Mohamed El-Kalla is the Chief Executive Officer of CIRA Education, an EGX30 Company and winner of Africa's top IPO in 2018. CIRA was founded 1993 and currently CIRA is Egypt’s largest investor in the area of private education. It holds more than 17 affiliate companies and brands, including Futures Educational Systems, Rising Stars, Mavericks, British Columbia Canadian International School (BCCIS) and Badr University in Cairo (BUC). CIRA has invested in 26 campuses, serving more than 40,000 students around Egypt, and has plans to expand regionally.
Following a 10-year career in the United Nations that focused on development and corporate sustainability, El-Kalla founded Ahead of the Curve (ATC) consultancy, offering technical assistance to the private sector on corporate social responsibility issues. In 2011, Ahead of the Curve restructured into a leading regional sustainability management think tank focused around inclusive economies, as El-Kalla believed that the region was in dire need of developing a locally sensitized think tank that works on supporting the realization of a MENA-based model for sustainability.
El-Kalla is a specialist in private sector sustainable development, educational and BOP investments, and corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. A graduate of the American University in Cairo, he majored in political science with a specialization in international law and a minor in development studies. He started his career in UNHCR, moving on to UNV, UNRC and UNDP, where he supported the foundation of the Global Compact Network in Egypt, and other countries around the MENA region. El-Kalla is responsible for the creation and management of more than 100 developmental projects and partnerships involving the private sector, including the setup of the Egyptian Responsibility Center and the Center for Transparency at the Ministry of Investment.
Mohamed El Khouly
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. El Khouly has previously served as CFO of Egyptian Contact Center Operator (ECCO), Financial Manager of ECCO, Financial Manager of Marketing International Co. and Sipco Paints Co., Accounting Manager of Marketing International Co. and Sipco Paints Co., Accounting Supervisor at El Banhawi Insulation Co., Internal Auditor at Baron Heliopolis Hotel, Accounting Receivable Supervisor at Hotel Sofitel Sharm EL Sheikh, Head Night Auditor at Riyadh Marriot Hotel, and Night Auditor at Riyadh Marriot Hotel. Mr. El Khouly graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Ein Shams University, Cairo in 1988.
Sarah El Kalla
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Ms. El Kalla is responsible for the delivery of operations, certain program management, and a range of corporate support functions. Ms. El Kalla started her career, as an online learning administrator at the Futures American School. Later on in her career, Ms. El Kalla was the Admissions Director at Futures American School, an International Programs Coordinator at Edu Systems International (ESI), a Guidance Counselor at Futures International School, a Community Outreach Programs Director in Edu Systems International (ESI), the Chief Executive Officer of Edu Systems International (ESI), and the Chief Cross-Functional Services of Futures Educational Systems. Ms. El Kalla also worked in various positions at the American University in Cairo (AUC), including Head Supervisor of the Junior Summer Program and Research Assistant at the Psychology Department. Ms. El Kalla graduated from AUC with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Sociology, and from the American International College (AIC) with a Master of Education (M.E.d.) in International Education.
Nermine Nomany
Chief Education Officer
Mrs. El Noamany is the coordinator for international cooperation at the Ministry of Education and Technical Education. Mrs. El Noamany has had several contributions in the education industry including the STEM Schools, Nile Schools, IB Public Schools, Egyptian Japanese initiative for Education and the Education reform in 2018. Mrs. El Noamany graduated from Ain Shams University (French department) with a bachelor of arts and literature, from Lille University with a Master in Pedagogy and from SENGHOR University with a Masters in Management of Educational Systems. Mrs. Noamany also holds a diploma in Leaderships in Education from Singapore National Institute.
Dr. Muriel Baskerville
Chief Education Advisor
Dr. Baskerville’s career experiences have included providing day-to-day management to early childhood programs, including Head Start in California and Baltimore, college and university instruction as well as managing and developing budgetary processes and proposal writing, having researched, developed, and written several successful early childhood grant initiatives. Dr. Baskerville graduated from University of the District of Columbia with a bachelor in Early Childhood Education. Dr. Baskerville also obtained certificates in teaching English as foreign language and Leadership Development and Organizational Behavior from University of Toronto and Johns Hopkins University, respectively, and is certified in the Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS). Dr. Baskerville further holds an MA in Clinical Community Psychology and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Baskerville holds a PhD in Education Administration from Morgan State University.
Eman Korany
Chief Human Resources Officer and Governmental Relations
Mrs. Korani has helped the Company in the restructuring of schools hierarchy charts and daily operations process, applying effective quality management and evaluation systems and obtaining the American and British school’s accreditations. Mrs. Korani graduated from Cairo University – Faculty of Commerce – Business and Administration department and holds an MBA from Cairo University. Mrs. Korani also holds an HR Management diploma from the American University in Cairo.
Mona Shokeir
Director of Operations
Ms. Shokeir’s areas of expertise focuses on schools licensing and recruitment of staff members. Ms. Shokeir is also member of the Executive team and director of Futures International School. Ms. Shokeir’s graduated from the American University in Cairo with a bachelor of science. Ms. Shokeir’s also holds a diploma in material engineering.
Kamal Seddik
Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Seddik is professional is various areas relating to computer and electronic engineering, quality management, educational projects management, monitoring and evaluation in the information technology segment. Mr. Seddik has several years of experience working in various areas relating to, amongst other, operation, maintenance and repair of advanced electronic devices and different types of systems. Mr. Seddik has previously held leadership positions in military and other entities. Mr. Seddik graduated from the Military Technical College with a bachelor of electronic engineering and military science, and from Alexandria University with a master’s degree in communication. Mr. Seddik attended, over the past three decades, a number of training programs relating to operation, maintenance and repair of electronic equipment, quality and risk management and development in various countries.
Alyaa Said
Chief Communications Officer
Alyaa was the Co-Founder of one of CIRA Education's schools, Mavericks International School, and leading the Marketing and Revenue functions for Mavericks for three years till now. During the three years, Alyaa was able to found Mavericks brand from scratch and grow the schools from a new school to three well established campuses and grow the brand reputation and school volume of students to nine folds over three years. Alyaa has built valuable partnerships that have benefited the school and will create the positive experience that Mavericks aims to offer. She has also managed marketing activities in a way that invites audiences into Mavericks and helps them understand what blended learning is really all about. Her hard work and dedication with the Mavericks team is an asset to the school and will shine through every child’s success story to come. Alyaa has 11+ years of experience in Digital Marketing and Communication. Prior to Mavericks, Alyaa has been working at global organizations such as Yahoo!, YouTube and AMIDEAST, leading different education/non education projects with global and local markets. Alyaa has managed to grow her markets financial figures tremendously with global exposure covering markets such as United Kingdom, Greece, Romania and China.