AUBH’s Board of Governors is an appointed group of influential and respected individuals with a combined experience of higher and international education, investment, real estate, and banking and finance in the sector, from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States of America. The Board is ultimately responsible for the governance of AUBH, and seeks to ensure the best interests of our stakeholders in all decisions, ensuring a non-biased and objective approach at all times.
Mr. Hisham Al Saie is the General Manager, Investments & Business Support at Premier Group, Bahrain and has over 24 years of experience in a number of areas including financial investments, real estate asset management & development, corporate finance and start-up businesses.
In addition to holding an MBA from London Business School, Mr. Al Saie has completed the INSEAD YMP Executive Management Program and holds a BA in Accounting from the University of Texas.
Additionally, Mr. AlSaie holds directorship positions in many Companies, most notably:
Prior to his current role, Mr. Hisham was Head of Corporate Finance at SICO Investment Bank, where he was responsible for structuring key local and regional equity and debt capital market transactions. He also previously held positions at BDO Jawad Habib, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Arthur Andersen.
Mr. Ahmed Alumran represents over 20 years of strategy and management consulting experience, having supported investment institutions, family offices, and corporate clients in the planning, analysis, financing, and growth of their projects and partnerships across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Stratum, an independent advisory boutique supporting clients in areas such as strategy, transactions, research, and analytics. He has also supported government agencies in areas such as strategic planning and policy decisions.
Mr. Alumran currently serves as a Board member and Board Governance, Nomination, and Remuneration Committee (BGNRC) member at Edamah, the real estate arm of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat. He is also a Board member of the American School of Bahrain established by Esol Education, the largest operator of American curriculum K12 schools outside of the USA.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Alumran served at a global management consulting firm founded by ex-McKinsey partners in New York as well as a private equity advisory firm focused on capturing financial synergies across its clients’ portfolio companies. He has also previously served as a member of the Gulf Venture Capital Association and the Bahrain Competitiveness Council.
Mr. Alumran holds both Master’s of Engineering and Bachelor’s of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). He has also served as a member of the MIT Educational Counsel for over a decade.
Dr. Bradley J. Cook is the President of the American University of Bahrain (AUBH). Prior to his role at AUBH, Dr. Cook served as the 17th President of Snow College in the U.S., leading it to success, by being ranked 7th Public College in the West, with the best ranking in the state of Utah. In 2020, Snow College was also ranked number 1 nationally in its class, for student success.
He was consequently identified as one of “The Most Visionary Education Leaders of 2020” by the Education Magazine. Prior to that, he served as Provost at Southern Utah University (SUU). He had worked to establish student-centric, highly applied learning environments, and has advanced an agenda of internationalizing the university. Under his leadership, SUU has achieved record high student success rates, created over 25 new academic programs and centers, and elevated SUU’s academic reputation as one of the premier public regional universities in the Intermountain West. Dr. Cook has also served as President of the The Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi; and worked at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Additionally, he served as a Commissioner for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, a U.S. Institutional accrediting body. Dr. Cook earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford University and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.
Ms. Hala Yateem is a Director of A.M. Yateem Brothers, a family holding company that has interests in real estate, air-conditioning, and industrial investments. A.M. Yateem Brothers has a lineage that is connected to one of the most respected conglomerates in Bahrain, credited with helping build the country’s modern economy. Ms. Yateem is also an Independent Director of the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and a Director of Edamah, the real estate arm of Mumtalakat, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Al Rahma Society and Royal Lifesaving Bahrain. Previously, Ms. Yateem has held positions as a member on the Board of Trustees of the Supreme Council of Women, the Bahrain Family Business Association, and the Bahrain Businesswomen’s Association.
Ms. Yateem holds a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship and Investments from Babson College in Massachusetts.
Dr. Kerry Murphy Healey is an accomplished executive, focused on higher education. She served as the thirteenth President of Babson College, a private business school in Massachusetts with a central focus on entrepreneurship education and often ranked as the most prestigious entrepreneurship college in the USA. She was the first woman to hold that top position. During her second year of Presidency, TIME’s Money Magazine rated Babson as the No. 1 college based on metrics of education quality, affordability, and alumni earnings. In September 2019, she was appointed as the Inaugural President of the Milken Institute’s Center for Advancing the American Dream. In 2015, Money Magazine ranked Babson second nationally, behind Stanford.
Dr. Healey established a presence for Babson College in the UAE and supported the newly formed Prince Mohamed bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, where she is currently a Member of the Board of Trustees. Among her prior posts, she was Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Mitt Romney, and the Republican National Committeewoman for the state of Massachusetts, USA. She is a Member of the Board of Trustees at the American University of Afghanistan, a Member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network, and she is on the advisory board at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Dr. Healey is currently serving as the President of the Center for Advancing the American Dream, a center to inspire four pillars, education, public health and medical research, entrepreneurship and innovation, and economic freedom.
She graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Government, was awarded a Rotary International Scholarship, and received a Ph.D. in Political Science and Law from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
N.B. Pending approval by the Higher Education Council of the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Member of the Board of Trustees (Independent)
Dr. Khalid Abdulla is the General Manager of Eskan Bank, the national housing bank of Bahrain. He introduced and listed the first Islamic REIT in Bahrain and enhanced its earnings over a sustained period. During his tenure, the bank won several notable awards recognizing in areas such as quality, innovation, and corporate social responsibility. Prior to his current role, he was Chief Executive Officer for Inovest BSC, where he oversaw Inovest’s organizational and investment strategy, corporate direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization’s vision, mission, philosophy, strategy, and its annual goals and objectives and adhering to all regulatory environment requirements.
Dr. Abdulla was also the Chief Executive Officer for Reef Real Estate Finance Company, where he was responsible for the creation of one of Bahrain’s most recognized brands in the real estate finance sector and the execution of a highly differentiated one-stop shop for real estate finance that brought together key industry partners. He is a member of the Public Affairs Committee (Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry), the National Committee on World Trade Organization, Founding Member of Bahrain Economic Society, Member on the Board of Trustees for MENA Investment Center, Founding Member of Bahrain Competitiveness Council, Board Member and the Chairman of the Audit Committee at the LMRA. Dr. Abdulla held roles of Assistant Professor, and Chairman of Department of Economic & Finance and Lecturer at the University of Bahrain for more than 20 years.
He holds a Master of Arts in Economic Development from the University of East Anglia, U.K., and a Ph.D. in Economics from Exeter University, U.K.
Member of the Board of Trustees (Independent)
Dr. Joseph G. Jabbra presided over LAU from August 1, 2004 to September 30, 2020.
Dr. Jabbra’s leadership has launched the university on the path of institutional and academic renaissance, supported by strong internal human and financial resources. Strengthened by outside gifts and support, these have enabled LAU to develop and implement a vigorous five-year strategic plan. This plan has encompassed opening new schools and developing new programs while sustaining existing ones; attracting new professors while empowering current faculty; putting in place an ambitious capital plan; implementing LAU’s comprehensive Campaign for Excellence entitled “The Legacy and the Promise.” It has also meant preparing the university to meet the highest academic standards in order to achieve accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
Prior to his role at LAU, Dr. Jabbra served as Academic Vice President at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, California, from 1990 to 2004. He had earlier served as Vice President, Academic and Research, at St. Mary’s University (SMU) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1980 to 1990.
During his tenure at LMU and SMU, Dr. Jabbra gained profound experience in academic administration. He served on and chaired over 100 academic committees and boards, ranging from academic senates to boards of trustees. At both universities, Dr. Jabbra was fully engaged in strategic planning and fundraising.
In Canada, he played a major role in the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC), which accredits university and college programs in the three Canadian Maritime Provinces. In the United States, he was very active in the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a leading U.S. accrediting commission. He always participated vigorously in the revision of accreditation standards and served on accreditation visits for many institutions. He also was active in the accreditation of American law schools for the American Bar Association (ABA).
Dr. Jabbra earned his law degree at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of 12 books. The latest, Public Administration in Transition, was recently published in London, England. He has also published over 33 articles and chapters in books and scholarly journals, over 26 book reviews in both English and French, and scores of scholarly papers and keynote addresses given at learned societies’ meetings and professional gatherings.
View this website created as a tribute to Dr. Joseph Jabbra.
Chairman of the Board of Directors (Non-Independent)
Kamal is the Chief Investment Officer at Premier Group WLL with overall responsibility for investment strategy, asset allocation, and managing a portfolio of investments encompassing real estate (international hospitality, commercial real estate and real estate funds) and financial investments (fixed income, equities, hedge funds and private equity).
Kamal has over 20 years of experience in the investment industry, including 8 years as Head of Corporate Finance for a private family office in Saudi Arabia, and is a seasoned board member having served on boards in the fields of real estate development, hospitality, commercial operating assets, education and financial investments.
Kamal holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc from Bentley College, MA, in Global Financial Analysis.
Mr. Marwan Tabbara represents over 20 years of strategic, financial, and transaction advisory experience. He has advised clients both regionally and internationally and has supported the development and growth of a range of businesses and projects. He is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Stratum, an independent advisory boutique supporting clients in areas such as strategy, transactions, research, and analytics.
