India’s history.

Cohesion was founded by Spike Hughes and is chaired by James Caan CBE, one of the UK’s best known entrepreneurs.

Tom Hudson is an Advisor to the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. He is a lawyer by background, who moved to the UAE in 2006 with Linklaters, where he worked on many of the regional bond issues and IPOs, including DP World, where he ultimately went in-house. In 2016, he set up an advisory firm that assists companies rapidly expand into the Middle East. Tom is a regular commentator for the likes of CNBC and CNN on the regional tech ecosystem. In 2021, Tom wrote “Exponential Emirates: the Exponential Country for the Exponential Age” a book describing the extraordinary growth story of the UAE and how it has almost uniquely harnessed the features of exponential organisations. In the year of EXPO, and the Golden Jubilee of the UAE, he interviewed 50 people who had all been part of the UAE’s story, and explains the history of the first 50 years of the country and what is in store for the next 50.