Our Team in Saudi Arabia

Dr. Ayman Elhefnawi (Egypt) was formerly the team leader for the Future of Saudi Cities Program, a transformational programme of urban planning in KSA in cooperation with Ministry of Municipalities and Rural affairs (MOMRA) during the period 2014-2019. Prior to that he worked in several positions in both private sector and international agencies, including in Egypt. He Holds a BSc in Architecture and a Diploma in Urban Management and Human Resources Development from Institute of Housing and Urban Development, University of Erasmus, as well as two Master's degrees from Ain Shams University (Urban Design) and University College London (Urban Development Planning) and a PhD from Cairo University in Strategic Urban Planning.

Mr. Ayman Omer is the Programme Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Technical Cooperation Programme in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, OiC. He has over 25 years of experience in international development in 22 countries in the Middle East, and Africa. Prior to his current role, Mr. Omer served as Senior Programme Officer, and Delivery Manager for the Regional Initiative on Building Resilience at the FAO’s Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (NENA).

Mr. Omer started his career with UNDP in Sudan as programme quality expert. Before joining FAO, Mr. Omer served as Country Director for Oxfam International in various countries including Ethiopia, Uganda, Eritrea and Yemen. He holds a Masters in Agriculture Economics and a post-graduate Diploma in Management and Leadership.

Prior to Dr. Ismail's current position, he occupied the same role in Yemen - which is considered one of the largest WHO operations in the world – for 2 years and in Iraq for 2.5 years. Before moving to Iraq, Dr Ismail worked for 13 years as a leader for the “Essential Medicines and Health Technologies” team in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt.

Prior to joining WHO, Dr. Ismail worked as a professor in several academic institutions in Egypt and the USA where he managed to publish many articles in renowned journals and has participated in many national and international conferences. He has over 20 years of experience in clinical and biomedical engineering.

Coupled with his extensive working experience, Dr. Ismail has 3 Masters’ degrees in Public Health from University of Roehampton (UK), Biomedical Engineering from Alexandria University (Egypt), and Business Administration from Arab Academy for Science and Technology. He is also a holder of a PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering from University of Miami (USA).

Dr. Rita Columbia brings 20 years of work experience in international development, public health, and management. Throughout her career, she covered complex development, humanitarian and recovery issues in Europe and Central Asia. Before joining RCO in KSA, she served as UNFPA representative in Iraq, Moldova and country director for Albania. She is a strong advocate for gender equality and human rights.

Dr. Rita Columbia holds a master’s degree in non-profit management (NYU, USA) and a Master’s in Public Administration (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economy, and Prognosis). She also has a medical degree from Kazakhstan Medical University.

As UNICEF Regional Representative for the Gulf States since April 2018, Mr Adam is responsible for managing and supervising UNICEF’s work, providing leadership and vision to the UNICEF country programme teams in planning and implementing local programmes and in managing and leveraging resources for the achievement of results and fulfilment of the rights of children. He was priviously UNICEF Chief Field Office for several operations in Mogadishu and Garowe, Somalia; in Qamishly, Syria; and in Sanaa, Yemen (2012-2018). Before joining UNICEF, Mr Adam has worked with UNDP in Abu Dhabi and Khartoum, and with Oxfam in Djakarta and Sana'a.

Mr. Fawzi Al-Zioud graduated from the University of Jordan in 1987, obtaining a B.A. Degree in Psychology & Population Studies then in 1989. In 2000 he was awarded Masters in Development Management & Poverty Reduction, from Birmingham University, and in 2008 another Masters in Psychosocial Animation in War Torn Societies from the Lebanese University.

In 2004, Fawzi Al-Zioud joined IOM Iraq to work successively as programme assistant, senior programme assistant and national programme officer on various border management projects. Mr. Al-Zioud continues backstopping IOM Yemen on Mixed Migration issues. Mr. Al-Zioud has been appointed as IOM representative in Lebanon on 7 April 2013, and on 23 March 2021 he was appointed as IOM Liaison Officer and Head of Operations in KSA.

