- Sherife AbdelMessih, Chairman, Future Energy Corporation
In the energy world we are creating, there will be no such thing such as energy rich and energy poor countries. All countries will have abundant energy resources. There will be no price volatility, energy costs will be stable for decades to come. Households will produce most of the energy they need on their own, to run their houses and cars. Emissions, trash and other energy waste will be recycled into energy sources.
Sherife AbdelMessih is the Chairman of Future Energy Corporation (FEC), the leading company serving the renewable energy industry in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. Initially, Sherife built FEC as a Research & Development startup designing disruptive solar energy technologies catered for MENA, and then grew it into a renewable energy company with project development, construction, financing, and R&D divisions. He further grew the company’s business outside MENA, into the Americas, Europe and Asia. Through a European holding company, majority owned by FEC; Sherife pioneered the business model for developing solar power projects with attractive financial returns without the need for any government incentives or subsidies. He was also a consultant on the development of the first solar power plant in the Middle East, and an advisor to multiple self-made billionaires on power and renewable energy investments. He was selected by Yahoo! as one of the top 10 social entrepreneurs in Egypt; profiled as one of the 500 most influential people in the Middle East by Arabian Business magazine; and chosen as one of the top 100 economic leaders in Africa by L'Institut Choiseul, and was the youngest on all 3 lists. Sherife is regularly invited to speak at industry events hosted by institutions such as Financial Times, Bloomberg, World Bank, and prestigious universities. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from MIT where he was endowed with a full scholarship. He founded the MIT Egyptian Student Association, and is currently the Chairman of the MIT Alumni Club in Egypt. Sherife is a citizen of Egypt, and speaks fluent English, French and Arabic.
Hassan's experience spans the energy, telecommunications, media, education and pharmaceuticals industries. He was previously CEO of Weather Investments II, a diversified multi-billion dollar European holding company, where he was responsible for the starting up and management of the company's operations across Europe, Asia, Canada and MENA. In 2005, Weather acquired Wind Telecom in Italy for around $19 billion which at the time was the largest leveraged buyout in European history. In addition to his activities in the region Hasan oversees a portfolio of companies in Europe and the United States of America. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a BSc in Economics from the Wharton Business School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Varun is the General Manager at the Chairman’s Office of Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector enterprise with a market cap of $45 billion. He personally oversaw the renewable energy business creation where he hired the CEO, CFO, COO, and CTO and invested over $500 Million in various renewable energy companies globally. Prior to this, he founded Geospan Energy Group to provide strategy consulting services for Fortune 500 energy companies. Previously he was with Flagship Ventures, a premier US life sciences and alternative energy VC firm managing $1 billion in investments. He holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BSc in Chemical Engineering from University of Texas at Austin.
We are largely a product of our education, and given the importance of this field, FEC contributes significant resources to empower the next generation of leaders and equip them with the tools and skills they need to create projects, social enterprises or businesses.
Moreover, FEC has created an educational curriculum to teach middle school and high school students about renewable energy and challenges in the energy industry, to create young renewable champions and inspire the next generation of engineers, policy makers and financiers that will continue to lead the evolution of the energy industry.
Energy can be a very expensive commodity for many people around the world which struggle to afford it. Consequently, FEC regularly donates solar energy systems to communities in need to remove the electricity burden from their shoulders and improve their lives.
Athletes are role models. The dedication, hard work and discipline that many athletes demonstrate demands much respect and appreciation from the audience. Unfortunately, many athletes in developing countries today with tremendous talent lack the resources, support and financials to fulfill their potential. FEC has stepped in on regular occasions from sponsoring national teams or individual athletes that went on to become world champions, to bridge that gap and make sure those modern day warriors can focus on what they do best and not have to worry about things outside the playing field.