LDE Conference Canada: Multicultural Innovation Corridor Panels by Berytech

September 16, 2018 at 11:00 am
Till: September 16, 2018 at 12:30 pm
Palais des Congres, Montreal Canada

Innovation and entrepreneurship are part of the Lebanese DNA and many North American startups have Lebanese among their founders and some startups in Lebanon are ready and looking to expand to North America. In support of the Lebanese startup community, this panel will highlight the opportunities and expertise of all stakeholders to collaborate in order to bridge the Lebanese and North American ecosystems.

With the focus on the next gen of change-makers and entrepreneurship, the morning of the LDE’s second day will have 2 back to back panels focused on Entrepreneurship support and bridging to accelerate success.

 

Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference, Montreal, QC, Canada

Date: September 16th, 2018

Time: 11:00pm-12:30pm

Venue: Palais des Congres, Montreal

Moderator: Ramy Boujawdeh –Deputy General Manager of Berytech

Ramy Boujawdeh, Deputy General Manager of Berytech. With 20 years of international experiences, Ramy amassed a diversified knowledge in the fields of change and quality management, operations, and entrepreneurship support programs. Ramy is highly active in introducing and managing innovative programs to create opportunities for youth, women and innovators. He is highly involved in connecting the Lebanese ecosystem with international partners. Ramy holds a BS in Agriculture from the American University of Beirut, and a MS in Management and Economics

 

Part A: Bridging Ecosystems

Present the current status of the Lebanese startups ecosystem and its needs to bridge, showcase startups who benefited from being part of the Lebanese and North American one. The panel will also discuss what Ecosystems, VCs and corporates in North America and Canada in particular are looking for to attract foreign innovation and what the current ecosystem can offer to the startups that have a product market fit in North America.

 

Panelists

  • Toufic Azar – Startup Co-founder and CEO, MEACOR
  • Maroun Chammas – Chairman and CEO, Berytech
  • Chadi Habib – CIO, Desjardins Group
  • Nicolas Rouhana – Chairman and GM, IM Capital
  • Roula Zaarour – COO, Real Ventures
  • Philippe Ziade – Founder and Chairman of Growth Holdings

 

Mr. Toufic Azar – Co-founder and CEO of MEACOR

Toufic Azar is a PhD candidate at McGill University in Mechanical Engineering. His thesis research was spun-off into Meacor, co-founded by Dr. Renzo Cecere, with the aim of commercializing the approach. Meacor is developing a catheter-based medical device intended to treat patients with mitral valve regurgitation without the need for open-heart surgery. The startup has raised seed funding and has been developing the technology between Montreal, Boston and Beirut.

 

Mr. Maroun N. Chammas – Chairman & CEO of Berytech

Maroun Chammas entered into the world of entrepreneurship when he was only 12. His entrepreneurial drive led him and his brother in 1995 to become pioneers in Lebanon’s digital frontier, introducing internet access through their company Data Management – IDM. Today, whilst representing the third generation of the Chammas family to become the vice chairman and general manager of MEDCO the number one  national oil and gas downstream company and through his role in Berytech, he plays an active key role in shaping the ecosystem that nurtures and supports Lebanese innovation and entrepreneurship. 

 

Mr. Chadi Habib – Ex. VP & CIO of Desjardins Group

Chadi Habib is the Executive Vice President Information Technology at Desjardins Group.  Consisting of nearly 4000 technology professionals, his organization is accountable for all technology solutions and operations to the banking and insurance sectors of the group. He assumes the coleadership of the digital transformation initiated by Desjardins Group, an important shift which aims to enhance all services offered to Desjardins’ 7 million members and clients.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business.  He is also a member of the Quebec advisory board on the government’s Digital strategy which advises the Government’s reflections on digital.

 

Dr. Nicolas Rouhana – Chairman & General Manager of IM Capital

Dr. Nicolas Rouhana was born in 1968. He is currently the Chairman & General Manager of IM Capital, a program funded under USAID, providing Matching Capital, Equity Guarantee, and Support Programs to a broad range of early-stage businesses and angel investors in Lebanon. In 2000, he was part of the founding team of Berytech, the first technology incubator in Lebanon, and the Executive Director of Berytech till 2015, growing the Berytech family from one site to three sites, and supporting the Lebanese startup ecosystem. He was also Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of St. Joseph University in Beirut and UQAM in Montreal. He is also currently Board Member of Berytech, Chairman of Speed@BDD accelerator, and Vice-President of Internet SOCiety Lebanon Chapter.

 

Ms. Roula Zaarour – COO of Real Ventures

Roula Zaarour is currently COO of Real Ventures, Canada’s most active early-stage venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs with disruptive technologies and builds ecosystems. Prior to her current role, Roula spent close to 10 years playing a leading role in large organizations with major restructuring mandates. She was Vice-President, People & Culture of CBC/Radio-Canada during an important downsizing and re-organization. She also spent close to 6 years in South America as Vice-President, Business Transformation at Aerolineas Argentinas, and in Brazil as a Senior Advisor at Matlin Patterson LLC, an American private equity firm specialized in distressed investments. Roula had also occupied senior management positions at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Air Canada.