Judge Hatem Aly, a former Senior Judge and Chief Prosecutor in Egypt, has over 20 years of experience in the areas of criminal justice and crime prevention. He previously served as a Senior Crime Prevention Expert at UNODC Headquarters in Vienna. He was also a Representative for the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (SII) for the Middle East region and for Afghanistan. He holds a degree in International Criminal Law (ICL) from the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights in Italy as well as an ICL Diploma in International Cooperation in Penal Matters from the International Human Rights Law Institute in Chicago, USA.

Mr Ben Saad, an Air Navigation Engineer, has worked at ICAO since 2006. With over twenty-six years of experience in the aviation industry, he has comprehensive understanding and extensive practice and experience of Aeronautical Information Services/Management (AIS/AIM), AIS Cartography, Instrument Flight Procedure Design (IFPD) and Airspace issues.

Issam Abousleiman has been the Country Director of the GCC since August 1st, 2018.

Mr. Abousleiman, a Lebanese national, joined the Bank in 1989. His most recent assignment was Country Manager of Colombia in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Having started his career at the World Bank in the Loans Department, he has since held various positions across the institution, including Head of Financial Advisory and Banking at the World Bank Treasury and Principal Investment Officer in the Banking & Debt Management Department. His regional expertise includes Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East regions.

Mr. Abousleiman is a graduate of the Harvard University Executive Management program, and holds an MBA in finance and investment from George Washington University, as well as an MBA in management from the American University of Beirut. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Janneke van der Graaff – Kukler is the Deputy Regional Director of UN-Women’s Regional Office in the Arab States. She has over 15 years’ experience as development practitioner at regional and country level in East and Southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific as well as the Arab States. Ms. Kukler’s profound programmatic background provides her with rich expertise in governance, leadership, and gender statistics. She is a specialist in regional strategic planning, UN coordination, as well as change management, including the implementation of General Assembly resolution 72/279.

A German national, Mr. Kulessa has worked with UNFPA since 1992. After a two-year posting as Junior Professional Officer in New York, focusing on interagency coordination, he moved to the “field” covering countries in Africa and Asia. Since 2004 he has been UNFPA country representative in various countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA).

As a Representative to Turkey, aside from the regular country program, his office managed a major humanitarian portfolio covering support to Syrian refugees inside Turkey and cross-border operations. Mr. Kulessa has also covered Georgia and Azerbaijan as Country Director.

Mr. Kulessa holds a Master of Arts in History (specializing in American foreign policy). He has been married since 1995 and has three children.

Kashif is a Pakistani national with more than 30 years of work experience with United Nations, Government of Pakistan and Pakistan Army. He has worked with United Nations for around 15 years in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Turkey, South Sudan, Kazakhstan, Jordan, and Philippines. He joined OCHA KSA office in Riyadh in Feb 2021.

Kashif is a Civil Engineer, holds a Master’s degree in GIS for Business and Services Planning and MBA besides diplomas in humanitarian assistance, surveying, digital mapping and aerial photography.

Mr Khlaifa has 20 years of experience in relief and development. He has led humanitarian operations in various settings of natural disasters and complex emergencies, including in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Libya and Pakistan. He Holds an MA degree in English Literature & Humanities from Minia University in Egypt, an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of London, and a Project Management Diploma from Aalborg Technical School, Denmark.

Mr. Mohammad Al - Ghuneem has served as Senior Partnership Advisor, WFP – KSA, He was previously Line Piolet, Royal Saudi Air Force (1999 – 2000), Aviation Security Operation Manager department, Security Aviation MOI (2000 – 2009), Consultant for the Chairman of Red Crescent, Air Ambulance Project (2009 – 2013), Operation Manager of Isnad Center (2015 – 2020). Mr. Mohammad Al - Ghuneem graduated from the King Faisal Air academy, Royal Saudi air force, 1999, obtaining a B.A. Degree in Aviation Science (Piolet) In 2013. he was awarded master’s in project management, from University of Central Lancashire UK University.

Mounir Tabet who is a national of Canada took up his official functions as deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in September 2018. Mr. Tabet was the UNDP country director for Iraq from 2016 to 2018 and oversaw the program on stabilization and transition. Prior to joining UNDP Mr. Tabet worked with the North-South Institute and the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, and the University of Ottawa.

