Salma Sakhnini is the Managing Director of ICON and has spent over 25 years in Banking, Consulting, Strategy, Quality Operations, Restructuring, Human Resource Development and Sales. Her extensive expertise spans various sectors including Financial Services, Advisory, Investment Banking, Public sector and Manufacturing. Before joining ICON, Salma held a number of senior leadership positions, working as Regional Vice President with Citibank for 12 years and as Chief Operating Officer with Rasmala Investments.
Salma is a specialist in Strategic Planning and Implementation who charts the way for companies and institutions to become quality organizations. She has trained and mentored in leadership, management and the development of human resources. Her international business pedigree is most accurately reflected in her direct engagement experience and achievements. From establishing and managing her own group of companies to managing an investment bank, to transforming the corporate culture of leading banks; heading up business process re-engineering projects and developing strategies; from performance enhancement to troubleshooting and restructuring – Salma Sakhnini is renowned practitioner of business best practice and leadership.
Additionally, Salma has played an active role in the community through consulting for the public sector in the Gulf Region – actively working with reform teams – and lecturing at the American University of Dubai. She has been a speaker at various regional and international conferences and held executive workshops on leadership, strategic planning, quality, six sigma and performance improvement.
Ms. Sakhnini earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Diploma in Education from the American University of Beirut. She earned her Master in Business Administration from Yale University.
Chip Wilson is a visionary who has an overwhelming passion for helping others develop their entrepreneurial spirit. With extensive knowledge of the training and development industry, Chip regularly has the opportunity to share his skills and successes with others.
After college, Chip began his business career under the umbrella of a Fortune 500 company. Unfortunately for them, Chip wanted the challenge of an entrepreneurial lifestyle. So, at the age of 26, he started his first training and consulting business in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. After two successful years, Chip sold that company for a substantial profit.
He then became the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a consulting company in Waco, Texas where he was responsible for over 700 accounts nationwide. In his time there, Chip contributed greatly to the company’s bottom line, but desired a career that was more personally and professionally rewarding
Prior to Istithmar, Dr. Ali held several key executive positions including setting up of the Dubai office for The Monitor Group, Founder of The Sajo Group and Zeborg, as well as McKinsey & Company, Mitchell Madison, and Broadlane. Before this he was a physician in the British NHS.
He has been a member of the Board of Directors and non-executive committees of a number of privately held assets ranging from healthcare, retail, banking to name a few.
Shuja gained his Master’s degree in public and private management (MBA) from Yale University, and his medical degree (MBBS) from St. George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London.
Dr. Osama Al-Ali was in at the beginning of the IT revolution before it was even known by that name. His early working life in the 1980’s was spent as a Business Systems Analyst and Head of Technology before embracing academia as Assistant Professor of Applied Sciences at Arabian Gulf University in his native Bahrain. In the mid 90’s he took his expertise – in computer applications and information systems – into the world of banking as Vice President and Gulf Business Technology Head of Citibank. The internet explosion at the turn of the millennium further increased demand for Dr. Al-Ali’s specialist knowledge of banking software and Intranet solutions. Since then he has provided a wide range of consultancy services to Governments, Corporations and Institutions, offering expert advice on Executive Management, Corporate Strategy & Performance, Business Development, Airports and Project Management and IT services. Dr. Al-Ali serves as a business adviser and coach to many businesses and CEOs across the Gulf region, and in addition trains on executive leadership, systems dynamics, and innovation using TRIZ. 5
Dr. Al-Ali earned his Bachelor and Masters of Science in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and Post Doctorate in Systems Dynamics and Human Cognition from the Media Lab. He also completed the Executive Program at the IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mr. Zalatimo brings to Icon ten years of top-tier strategy and management consulting experience. He spent the early part of his career with Bain & Company in Boston advising clients in the finance, manufacturing and media industries on issues including growth strategy, customer lifetime value and operational efficiency. Mr. Zalatimo then joined BMG Music in New York where he served as Deputy to the Chief Strategic Officer. He was a founding member of the digital music team and lead internal efforts on the merger with Sony Music. Mr. Zalatimo eventually left Sony Music to pursue his MBA at Columbia Business School. Upon completing his postgraduate studies, he joined McKinsey & Company in New York where he advised leading media companies and financial institutions on growth strategy, cost reduction, customer lifetime value and employee productivity. In 2011, Mr. Zalatimo joined Icon to establish the New York office and support clients in the Middle East.
