Dr Munif Mohammed is the CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Middle East. Munif joined Lagardère Travel Retail in 2011, as a Financial Consultant in the Pacific region, where he later became Chief Business Officer. Munif moved to Saudi Arabia in 2017 and has been instrumental in developing the group’s activities in the country, in structuring various enterprises in the region and in establishing the regional support center in Dubai in 2019.
Munif holds a BA in Economics from Auckland University and an MBA in Corporate Strategy from UNSW Business School. He also holds a Doctorate in Business Administration & Sustainability from the Business School of Lausanne.
PRESENTATION
Leila Naguib is the Corporate Affairs Manager for Mars, where she leads public affairs and public policy for the Gulf markets, as well as strategic communications and sustainability for Mars Middle East Africa. Leila has also been recently selected to join Masdar’s WISER Pioneers Program which aims to empower women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy.
Driven by her passion for advancing sustainable development goals and crafting purpose-led communications, Leila led several sustainability initiatives to support Mars’s advocacy, communications, and partnerships strategy in the region. She develops corporate and brand strategies to drive positive societal impact initiatives, addressing issues such as inclusion and diversity, environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing, and creating a better world for pets.
Leila is not new to Mars. She joined Mars Egypt in 2013 as a member of the Egypt Corporate Affairs team responsible for leading communications and volunteering programs. She was also responsible for Consumer Care for GCC, North Africa, and Levant markets.
Besides Mars, Leila worked for Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she excelled in various marketing roles, including leading integrated marketing communications for BCG’s functional practice areas, event management, and public relations. At the beginning of her career, Leila worked for Unilever Mashreq as the Brand Building & Customer Development Assistant.
She graduated from the American University in Cairo with high honors in Political Science and a double minor in Business Administration and Psychology. Leila resides in Dubai with her husband and two children. She enjoys spending time with her family doing outdoor activities and has a passion for music, writing, and voice acting.
PRESENTATION
Chichi Maponya is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairperson of Africa Travel Retail, a dynamic company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company specializes in travel retail, including distribution and retail operations, airport customer experience advisory, “sense of place” advisory and implementation, and non-aeronautical commercial services.
Her extensive experience and accomplishments as a business leader earned her the prestigious South African Businesswoman of the Year Award in 2008.
She currently serves as the Board Chairperson of the Maponya Group, a diversified family-owned enterprise founded in 1952 by her late parents, Dr. Richard and Marina Maponya. In addition to this role, she is a Trustee of the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation, established by the former President of South Africa. She also sits on the Board of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) and is a Trustee of the Dr. Richard Maponya Institute for Skills and Entrepreneurship. Furthermore, she serves on the boards of Boxer, one of South Africa’s largest discount grocery retailers, and Africa Realty Trust (ART), a citrus export company.
Chichi’s leadership also extends internationally through her active participation in the Middle East and Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA). She serves on MEADFA’s Advocacy Committee and was recently elected as its Vice President, further strengthening her global influence.
She is a member of the ACI Africa Economics Committee and ACI Africa World Business Partners, and contributes to the Airports Council International (ACI) World Economics Standing Committee, where she serves on the Non-Aeronautical Revenues and Activities (ANARA) subcommittee.
Chichi previously served as Deputy Chairperson of the South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR), which advises the Minister of International Relations. She is also a former Chairperson of Brand South Africa, the agency responsible for promoting the country as an international investment destination. Additionally, she has served as a board member of South African Tourism and 4 Africa Exchange (4AX), an alternative stock exchange.
Ali Tounsi is the Secretary General of Airport Council International (ACI) for the African continent, which includes 76 members in 54 countries and manages 265 airports.
Mr Tounsi is an engineer with a master’s degree in avionics and airport management. He has over 32 years of experience in airport operations, resource management, and infrastructure development. He also oversees information technology projects in facilitation, passenger experience, quality of service, and private-public partnership.
Mr. Tounsi is an academic lecturer at aviation schools and supervises several research projects.
PRESENTATION
Abdeslam Agzoul is the CEO of the Middle East and Africa for Avolta AG. Abdeslam is also the newly elected President of the Middle East Africa Duty Free Association. With more than 20 years of experience in travel, food, beverage, and retail, he began his career in Grupo Areas before joining Dufry in 2006 where he served as Head of Controlling and Deputy COO for Africa and Deputy CFO EMEA. Previously, Abdeslam held executive positions with Servair and Gategroup.
