Our leadership team offers a rare combination of strategic vision and holistic awareness, hailing from high-level positions in educational development, academia and operational management. With diverse backgrounds, they offer international expertise from more than 20 institutions across the United States, plus regional experience in adapting and crafting programs for the Middle East market.
A qualified Mechanical Engineer, Mr. Ali Janahi, Director of Facilities Management, is responsible for providing a safe, clean, productive, and well-maintained physical environment for the University community. A role with a large scope and overseeing a dedicated team, he manages the planning and operation of a sustainable and holistic campus ecosystem to support academic excellence. He leads all University infrastructure including Security & Safety, Campus Clinic, Recycling, Landscaping, Maintenance, Energy & Water, F&B Services, Bookstore, and Sports Center. He is also key in creating strategy for ongoing expansion and innovation projects on the state-of-the-art campus, such as new laboratories and technology implementation.
Mr. Janahi brings over 20 years of operational management experience to AUBH, having owned and operated his own renowned construction company as part of a consortium, which remains operational today. He was previously General Manager of multi-faceted Bahraini business Almeer Group, where he was at the helm of a workforce of 800 in the successful management of the company’s interests in Retail, FMCG, Building Materials, Logistics, Food and Beverages, Travel & Tourism, and Training. His practical expertise were honed during his role as Technical Services Manager and Acting General Manager for one of Bahrain’s most ambitious real estate projects, Durrat Al Bahrain. He ran a 24/7 technical response team for infrastructure and utilities, as well as leading procurement, contractor management, and technical regulation for this 15-island mega-project. He has also served as a practicing Mechanical Engineer at the beginning of his career for both GPIC and EWA, responsible for daily troubleshooting activities and maintenance, in the operations of Bahrain’s petrochemicals, power plant, and desalination facilities.
Mr. Janahi holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from King Saud University in Riyadh. Throughout his career, he has traveled the world undertaking international qualifications in his field, including Best Practice Facilities Management in Dubai, Mastering Negotiation in Berlin, and Visual Programming in Saudi Arabia.
A seasoned operational strategist with more than 10 years of Middle East experience, Mr. William D. Hurt oversees all business operations and development for AUBH. Beginning his career with a respected management consultancy firm in the U.S., he executed projects for clients in a variety of sectors including education, defense, and pharmaceuticals. During this consultancy role, he focused on solving complex financial challenges in a variety of transactional and operational contexts, often focused on M&A, product development, and strategic procurement.
Prior to his role with AUBH, Mr. Hurt served as a founding team member and later as Managing Director of Middle East Operations for U.S.-based Laureate Education Inc., where he developed market entry strategies and built 11 higher education institutions through private-public partnerships from the ground up. A hands-on leader, he oversaw initial business model creation and operational design across all functions, helping to grow the business to employ more than 500 people dedicated to delivering high-quality educational outcomes.
Mr. Hurt holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with concentrations in Finance and IT from the University of Virginia, United States. He was the proud recipient of the Schade family scholarship for Scholastic Merit during his studies, and spent a semester in the United Kingdom, gaining an international business perspective at the University of Bath School of Management.
A seasoned education professional with a skill for developing relationships with stakeholders of all backgrounds and ages, Dr. Amal Al Awadhi, as Dean of Students, oversees AUBH’s Admissions function and several other areas of the student experience. She brings over 14 years of expertise in education and development to AUBH, having formerly held the position of Head of the Center for Academic Studies at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF). This role allowed her to develop an unrivaled eye for quality control, planning, and monitoring the quality of a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs in partnership with international universities from the United Kingdom and the United States. A natural collaborator, she is familiar with transnational education policies and procedures, and is able to apply her knowledge to ensure AUBH meets all governance requirements of the Higher Education Council (HEC) and the Bahrain Quality Assurance Authority (BQA).
Before moving to the area of academics, Dr. Al Awadhi previously managed the Assessment & Development Center at BIBF. The position allowed her to work closely with different companies and financial institutions for recruitment and training purposes. Throughout her career, she has been continuously focused on self-development, undertaking internationally-recognized courses and training in coaching and mentoring, HR, and assessment. She is also proud to have been instrumental in managing the Crown Prince International Scholarship Candidacy Program during her time at BIBF.
Dr. Al Awadhi currently holds a Doctorate in Education from University of Bath (UK), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the same university, a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from DePaul University (U.S.) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Kent (U.K.).
Vice President of Finance and Administration
A strategic finance professional and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with a 15-year career in some of the most prominent institutions in the Kingdom, Mrs. Shayma Abulfatih is responsible for all financial operations and governance at AUBH. In her role as Director of Finance, she developed the University’s financial SOP’s and strategy, ensuring regulatory compliance and with a focus on liquidity and credit sources. She also oversees procurement to ensure all contracts and services provided by suppliers represent best value to the University.
