Largest Metal Buried Bridge Span – The Shamal Bridge, Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) : March 2017

The Shamal Bridge is the largest metal buried bridge span and was achieved by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, United Arab Emirates .

The bridge span measures 32.39 m (106.3ft) has a capacity of 2,000 vehicles per hour. The record is certified by Guinness World Records.

The project was undertaken by ViaCon Sp. zoo (Poland) as a part of the Ras Al Khaimah ring road – The Shamal Bridge

Shamal Steel Arch Bridge Ras Al Khaimah / pix: wow-rak.com

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Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Airplanes Manufacture. AVIONAV – Made in Tunisia.

Avionav manufactures small planes from start to finish in Tunisa.

Twin brothers Ferid El Kamel and Foued El Kamel launched the aircraft manufacturing startup in 2011. Their capacity is to produce about 100 planes a year.

www.avionav.net

source: avionav.net

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Tunisia

World’s Longest Straight Road – 240 Km – Highway 10 : Saudi Arabia

Highway 10 is the longest dead straight road on earth, covering 140 miles (240Km) in one stretch according to Guinness.

It links Haradh (Highway 75) to Al Batha and is a total desert land.

Bonus Record:

Highway 85 – Saudi Arabia . Not a straight road. From Jubail on the coast to Turaif on the border of Jordan. The Highway is 693 miles long and takes about 9 hours to drive in one go.

Saudi Arabia’s Highway 10. (Agraam)
/ pix: arabnews.com

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Saudi Arabia

World’s Largest and Biggest Camel Racing Festival – Saudi Arabia : September 2019

13,377 camels participated in the largest camel racing tournament in the world. Certificate issued by Guinness World Records.

The event was organised by the Saudi Camel Racing Federation and was held on September 13th, 2019 at Taif, Saudi Arabia.

The Crown Prince Camel Festival / pix: thenational.ae

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Saudi Arabia

Mars One – Mohammed Sallam Only Arab Selected for Round III Mars One Project

Mohammed Sallam from Egypt is the only Arab candidate selected for Round III of the Dutch Mars One Project.

He hopes it will pave the path for future Arab astronauts in outer space. Sallam is one of the 100 candidates selected to have entered Round III for Mars One, down form 202,000 initial applicants.

Next year 24 finalists will be selected and trained for the 2031 mission to Mars which aims to establish the first human settlement/colony on the red planet.

-Founder -‘ Saturn V Space Club’ / Project Manager and Speaker – ‘Make Space Yours’ / Member of the Board of Advisory member – ‘Telescopia’

source: fridaymagazine.ae

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Egypt

Largest Copper Bas-relief Sculpture : Ali Moneer Alassad , Syria 2009

The largest copper bas-relief created by Ali Moneer Alassad in Qurdaha, Lattakia, Syria, on 2 July 2009.

The bas-relief measures 122.5 sq mtr (1,318.5) sq m and is 50.10 m long and 2.44 m tall.

Alassad and his team spent 4,000 working hours to finish the copper bas-relief. The copper bas-relief is surrounded by ornamental plant Islamic framework and includes a 78 portraits represent the most important archaeological finds in Syria throughout history.

The bas-relief reflects the history of Syria since 9 thousand years BC. until the present time.

source: Guinness World Records / world-records.org /

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Syria

World’s Largest Hot Desert . The Sahara Desert, North Africa

The Sahara in North Africa is the largest hot desert in the world.

At its greatest length it is 5,150 km (3,200 miles) from east to west. From north to south it is between 1,280 and 2,250 km (800 and 1,400 miles).

The area covered by the desert is about 9.1 million km (9,100,000 sq km/ 3.5 million square miles).

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(Algeria, Egypt, Libya,Morocco, Sudan,Tunisia), North Africa

World’s Largest Hand-Woven Carpet – Abu Dhabi, UAE

The largest hand-woven carpet sits in Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

The massive Persian carpet was created in 9 parts and assembled inside the mosque. It took 1,200 weavers from the Khorasan province about one year to hand craft. The carpet features 2.2 billion hand-tied individual rug knots, weighs 12 tons and is 5,360 square meters (60,000.81 sq. feet) . It was manufactured in Iran in 2007.

Record by the Guiness World Records

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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Charles Elachi – NASA Scientist : USA

Dr. Charles Elachi , NASA scientist . Advisor.

During his tenure as Director, JPL was involved in more than 20 missions including Cloudsat, Jason 1 and 2, Aquarius, OCO-2, GRACE, SMAP, GRAIL, Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Phoenix, Cassini, Deep Impact, Stardust, Dawn, and Juno. Three rovers —Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity— reached Mars and provided detailed information about the planet.