Mr. Zalatimo earned a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Industrial Engineering, as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University in New York.
Strategy and Health Care Specialist Guy Fish , MD, started out at the sharp end of the medical world as a solo practitioner of Internal Medicine, a Critical Care specialist and an ER-attending physician. He holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management; an MD from the Yale School of Medicine; is board-certified in Internal Medicine and holds an AB in Biochemistry from Harvard College.
His impressive medical and management credentials – allied to his vast “on the ground” experience – marked him out as a natural candidate for the corporate healthcare field. He worked as a Securities Analyst for Sanford Bernstein in the medical devices sector and with The Boston Consulting Group as a healthcare consultant. Most recently Guy was Vice President of Business Development at Collagenesis, a tissue engineering company. Dr. Fish joined Icon to help establish the health care practice and support clients in the Middle East North America regions.
Dr. Fish earned his Bachelors degree from Harvard College, his Medical degree from Yale School of Medicine, and his MBA from Yale University.
Hani Keirouz
Investment Banking and Financial Institutions Practice
ICON Investment Consultants
Hani Keirouz brings to Icon ten years of top-tier financial, entrepreneurial and management consulting experience. He began his career as a Financial Analyst at Techsmart, a technology startup based in New York. He then moved to Rho Capital Partners, a global leading Venture Capital firm focusing on investments in software, biotechnology and energy startups in the U.S. Mr. Keirouz left Rho Capital Partners to earn his M.B.A. at Columbia Business School where he combined his studies with a consulting role for Bitshelter, a New York technology startup. He helped the company formulate new growth strategies and improve operating efficiencies. After completing his postgraduate studies, Mr. Keirouz remained in New York to join Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America Merrill Lynch) as an Investment Banking Associate, later promoted to Vice President. In that capacity, he advised companies in the Consumer Products and Retail Sectors on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, new debt issuance, equity offerings and divestitures. Mr. Keirouz joined Icon Consulting to help establish the Investment Banking practice. He also advises banking clients on strategy and operational efficiencies.
Mr. Keirouz earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut. He earned his Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University in New York
Maha Masri began her career in corporate and private banking, working in Amman and New York before moving into the field of Marketing and Public Relations. Her first hand experience as a Certified Financial Consultant with Merrill Lynch later proved pivotal in attracting the Financial Services clients she now mainly serves. Her twin disciplines provided an ideal background for the post of Director of Marketing and Investor Relations with regional private equity firm Ithmar Capital. She was Head of Corporate Communications at Rasmala Investment Bank, one of the leading regional banks in the UAE. At both institutions, Ms. Masri was responsible for the planning and execution of all Marketing, Communications and Public Relations initiatives. Most recently, she founded her own company 2M. She works on developing Corporate Communications strategies, Media and PR, building the brands – and developing essential relationships with business and media networks in the UAE, Jordan and the broader Middle East.
Ms. Masri earned her Bachelors of Arts in Public Relations & Media Studies from the University of Exeter, U.K. She also earned her M.B.A. in International Management.
Mansur Ali has identified, overseen and executed deals worth billions of dollars in the U.S, Europe and the GCC during his 15-year career as an Investment Analyst and Management Consultant. From 2006-2009, Mr. Ali served as director at Istithmar Private Equity where he oversaw $1.5 billion in assets across the Consumer (Retail, Healthcare & Education) and Industrial (Utilities, Logistics & Construction) sectors. More recently, he worked as an advisor to Cerberus Capital Management and Blackstone helping identify, valuate and facilitate transactions for GCC-based and UAE-owned assets in America and Europe for financial restructuring. Mr. Ali also helps improve corporate governance processes for investment selection and monitoring at PE institutions.
Mr. Ali earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University.