 

Mr. Philippe Ziade – Founder and Chairman of Growth Holdings

Philippe Ziade is the Founder of Growth Holdings, a conglomerate of Real Estate investments, software development and renewable energy companies. He was recognized by The Wall Street Journal, Top 1000 real estate professionals in the US, Ranking 13th on the list nationally, and #1 in Nevada. He has been featured on primetime on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, CNN Headlines, Fox Business Network and Discovery Channel.

Born in Lebanon, he migrated to The United States where he swiftly became recognized as one of top Real Estate Investment leaders and visionaries in the industry and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal amongst other noteworthy publications. Mr. Ziade strongly believes that culture and community are the foundations of his success, leading him to launch the “Invest to Stay” Program dedicated to creating investment opportunities that directly contribute to elevating and stabilizing the Lebanese economy. Such projects include US Lebanon Tech Hub and The Lebanese American home to name a few.

 

Part B: Enabling partners towards a striving ecosystem

In this panel we will tackle the role of telecom companies to support the digital transformation in both economies and the role that Startups can play to address the changes in the sector. What can Montreal, as the AI capital who created a special program within its Promotion Agency to attract top talents, and Funds offer to top talents. The objective of Lebanese VCs is to support the best startups and get into international markets. They will share their experience, aspiration and objectives. The panel will also showcase the penetration challenges and successes of a startup from Lebanon that has its market in North America.

 

Panelists

  • Paul Chucrallah – Chairman and GM of Berytech Fund Management
  • Neemat G. Frem – MP, and CEO of INDEVCO Group
  • Ibrahim Gedeon – CTO of Telus
  • Marwan Hayek – CEO of Alfa telecom
  • Rabih Nassar – Founder and CEO, Scriptr.io
  • Cedric Tawil Director – Entrepreneurship, Montreal International

 

Mr. Paul Chucrallah – Chairman and General Manager of Berytech Fund Management.

Paul Chucrallah, born 1969, is the Managing Director of Berytech Fund II, in his quality as Chairman and General Manager of Berytech Fund Management, the company in charge of managing the fund.  His responsibilities span the commercial, investment and administrative sides of the business.

He holds a diploma in Telecommunication and Electrical Engineering from ESIB – USJ in Beirut, and an M.B.A. from INSEAD – Fontainebleau.  He is married with two grown-up children, and lives in Beirut, Lebanon.

 

Mr. Neemat G. Frem –Member of Parliament & CEO of INDEVCO Group

Neemat Georges Frem was born in the City of Jounieh, Lebanon. He is a prominent Lebanese businessman, and a member of the parliament of Lebanon. He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering in 1991. He completed a postgraduate diploma on leadership and business from Harvard University Business School, Georgetown University Business School and Stanford University Business School. He is former president of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, chief executive of the multinational company INDEVCO Group, and founder and president of Phoenix Machinery. He is also the current President of The Maronite Foundation in the World. Frem was elected member of parliament in Jbeil and Keserwan constituency during the Lebanese general election held in Lebanon on 6 May 2018.

 

Dr. Ibrahim Gedeon – CTO of Telus

Dr. Ibrahim Gedeon is one of the telecommunications industry’s eminent thought leaders. By combining insight and skill as an applied scientist with a lighthearted approach to leadership he is now Chief Technology Officer for TELUS, where he is responsible for all technology development and strategy.

  

Mr. Marwan Hayek – CEO of Alfa Telecom

Marwan Hayek is a telecom veteran and award-winning executive with over 23 years of international career. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Alfa.

Since joining Orascom Telecom Holding in 1999, Mr. Hayek has enabled over 120 million users to benefit from mobile services.

Under his leadership since March 2010, Alfa grew by 3 folds to serve 2 million subscribers, generated more than $6 Billion revenues to public treasury, enabled the latest technologies introduction to Lebanon and helped creating more than 3,000 related jobs.

He is currently the Goal Leader of SDG #9 on the UNGCNL SDG Council and a member of the Board of Directors of SAMENA Telecommunications Council.

 

Mr. Rabih Nassar – Founder and CEO of Scriptr.io

Rabih is the founder and CEO of Scriptr.io, a leading Internet of Things platform & marketplace that enable Enterprise Digital Transformation using IoT Data & Applications.  With a global network of partners, 100+ integrations & dozens of verticals, Scriptr.io provides unparalleled capabilities, short time to market and cost efficiency.  Rabih is a serial entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in Enterprise Software, Consumer Internet, Digital Media, Cloud & IoT across the United States, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.  Rabih earned a B.S. in Telecommunications from the St. Joseph University and an MBA from the École Supérieure des Affaires in Beirut.

 

Mr. Cedric Tawil – Director of Business Development, Entrepreneurship at Montreal International

Cedric Tawil is the Director of Business Development, Entrepreneurship at Montréal International. His role is to promote the Montréal business and startup environments to foreign entrepreneurs, supporting their launch in Greater Montréal. Previously, Cedric was a manager at EY in the tax incentive group with a focus on tech startups. Cedric holds a Bachelor of Software Engineering and a graduate diploma in innovation and technology management from École Polytechnique de Montreal.

 

About LDE Conference

The 3rd edition of the “Lebanese Diaspora Energy – LDE North America” will be held on the 15th and 16th of September 2018 at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. This edition will be characterized by its “NextGen Vibe” theme that will give the spotlight to the emerging talent with their innovative ideas, aspirations and entrepreneurial spirit. Check the program here.

 

For more information about the panels by Berytech please contact: ramy.boujawdeh@berytech.org

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