Assignments :

  • Director – Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technolgy (upto 2016)
  • Professor Emeritus – California Institute of Technology
  • Advisor UAE Space Agency

Education:

  • Ph.D – Electrical Sciences, Calfornia Institute of Technology (CalTech)
  • Masters Degree in Geology -1987
  • MBA – Masters in Business Management (USC) – 1978
  • Masters Degree in Engineering – 1969
  • Diploma in Engineering – Polytechnic Institute, France
  • Bachelors Degree – Physics – University of Grenoble, France

Publications

Properties of the 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Interior Revealed by Consert Radar, W. Kofman, A. Herique, Y. Barbin, J.-P. Barriot, V. Ciarletti, S. Clifford, P. Edenhofer, C. Elachi, et al., Science, 349, 6247, 2015, http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab0639

Space Explorer, C. Elachi, Aerospace America, 53, 8, pp. 15-16, 2015

Getting Intimate with Mars, C. Elachi, Physics World, 23, 3, pp. 35-38, 2010

An Asymmetric Distribution of Lakes on Titan as a Possible Consequence of Orbital Forcing, O. Aharonson, A. G. Hayes, J. I. Lunine, R. D. Lorenz, M. D. Allison and C. Elachi, Nature Geoscience, 2, 12, pp. 851-854, 2009, http://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo698

Cassini Radar Sequence Planning and Instrument Performance, R. D. West, Y. Anderson, R. Boehmer, L. Borgarelli, P. Callahan, C. Elachi, Y. Gim, G. Hamilton, et al., Ieee Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 47, 6, pp. 1777-1795, 2009, http://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2008.2007217

Hydrocarbon Lakes on Titan: Distribution and Interaction with a Porous Regolith, A. Hayes, O. Aharonson, P. Callahan, C. Elachi, Y. Gim, R. Kirk, K. Lewis, R. Lopes, et al., Geophysical Research Letters, 35, 9, 2008, http://doi.org/10.1029/2008gl033409

Titan’s Diverse Landscapes as Evidenced by Cassini Radar’s Third and Fourth Looks at Titan, J. I. Lunine, C. Elachi, S. D. Wall, M. A. Janssen, M. D. Allison, Y. Anderson, R. Boehmer, P. Callahan, et al., Icarus, 195, 1, pp. 415-433, 2008, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2007.12.022

Titan’s Surface from the Cassini Radar Radiometry Data During Sar Mode, F. Paganelli, M. A. Janssen, R. M. Lopes, E. Stofan, S. D. Wall, R. D. Lorenz, J. I. Lunine, R. L. Kirk, et al., Planetary and Space Science, 56, 1, pp. 100-108, 2008, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2007.03.015

The Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission (Consert): A Short Description of the Instrument and of the Commissioning Stages, W. Kofman, A. Herique, J. P. Goutail, T. Hagfors, I. P. Williams, E. Nielsen, J. P. Barriot, Y. Barbin, et al., Space Science Reviews, 128, 1-4, pp. 413-432, 2007, http://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-006-9034-9

The Lakes of Titan, E. R. Stofan, C. Elachi, J. I. Lunine, R. D. Lorenz, B. Stiles, K. L. Mitchell, S. Ostro, L. Soderblom, et al., Nature, 445, 7123, pp. 61-64, 2007, http://doi.org/10.1038/nature05438

High-Resolution Land Topography, D. Massonnet and C. Elachi, Comptes Rendus Geoscience, 338, 14-15, pp. 1029-1041, 2006, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte.2006.06.001

Mapping of Titan: Results from the First Titan Radar Passes, E. R. Stofan, J. I. Lunine, R. Lopes, F. Paganelli, R. D. Lorenz, C. A. Wood, R. Kirk, S. Wall, et al., Icarus, 185, 2, pp. 443-456, 2006, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2006.07.015

Models of Synthetic Aperture Radar Backscattering for Bright Flows and Dark Spots on Titan, P. Paillou, M. Crapeau, C. Elachi, S. Wall and P. Encrenaz, Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets, 111, E11, 2006, http://doi.org/10.1029/2006je002724

The Sand Seas of Titan: Cassini Radar Observations of Longitudinal Dunes, R. D. Lorenz, S. Wall, J. Radebaugh, G. Boubin, E. Reffet, M. Janssen, E. Stofan, R. Lopes, et al., Science, 312, 5774, pp. 724-727, 2006, http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1123257