Mr. Tabet is an Edward S. Mason Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University where he obtained a Master's degree in public administration. He also holds a Master's degree in economics from the University of Ottawa.

Mu’ayyad Mehyar is the current Programme Coordinator for Technical Cooperation with the Government in KSA.

He is an international expert in social change, human rights and governance with more than 17 years of experience with the United Nations, U.S. Department of State, DANIDA and EU funded programmes. He has extensively led social development and human rights reform projects and programmes across the MENA region, and to a lesser extent in Europe and South-West Asia.

Mr. Mehyar holds a Master’s degree in International Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford in UK. He has completed two international executive courses in International Organizational Leadership at the United Nations University (UNU), in 1997 and Impact Evaluation at Harvard Kennedy School, in 2015.

Ms. Nahid Hussein, UNDP Resident Representative for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She was the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for Yemen, the Deputy Resident Representative a.i Somalia, and served at senior positions in Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kosovo. Ms. Hussein holds a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy, Switzerland, Geneva, and a Law Degree University of Khartoum, Sudan.

Dr. Patrick Goettner works in the Technical Cooperation Section of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and has more than 7 years of experience working on inter-agency coordination and the implementation of trade and development programmes in different countries around the globe.

In the past he worked as UNCTAD’s Regional Coordinator in the field in Samoa for a regional trade and transparency project in the Pacific region. Prior to that he served as International Consultant in the Department of Environment of UNIDO working on programmes with a focus on environmental sustainability issues, green industry, as well as e-waste management.

He holds a Master’s degree in Business Chemistry from the University of Muenster in Germany and a PhD in Economics from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany.

Peter Rademaker is the ILO’s Deputy Regional Director for the Arab States. He also heads the ILO’s Decent Work Technical Support Team for the region. He previously worked for the ILO in Africa and Asia and coordinated the ILO’s development partner relations team at Headquarters in Geneva, including on joint UN programming. He has been advising governments, trade unions and employers to advance Decent Work and Social Justice, including in the areas of youth employment, social protection and labour migration.

Mr. Salah Khaled (Egypt) began his career at the United Nations in 1993 in the Operational Development Assistance Unit (ODAU). He then worked as an Operations Assistant for UNICEF's Cairo Office, before joining UNESCO in 2001 as Head of the Liaison and Procurement Unit for Iraq, based in Amman, Jordan. He served as UNESCO's representative in Southern Sudan for the countries of Maghreb, before being appointed in Yaoundé as Regional Director for the Central African region. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the American University in Cairo and a Master of Arts degree in Human Development from the Arab Academy of Alexandria, Egypt.

With over 20 years of experience in management, Mr. Dimassi has extensive experience in multi-lateral and international relations, corporate and policy reform, intergovernmental affairs, strategy design and private sector engagement. Mr. Sami Dimassi joined the UNEP Regional Office for West Asia as Director and Regional Representative in 2017. He held several senior positions in the UN System, such as Senior ICT Advisor, Head of the Innovation Branch, Deputy Director of the Science division, Director of Private Sector Engagement, and Acting Director of Corporate Services all within UNEP. A Lebanese-Canadian national, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Ottawa University and a master’s in Management from Waterloo University in Canada

Mr. Alsawi applies his personal insights and 20 years of experience in Government, International organizations, international development and diplomacy to ensure the helping to shape the future of global food security and agriculture in the region.

Prior to his appointment at IFAD, Alsawi was Director General of International Cooperation Department in Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

Alsawi was born and raised in Riyadh. He has a Master Degree in Economics, University of Western Australia and Bachelor Degree in Agriculture, King Saud University.

Mr Tamer Hammouda is the Chief Security Advisor for UNDSS in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain has been working with UNDSS since 2004 as Security coordination officer in Darfur, South Sudan, Erbil and Baghdad and Regional Security Advisor for UAE, Oman and Qatar. He holds a Master’s degree in Crisis Management, and Master’s degree in Law and Police science.