Top Business Leaders in Egypt

Marcopolis ranked the top business leaders in Egypt, as part of the business report on the country. Businessmen Osama Rabie of Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Mohamed Eletreby of Banque Misr and Hussein Abaza of Commercial International Bank (CIB), rank at the top the list of the most powerful business leaders in Egypt.

The List

#1 – Osama Rabie is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), a public and independent authority tasked with the role of managing, operating, using, maintaining and improving the Suez Canal. Although the SCA shall report to the Prime Minister, it has all the authorities needed for running the Canal without being limited by the laws and the systems of the government. Osama Rabie assumed his current role through a presidential decree in 2019.

#2 – Mohamed Eletreby is a prominent banker with a long-standing experience of more than 35 years in the banking sector. He has been at the helm of Banque Misr since 2015. Prior to joining Banque Misr, he was the CEO and Managing Director of the Egyptian Gulf Bank from January 2013 to December 2014. Mr. El Etreby began his banking career in 1977, joining the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) and Crédit International d’Egypte Bank later on. In 1983, he joined Misr International Bank (MIBank, currently Qatar National Bank Alahli), where he spent more than 22 years, during which he held several senior banking positions and acquired a wide range of experience in different key areas of the banking business.

#3 – Hussein Abaza is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s premier private sector bank serving over a million customers, including corporate clients from among Egypt’s largest 500 institutions. Mr. Abaza has been CEO and MD since June 24, 2021 and Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Board of Directors since March 2017. He assumed this position after a six-year run as CEO of Institutional Banking. Prior to this, Mr. Abaza was the Bank’s Chief Operating Officer and, from 2001 to 2010, its Chief Risk Officer responsible for managing credit, market, and operational risk across CIB.

#4 – Hisham Talaat Moustafa is an Egyptian realtor and former Chairman and Head of the real estate branch of the Talaat Moustafa Group, Egypt’s largest listed real estate company. TMG Holding puts special emphasis on developing integrated communities, including, but not limited to, mixed-use real estate and hospitality projects across Egypt’s key cities, with a land bank of 53 million sqm. In 2004, Hisham Talaat Moustafa has been elected to the Shura Council in the Parliament of Egypt.

#5 – Amr Abuelenein is the Chairman and CEO of Egyptair Holding Company. Egyptair started operations in 1932 as the first airline in the Middle East and Africa and the seventh airline in the world to join IATA and become a treasured brand. Throughout its 88 years of service, Egyptair has experienced significant growth. In 2002, the company became a holding for eight subsidiaries, including Egyptair Airlines, Egyptair Duty-Free, Egyptair Maintenance and Engineering, Egyptair Ground Services, Egyptair In-Flight Services, Egyptair Medical Services, Egyptair Supplementary Industries, and Egyptair Cargo.

#6 – Osama Bishai is the CEO of Orascom Construction, one of the world’s largest contractors, with a footprint covering the Middle East, Africa and the United States, and operations encompassing the infrastructure, industrial and commercial sectors. The Group owns 50% of BESIX Group, develops and invests in infrastructure opportunities, and holds a building materials and facilities management portfolio. The company was Egypt’s first multinational corporation and stands at the core of the Orascom Group companies. Orascom Construction was founded in 1950 and is active in more than 25 countries. Bishai joined Orascom in 1985.

#7 – Adel Hamed has been the Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, the country’s primary telephone company, since 2019. He is also a member of Telecom Egypt’s board, representing the Egyptian government. Prior to that, Adel Hamed was the Chief International and Wholesale Officer of Telecom Egypt. His scope included commercial marketing, strategy development and execution of Telecom Egypt’s international and domestic wholesale business. He is a Telecom Egypt veteran, having served 20 years in the company assuming multiple roles. He first joined the company in 1999.

#8 – Karim Awad is the Group CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee at EFG Hermes Holding, a premier financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets and the leading investment bank across the MENA region, providing the full spectrum of asset management, securities brokerage, private equity and investment banking services. EFG Hermes Holding offers consumer finance, leasing, factoring, mortgage finance, payments, and microfinance services in select markets. He started his career with the company in 1998.

#9 – Sherif Elwy is the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Arab African International Bank (AAIB). The first Arab multinational bank, AAIB is a joint venture between the Central Bank of Egypt and the Kuwait Investment Authority, incorporated in 1964. The Arab African International Bank provides retail, corporate, and investment banking services in Egypt and internationally. In January 2009 the AAIB became the first Egyptian bank to adopt the Equator Principles.

#10 – Omar El Hamamsy is the CEO of Orascom Development Egypt (ODE). Orascom Development Holding (ODH) is a leading developer of fully integrated destinations, including hotels, residential units and leisure facilities, and offers a diverse portfolio of world-class destinations covering Egypt, the UAE, Oman, Morocco, Montenegro, Switzerland and the UK. The group operates a total of 33 hotels and controls approximately 101.4 million sqm of land. El Hamamsy joined ODH and ODE from McKinsey & Company, where he was a senior partner in the Middle East office. He also sits on the board of Injaz Al-Arab and leads its Operations Committee.