Titan Radar Mapper Observations from Cassini’s T3 Fly-By, C. Elachi, S. Wall, M. Janssen, E. Stofan, R. Lopes, R. Kirk, R. Lorenz, J. Lunine, et al., Nature, 441, 7094, pp. 709-713, 2006, http://doi.org/10.1038/nature04786

Cassini Radar Views the Surface of Titan, C. Elachi, S. Wall, M. Allison, Y. Anderson, R. Boehmer, P. Callahan, P. Encrenaz, E. Flamini, et al., Science, 308, 5724, pp. 970-974, 2005, http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1109919

Seasat – a 25-Year Legacy of Success, D. L. Evans, W. Alpers, A. Cazenave, C. Elachi, T. Farr, D. Glackin, B. Holt, L. Jones, et al., Remote Sensing of Environment, 94, 3, pp. 384-404, 2005, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2004.09.011

Radar: The Cassini Titan Radar Mapper, C. Elachi, M. D. Allison, L. Borgarelli, P. Encrenaz, E. Im, M. A. Janssen, W. T. K. Johnson, R. L. Kirk, et al., Space Science Reviews, 115, 1-4, pp. 71-110, 2004, http://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-004-1438-9

Ultra-Relativistic Electrons in Jupiter’s Radiation Belts, S. J. Bolton, M. Janssen, R. Thorne, S. Levin, M. Klein, S. Gulkis, T. Bastian, R. Sault, et al., Nature, 415, 6875, pp. 987-991, 2002, http://doi.org/10.1038/415987a

Cassini Radio Detection and Ranging (Radar): Earth and Venus Observations, R. D. Lorenz, C. Elachi, R. D. West, W. T. K. Johnson, M. A. Janssen, M. Moghaddam, G. A. Hamilton, O. Liepack, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics, 106, A12, pp. 30271-30279, 2001, http://doi.org/10.1029/2001ja900035

Space Imaging Radar in Planetary Exploration and Earth Observation, Elachi, C., AIAA Paper 2000-0001.

Recent Advances in Radar Technology and Techniques for Affordable Planetary Remote Sensing, Van Zyl, J., C. Elachi, and K. Yunjin, Proceedings of the IEEE 2000 International Radar Conference, pp. 12-16, 2000.

Solar System Exploration in the Next Decade, Elachi, C., IAF Paper 99-Q206, 1999.

Exploring the Solar System – a Current Overview, Huckins, E. K., III, D. V. Woods, and C. Elachi, IAF Paper 99-Q201, 1999.

The Cassini Radar: Instrument and Investigation, Wall, S., L. Roth, R. Lorenz, and C. Elachi, Proceedings of EURSAR’98: European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, pp. 69-71, 1998.

Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission, Kofman, W., Y. Barbin, J. Klinger, A. C. Levasseur-Regourd, J. P. Barriot, A. Herique, T. Hagfors, E. Nielsen, E. Grun, P. Edenhofer, H. Kochan, G. Picardi, R. Seu, J. Van Zyl, C. Elachi, J. Melosh, J. Veverka, P. Weissman, L. H. Svedhem, S. E. Hamran, and I. P. Williams, Space Exploration of the Outer Space Solar System and Cometary Nuclei, (Advances in Space Research, Vol. 21) Oxford : Pergamon Press Ltd, pp. 1589-1598, 1998.

Mars Glob – Creation of an International Network of Mars Surface Landers, Galeev, A., V. Moroz, V. Linkin, R. Kremnev, G. Rogovsky, K. Pichkhadze, B. Martynov, O. Papkov, A. Eremenko, E. Galimov, Y. Surkov, C. Elachi, R. Bourke, and J. Mcnamee, In-Situ Impact Detection Techniques, Interplanetary Dust, and Future Mars Exploration, (Advances in Space Research, Vol. 17), Oxford : Pergamon Press Ltd, pp. 15-20, 1995.

Impact of Space on Science, Elachi, C., British Interplanetary Society, Journal of the, Vol. 46, No. 11 p. 431-438 November 1993.

The SIR-C/X-SAR Mission, Way, J., D. Evans, and C. Elachi, Proceedings of IGARSS ’93 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Vol.2, pp. 593, 1993.

Low-Emissivity Impact Craters on Venus, Weitz, C. M., C. Elachi, H. J. Moore, A. T. Basilevsky, B. A. Ivanov, and G. G. Schaber, Papers Presented to the International Colloquium on Venus, Lunar and Planetary Institute, p 129-131, 1993.