Mrs. Abulfatih came to AUBH from an eight-year tenure with real-estate developer Naseej, where as Head of Finance, she structured financial models for the firm’s transactions, and arranged funding for major projects. Her broad experience includes previous roles as Head of Operations for First Investment Bank, and a member of the Operations team at Kuwait Finance House, where she also benefited from customer service exposure. During her role at FIB, she personally established a grassroots accounting system, saving not only human, but financial resources.
Mrs. Abulfatih holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Accounting from the American University of Sharjah and an Master of Business Administration from the University of DePaul. She also regularly seeks out personal development opportunities to keep her at the forefront of the industry, the most recent of which was a Strategy Execution in Financial Services course from Harvard Business School for Executive Education.
Dr. Wafa Almansoori acts as AUBH’s Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness. She also serves as the Director of Institutional Research and Assessment at AUBH.
In 2007, Dr. Wafa joined the project to set a quality assurance authority in Bahrain, which was one of the initiatives of the Education Reform Project and was managed by the Bahrain Economic Development Board. She assisted in the development of the Higher Education Review System and participated in the pilot projects. She received her BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bahrain, her Masters Degree in Microelectronic Systems and Communications from the University of Liverpool, UK, and her PhD Degree from Tufts University, USA, in Electrical Engineering.
With an overall of 20 years’ experience in HR and operations and most of that time (12+ years) being served in the higher education sector which has led to an in-depth knowledge of his current role. Adnan is a results-focused executive who delivers talent retention and motivation solutions to harness the full power of institution’s most valuable assets, their people. He currently overseas all human resources aspects at AUBH and is dedicated to creating a robust culture that promotes growth by empowering all employees to reach their full potential and bring their best to the job.
Throughout his career, Adnan has served in numerous human resources positions in the private and public sector. He has completed various courses in the HR & finance fields and is certified by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) from the United Kingdom. He also holds a Business diploma from the University of Bahrain and a bachelor’s degree in Business Informatics from AMA University of Bahrain.
Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, AUBH Provost oversees the academic affairs at AUBH. A senior academic administrator with more than 35 years of experience in Higher Education.
Throughout his career, Dr. Zabudsky has developed more than 30 degree programs relevant to the rapidly evolving international job markets they served, while overseeing the recruitment of expert faculty to run them. He has led global institutions throughout North America and the Middle East, in the integration of pioneering and relevant technology into the teaching and learning process, facilitating partnership development and student recruitment, and managing institutional and program accreditation by both government and industry-based accreditors.
Prior to moving to Bahrain, Dr. Zabudsky held the position of President and Vice Chancellor in the Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he reviewed strategic academic programs and consolidation leading to the introduction of 12 new applied baccalaureate programs. He also aided in planning, financing, and construction of over $200 million in capital infrastructure on three campuses.
Dr. Zabudsky holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Alberta, a Master of Distance Education from Athabasca University, an Advanced Graduate Diploma in Distance Education Technology from Athabasca University, and a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Ryerson University.
His numerous awards during his career include the 2012 Athabasca University, Distinguished Alumnus Award; the 2013 Ryerson University, Alumni Award of Distinction; the 2013 Englehart High School, Hall of Honour Inductee; and the 2015 Paul Harris Fellow Award, The Rotary Foundation.
Mrs. Sameera Al Atawi oversees IT infrastructure planning and support for AUBH, including sourcing and implementing the latest in learning technologies from around the world. Under her direction, the University expanded its strategic and pioneering relationship with Amazon Web Services (AWS), with the campus becoming the first Alexa-enabled University in the region.
A multi-faceted IT professional, Mrs. Al Atawi began her 16-year career teaching undergraduate courses at a local university in Bahrain. In addition, she has been consistently involved in IT transformation strategy on a national level, assisting the General Directorate of Traffic in their transition to a web-based application, and in the data cleansing of the Kingdom’s General Census Project.
Mrs. Al Atawi joins AUBH from a six-year tenure as Director of ICTS at Bahrain Polytechnic, where she was Senior IT Strategist. In this role, she enhanced the performance of the learning infrastructure through Cloud model development, and the design of an isolated IT security lab teaching Ethical hacking and simulated network security.
Mrs. Al Atawi has been recognized throughout her career with various awards for her contribution to Bahrain’s IT development, and continually attends self-development and innovation courses. She holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Bahrain, and an Master of Business Administration from the University of Hull (U.K.).
VP of External Affairs and Marketing