Abdeslam has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a postgraduate degree in international commerce. He also earned a PMD from IESE Business School.
PRESENTATION
Luis Marin is the President and CEO of Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Avolta AG. Responsible for overseeing all facets of the organization, Luis has held senior executive roles with Dufry AG as Global Chief Corporate Officer and Business Control Director where he oversaw its mergers and acquisitions.
A proven leader in the field of finance and accounting, Luis served as Head of Finance and Administration for Areas; a subsidiary member of the Elior group. He was also the Financial Controller at Derbi Motocicletas Nacional Motor S.A. and Auditor at Coopers and Lybrand.
A graduate of the University of Barcelona, Luis earned his degrees in economics, sciences, and business administration.
Chichi Maponya is the Co-founder and Executive Chairperson of Africa Travel Retail, a leading travel retail distribution and advisory firm with experts on airports customer experience, sense of place, implementation, and non-aero-commercial advisory services based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Chichi currently serves as a Board Chairperson of Maponya Group, a diversified family business established in 1952 by her late father, Dr. Richard Maponya. She is a Trustee of former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe’s Foundation and of Dr. Richard Maponya Institute for Skills and Entrepreneurship. She is also a Board Member of Consumer Goods Council of South Africa and actively serves as a member of the Middle East Africa Duty Free Association’s Advocacy Board Committee.
Chichi is a former Deputy Chairperson of South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR) tasked with advising the Minister on international relations; a former Chairperson of Brand South Africa – an agency tasked with marketing and promoting South Africa as a global investment destination. She also served as a Board Member of South African Tourism and of 4 Africa Exchange (4AX) – alternative stock exchange.
With her vast experience and achievements as a business leader, Chichi has earned the coveted South African Businesswoman of the year award in 2008.
PRESENTATION
Antoine Clément is the Senior Director – Strategy for leading lobbying firm Penta based in Brussels. With ten years in advocacy and strategy and a strong track record involving key stakeholders and decision makers, Antoine’s portfolio encompasses a wide range of projects in the private and public sector covering Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Since 2018, Antoine has been serving as an advisor for MEADFA with the association’s project in advocacy.
Pamela Djamson-Tettey is the Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL). With over forty years of senior management experience, Pamela has a strong track record in various industries such as energy, mining, manufacturing, food and beverage and aviation. She is also the recipient of the Head of State Award given by the President of the Republic of Ghana at an official ceremony in December 2022.
Before joining GACL, Pamela was the Communications & Outreach Director at the Millennium Development Authority from 2015 – 2022. She also provided consultancy services to Microsoft Ghana, YARA, and Pioneer Food Cannery. Pamela also held executive positions in Ghana’s gold mining companies such as Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd (1994 – 2001) and Gold Fields Ghana, Tarkwa and Damang (2010-2012).
From 2001 to 2009, Pamela served as the Executive Director and Director of Corporate Relations at Diageo Ghana-Guinness Ghana Breweries (GGBL) where she led a wide range of activities in public policy, corporate communications, stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, corporate brand reputation and sustainable development. During her time at GBBL, she initiated the “Sorghum Value Chain” project that successfully produced a steady supply of sorghum from northern Ghana in the production of Guinness foreign extra stout. This project created jobs for thousands of farmers and reduced the reliance on imported raw materials such as barley. In addition, Pamela spearheaded the “Water of Life” project which led to infrastructure developments of boreholes in deprived areas resulting in clean water source to the local communities.
Pamela has a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) degree in International Relations from the University of Herts. She holds post graduate degrees in political science, diplomacy, and international relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK.
With a natural curiosity and passion for compelling content, Michele is Conference Director responsible for developing and producing cutting-edge content for TFWA.
Previously, Michele spent several years with the think tanks East West Institute and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in charge of organizing high-level diplomatic events around the world. From Washington DC to Moscow, Brussels to Beijing, Michele completed impossible missions of getting heads of foreign ministries and multinational corporations talking about how to make the world a safer place. She has contributed to the New York Times and also worked as a foreign affairs columnist for the International Tribune, an Asian-American newspaper published in the United States.
Michele is a proud New Yorker who is passionate about rock climbing, running marathons, and traveling (to do both). She is aiming to visit every country in the world and is halfway there.