Aeolian Features on Venus – Preliminary Magellan Results, Greeley, R., R. E. Arvidson, C. Elachi, M. A. Geringer, J. J. Plaut, R. S. Saunders, G. Schubert, E. R. Stofan, E. J. P. Thouvenot, S. D. Wall, and C. M. Weitz, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 97, No. E8, p. 13,319-13,345, Aug. 25, 1992.

Synthetic Aperture Radar Applications: Now and in the Future, Elachi, C., Proceedings of the International Symposium on Remote Sensing, p. 41-65, 1992.

Venus Volcanism – Initial Analysis from Magellan Data, Head, J. W., D. B. Campbell, C. Elachi, J. E. Guest, D. P. McKenzie, R. S. Saunders, G. G. Schaber, and G. Schubert, Science, Vol. 252, No. 5003 pp. 276-288, 1991.

Cassini Titan Radar Mapper, Elachi, C., E. Im, L. E. Roth, and C. L. Werner, IEEE Proceedings, Vol. 79, June 1991, p. 867-880.

Magellan – Electrical and Physical- Properties of Venus Surface, Tyler, G. L., P. G. Ford, D. B. Campbell, C. Elachi, G. H. Pettengill, and R. A. Simpson, Science, Vol. 252, No. 5003 pp. 265-270, 1991.

Magellan – Initial Analysis of Venus Surface Modification, Arvidson, R. E., V. R. Baker, C. Elachi, R. S. Saunders, and J. A. Wood, Science, Vol. 252, No. 5003 pp. 270-275, 1991.

Global Digital Topography Mapping with a Synthetic Aperture Scanning Radar Altimeter, Elachi, C., K. E. Im, and E. Rodriguez, International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 11, p. 585-601, April 1990.

Microwave Penetration and Attenuation in Desert Soil: A Field Experiment with Shuttle Imaging Radar, Farr, T. G., C. Elachi, P. Hartl, and K. Chowdhury, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. GE-24, No. 4, pp. 590-594, July 1986.

Overview of the Shuttle Imaging Radar-B Preliminary Scientific Results, Elachi, C., J. B. Cimino, and M. Settle, Science, Vol. 232, pp. 1511-1516, June 20, 1986.

Spaceborne Radar Subsurface Imaging in Hyperarid Regions, Elachi, C., L.E. Roth, and G.G. Schaber, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. GE-22, No. 4, pp. 383-388, July 1984.

Spaceborne Imaging Radar: Geologic and Oceanographic Applications, Elachi, C., Science, Vol. 209, No. 4461, pp. 1073-1082, September 5, 1980.

Observation of the Grand Canyon Wall Structure with an Airborne Imaging Radar, Elachi, C. and T. G. Farr, Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 9, pp. 171-174, 1979.

Precipitation on Venus: Properties and Possibilities of Detection, Cimino, J. B. and C. Elachi, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 1168-1177, July 1979.

Wave Tilt Sounding of a Linearly Inhomogeneous Layered Half-Space, Warne, L., D. Evans, and C. Elachi, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-27, No. 3, pp. 417-422, May 1979.

Mapping of Sea Ice and Measurement of Its Drift Using Aircraft Synthetic Aperture Radar Images, Leberl, F., M. L. Bryan, C. Elachi, T. Farr, and W. Campbell, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 84, No. C4, pp. 1827-1835, April 20, 1979.

Liquid Content of the Lower Clouds of Venus as Determined from Mariner 10 Radio Occultation, Kliore, A. J. , C. Elachi, I. R. Patel, and J. B. Cimino, Icarus, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 51-72, January 1979.

Imaging Radar Observations of Askja Caldera, Iceland , Malin, M. C., D. Evans, and C. Elachi, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 5, No. 11, pp. 931-934, November 1978.

Discrimination of Geologic Units in Death Valley Using Dual Frequency and Polarization Imaging Radar Data, Daily, M., C. Elachi, T. Farr, and G. Schaber, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 5, No. 10, pp. 889-892, October 1978.

Preliminary Studies of Electromagnetic Sounding of Cometary Nuclei, Gabriel, A., L. Warne, S. Bednarczyk, and C. Elachi, JPL Publication 78-44, October 1, 1978.

Application of Multispectral Radar and LANDSAT Imagery to Geologic Mapping in Death Valley, Daily, M., C. Elachi, T. Farr, W. Stromberg, S. Williams, and G. Schaber, JPL Publication 78-19, March 30, 1978.

