Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Darwish

Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Darwish is a prominent Egyptian politician who has served as the first Chairman of the General Authority of Suez Canal Economic Zone (2015-2017) where he laid the foundation of one of the largest Special Economic Zones in the world (461 sq. km and 6 Ports). During his tenure, the Suez Canal Economic Zone has attracted investments for 30 different logistical projects amounting to multi-million dollars’ worth of investments. In his public roles, he has served as an international consultant to cover Policies and Strategies, Governance and organizational development, business processes, and Information Technology. He was a consultant to several international organizations (UNDP, UNIDO, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, FAO, ESCWA, European Union, and World Bank), government organizations, and companies in Egypt, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the United States.

He previously served as Minister of State for Administration Development between 2004 and 2011, in which he was involved in the preparation of the National Policy and Strategy Document on e-government in addition to the planning, administration and coordination of the implementation efforts of the four subprograms, namely: Basic Infrastructure, Services Delivery Over New Channels, State Resource Planning and Integration of National Databases. He has also spearheaded the design and execution of the Institutional and Human Resources Development Program.

Dr. Ahmed’s extensive academic career bridges the gap between academia and industry. His academic career started in 1988 as a lecturer and post-doctoral researcher with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Davis. In 1989, he joined Cairo University as an assistant professor, to later become an associate professor, then a professor with the Computer Engineering Department in 1994 and 1999 respectively. He was the IEEE Egypt Section Chair (2011-2015). He has over 64 publications in peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences, 11 invited papers shared in 4 books