He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Bahrain Flour Mills Company BSC (publicly listed and majority owned by Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain), Board Member and Risk Committee Chairman of Bahrain Development Bank BSC (c), Board Member and Risk Committee Chairman of Bahrain Islamic Bank BSC (publicly listed and majority owned by the National Bank of Bahrain), and Board Member of the American School of Bahrain (ASB). He has also previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Bahrain Bourse BSC (c) (Bahrain’s national stock exchange).
Earlier in his career, Mr. Tabbara worked in the Global Corporate & Investment Banking division of Citigroup in New York, London, and Bahrain where he supported large private and public sector clients on financing transactions within the Middle East and overseas.
Mr. Tabbara holds both Masters of Engineering Management and Bachelors of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from Duke University.
Mr. Abushakra serves as the principal legal advisor for the organization, directs the recruitment for key leadership positions within Esol Education and its schools, and leads and coordinates an extensive international teacher recruitment program. Supporting Esol Education’s steady growth, Mr. Abushakra has played a key role in establishing Esol’s progressive governance structure, developing policies and procedures, as well as establishing school reporting and appraisal systems. Mr. Abushakra also plays an integral role in managing the operations of the Main and West campuses of the American International School in Egypt, and evaluates and executes new school establishment opportunities for the organization in the Middle East, Europe and beyond.
From 2012-2015, Mr. Abushakra served as a Commissioner for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a leading accrediting body for K-12 American schools in the United States and 85 countries around the world.
Prior to joining Esol Education in 2002, Mr. Abushakra worked as an attorney in Washington D.C., having earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996 and admission to the New York State Bar Association in the same year, as well as to the District of Columbia Bar in 1997.
Fluent in Arabic and English, Mr. Abushakra translated a 400-page collection of stories entitled, “Stories and Scenes from Mount Lebanon,” authored in Arabic by Mahmoud Khalil Saab, a meticulous documentation of the values, customs and heritage of the people of Lebanon. He has also authored several comment pieces on subjects of law and international relations for regional publications.
Member of the Board of Directors (Non-Independent)
Mr Khaled is a finance expert skilled in Financial Analysis, Financial Modeling, Business Planning, Banking, Investment Banking, Impairment Testing, Business Advisory and Feasibility Studies.
Mr Khaled holds an MSc in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago, and an MBA from the London Business School.
As an Executive Director at Premier Group, Bahrain, (May 2015 – Present), Mr Khalid is responsible for managing the local real estate portfolio that entails numerous key developments and projects in various key segments.
Dr. Ahmed is an experienced strategy consultant with the ability to operate as a generalist as well as focus on technology strategy and transformation. Cross-industry experience (healthcare, telecom and media, public sector). His specialities include Cloud computing strategy and road maps, Technology enablement, leading transformational change, and business-technology alignment.
As Chief Strategy Officer at Esol Education, (Apr2012 – Present), Dr Ahmed is responsible for developing strategic direction for the group including aspirations, key initiatives, and scope of growth. He identifies development opportunities to grow the group and its impact through new greenfield projects, acquisitions, innovation opportunities and adjacent businesses. He drives performance improvement on the academic and business support fronts to ensure continuous development of the organization and enablement of our aspirations. Some examples of his efforts include the development of the master strategic plan for the organization, organizing and facilitating leadership conferences, identifying government and private sector partnership opportunities and securing commitments under favourable terms for Esol, transformation projects in the areas of Teaching and Learning and Professional Development, and outlining a set of digital education and eLearning opportunities to leverage Esol’s network and expertise.
As Partner of Management Consulting (New York, New Jersey, Dubai), Mckinsey & Company, (2008-Present), Dr Ahmed is serving hi-tech/telecom, healthcare, and government sectors ($1- 50B) on topics including growth, business development, operations/IT improvement, and large transformations. Manage a $10-15M portfolios of projects including negotiation, CEO/CXO counselling, delivery, and management of up to 300-person teams (McKinsey and client combined). Developed business plan and operational rollout roadmap for mobile healthcare business pilot for MNO – first financially sustainable business model in MENA not funded by the government; Co-lead establishment of regional technology practice and lead public sector IT initiative ME; And helped CEO/CSO grow revenues of IT services provider by 50% over 2 years using an aggressive growth/diversification strategy.
Member of the Board of Directors (Non-Independent)
Latifa Almaraj is an Associate Director within the Strategic Investments Department at Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, focusing on value creation within the local and international portfolio. Prior to that, Latifa worked at the Boston Consulting Group in their Dubai office, where she worked on projects across various industries in both the public and private sectors.
Latifa holds a BS in Finance from the Wharton School and a BA in International Studies from the College of Arts and Sciences, both at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA from Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).