Radar Imaging of the Ocean Surface, Elachi, C., Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 13, pp. 165-179, 1978.

Ocean Wave Patterns Under Hurricane Gloria: Observation with an Airborne Synthetic-Aperture Radar, Elachi, C., T. W. Thompson, and D. King, Science, Vol. 198, pp. 609-610, November 11, 1977.

Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery of the AIDJEX Triangle, Bryan, L. , T. Farr, F. Leberl, and C. Elachi, AIDJEX Bulletin, No. 37, pp. 161-187, September 1977.

Higher-Order Bragg Coupling in Periodic Media With Gain or Loss, Jaggard, D. L and C. Elachi, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 1461-1466, April 1977.

Equipotential Doming in Flooded Circular Basins on the Moon, Roth, L. E., C. Elachi, and R. J. Phillips, Proceedings of the Eighth Lunar Science Conference, Houston, Tex., March 14-18, pp. 643-654, 1977.

Effects of Random Phase Changes on the Formation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery, Elachi, C. and D. D. Evans, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-25, No. 1, pp. 149-153, January 1977.

Models of Radar Imaging of the Ocean Surface Waves, Elachi, C. and W. E. Brown, Jr., IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-25, No. 1, pp. 84-95, January 1977.

Waves in Active and Passive Periodic Structures: A Review, Elachi, C., IEEE Proceedings, Vol. 64, No. 12, pp. 1666-1698, December 1976.

Application of Remote Sensors in Coastal Zone Observations, Caillat, J.-M., C. Elachi, and W. E. Brown, Jr., JPL Technical Memorandum 33-750, November 15, 1975.

The JPL Imaging Radar Experiment in GATE: A Preliminary Report, Elachi, C., JPL Technical Memorandum 33-751, November 15, 1975.

Coherent Electromagnetic Losses by Scattering From Volume Inhomogeneities, Roth, L. E. and C. Elachi, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-23, No. 5, pp. 674-675, September 1975.

Transients in a Periodic Slab: Coupled Waves Approach, Elachi, C., D. L. Jaggard, and C. Yeh, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-23, No. 3, pp. 352-358, May 1975.

Imaging and Sounding of Ice Fields With Airborne Coherent Radars, Elachi, C. and W. E. Brown, Jr., Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 80, No. 8, pp. 1113-1119, March 10, 1975.

Magnetic Wave Propagation in a Periodic Medium, Elachi, C., IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. MAG-11, No. 1, pp. 36-39, January 1975.

Proposed Distributed Feedback Crystal Cavities for X-Ray Lasers, Elachi, C., G. Evans, and F. J. Grunthaner, Applied Optics, Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 14, January 1975.

Distributed Feedback Acoustic Surface Wave Oscillator, Elachi, C., IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. MTT-22, No. 10, pp. 907-908, October 1974.

Mode Conversion in Periodically Disturbed Thin-Film Waveguides, Elachi, C. and C. Yeh, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 3494-3499, August 1974.

Parametric Interactions Between Alfven Waves and Sonic Waves, Elachi, C., IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-21, No. 6, pp. 907-909, November 1973.

Periodic Structures in Integrated Optics, Elachi, C. and C. Yeh, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 44, No. 7, pp. 3146-3152, July 1973.

Cerenkov and Transition Radiation in Space-Time Periodic Media, C. Elachi., Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 43, No. 9, pp. 3719-3723, September 1972.

Electromagnetic Wave Propagation and Wave-Vector Diagram in Space-Time Periodic Media, Elachi, C., IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-20, No. 4, pp. 534-536, July 1972.

Dipole Antenna in Space-Time Periodic Media, C. Elachi, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-20, No. 3, pp. 280-287, May 1972.

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American / Lebanese-American

Mohamed Alabbar – Middle East Personality of the Year : Dubai, UAE

Mohamed Alabbar (aka) Mohamed Ali Rashid Alabbar – Emirati businessman –

Organisations:

  • Founder and Chairman – Emaar Properties ( incl. Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building), Dubai Creek Tower, Dubai Opera (2000 seat), Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills
  • Noon – a USD 1 billion start-up working in the entire Middle East region
  • Chairman – Eagle Hills
  • Chairman – Americana Group (includes KFC, Pizza Hut )..
  • Chairman – Hamptons , MENA
  • Chairman – Armani Hotels and Resorts
  • etc…

Education:

  • Graduate Degree – The Albers School of Business & Economics, Seattle University
  • Ph.D – Honorary Doctorate (Humanities), Seattle University

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United Arab Emirates