LEGATUM CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP - Key Persons

Adel Boseli has more than fifteen years of experience in the field of entrepreneurship as an entrepreneur, consultant, mentor and a certified trainer. Through his professional career, and within his personal capacity, he is also a board member and angel investor in several startup companies in various industries including hardware, health, real estate, digital advertisement, e-commerce, manufacturing, logistics, energy, and others. End of 2015, Boseli joined Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC) as Head of Incubation for more than 3 years. QBIC is one of the largest mixed-use business incubators in the MENA region. To date, it has incubated more 150+ startups, and its startups have generated more than $20M in revenues and have reshaped the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Qatar. Following that, he served as a consultant for Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in areas of entrepreneurship, innovation, and startups investment. Boseli is also a founding partner in a number of startup support businesses; (2012) Shekra the first shariah compliant equity crowdfunding platform globally, (2014) Sustaincubator business incubator focusing on sustainable businesses (water, renewable energy, and agriculture), (2018) VFlock an investment network that focuses on preparing the right pipeline for Angel investors and getting startups ready for investment. His businesses have been focusing on advancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem offering funding, training, research, consultancy, and incubation. With a primary focus on startups financing, and consulting for the World Bank Group on the subject, his businesses, specifically Shekra, have been recognized and awarded by Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Ruler of Dubai). Thomson Reuters, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. Boseli is a Computer Engineering graduate with 10+ years of experience in the software industry with a track record in software design, implementation, systems architecture, data analysis, and project management. He successfully delivered a series of successful software projects for clients that included local and global companies, regional organizations, and governments.

Job Titles:

• Professor of Entrepreneurship

Fiona Murray is the William Porter (1967) Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, the Faculty Director at both the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and the Legatum Center. Professor Murray is also the Associate Dean for Innovation, Co-Director of the Innovation Initiative, and has most recently been appointed a Member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology (CST).

Job Titles:

• Executive Director, Legatum Center

Dina H. Sherif has over twenty years of international and regional experience in integrated sustainable development, corporate sustainability management (including corporate governance, inclusion and diversity, philanthropic activities and environmental risk management), youth civic engagement, strategic philanthropy, program design, impact assessments, social entrepreneurship, youth unemployment and women's economic inclusion. Dina holds a Masters of Public Administration and Management from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MA in Economic Development Studies from the American University in Cairo, and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from the American University in Cairo. Dina is particularly interested in the role of the private sector in sustainable development. To that end, she has been an avid supporter of social entrepreneurship as a pathway to solving some of the MENA region's most pressing challenges. She did this through her own social enterprise, Ahead of the Curve, which was founded in 2012. Dina is also a Senior Advisor to Ashoka, providing support to their Global Venture/Fellowship Support arm and helping them reimagine new ways to identify the world's leading social innovators. Dina formerly held the endowed Willard Brown Chair for International Business at the American University in Cairo (AUC), where was also Founding Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. During the time she held the Brown Chair, Dina also taught classes on social entrepreneurship and business ethics making use of experiential and entrepreneurial teaching pedagogies. Prior to the above, Dina helped establish the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at AUC. Dina has been lead author of several publications including the book From Charity to Social Change: Trends in Arab Philanthropy and key reports such as the 2015 UNDP Business Solutions Report and the first of its kind 7 country study on trends in responsible business practice in the Arab region.

Job Titles:

• Senior Administrative Assistant
• Member of the Legatum Center

Eileen has been a member of the Legatum Center team since October 2018. She manages our office space, tackles purchasing and accounting tasks, and provides logistical support for multiple projects, meetings, workshops and conferences. A native Bostonian, Eileen has a B.A. in Romance Languages from Boston College, and an M.A. in Education from UMass Boston. She dabbles in language learning as a hobby, her latest interest being in Mandarin Chinese. With broad administrative experience in International Business and Higher Education-balanced by a multiyear stint in foreign language subtitling-Eileen is committed to supporting our mission and that of the larger MIT Sloan community. Staying near our campus shores, she sometimes sails the river Charles, musing upon science, art and song. Eileen is elated to be one of our crew.

Job Titles:

• Founder of Times of Entrepreneurship

Elizabeth MacBride is an award-winning business journalist and the founder of Times of Entrepreneurship, a new publication covering entrepreneurs beyond Silicon Valley. She is the host of the upcoming Sparkt, a new podcast featuring interviews of the world's leading entrepreneurs. Her work has been funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Her work has also been supported by the Aspen Institute's Socrates Program, and she is a former fellow at Georgetown's Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation. Elizabeth was a writing fellow at the UN's Office of the Quartet in Jerusalem.

Job Titles:

• Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship
• Faculty Director, Legatum Center

Fiona Murray is the William Porter (1967) Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, the Faculty Director at both the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and the Legatum Center. Professor Murray is also the Associate Dean for Innovation, Co-Director of the Innovation Initiative, and has most recently been appointed a Member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology (CST).

Job Titles:

• Assistant Director, Student Programs

Julia Turnbull joined the Legatum Center as the Fellowship Program Associate in November 2014. She has experience evaluating the economic impact of infrastructure investments at the Inter-American Development Bank and growing investment portfolios that finance business in low-income markets for an international agriculture finance company. She has researched the outcomes of trade liberalization for political economies in Mexico's urban neighborhoods and villages and taught financial literacy workshops for a savings and loan organization. Julia holds a B.A. in International Relations from Connecticut College and an M.A. in International Economics from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She speaks Spanish.

Job Titles:

• Marketing & Stakeholder Engagement Manager

Kavan O'Connor has been with the Legatum Center since 2011. In his current role he develops content and strategies to bolster the Center's global footprint and seeks to build valuable partnerships that strengthen the Center's networks. He relishes strong personal connections, is excited by new technologies, and deeply appreciates humor. In a past life he served with the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served in Iraq, helping to train the Iraqi army. In his free time he works with the Boston Athletic Association helping organize the the Boston Marathon and is an aspiring brewer of malt beverages.

Job Titles:

• Director of Fellowship and Student Programs for the Legatum Center for Development
• Director of Fellowships and Student Programs

Megan Mitchell is the Director of Fellowship and Student Programs for the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship. Prior to joining MIT in January of 2017, Mitchell managed UBS Americas' Elevating Entrepreneurs initiative, a portfolio of philanthropic partnerships and programs focused on driving toward a more inclusive entrepreneurial landscape. This included Project Entrepreneur, a collaboration with Rent the Runway Foundation to increase the pipeline of women building economically impactful companies. Prior to UBS, Mitchell oversaw co-curricular and experiential learning activities for Wharton Entrepreneurship, including the annual business plan competition and global internship program. She also served as a member of the Venture Initiation Program management team, and led development of the department's venture development programs at the school's San Francisco campus. Mitchell holds a BA in Economics and Public Policy Studies from Duke University and a MSEd from University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.

Job Titles:

• Senior Director for Fellowships and Global Initiatives at the Legatum Center for Development

Myrish Cadapan Antonio is the Senior Director for Fellowships and Global Initiatives at the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT. Before joining MIT in October, 2021, she served as Director of Fellowship and Leadership Development Programs at the HKS Center for Public Leadership (CPL) for six years where she led a team in designing and implementing programs for more than 130 graduate fellows from across the world on principled, effective public leadership, and was the Women and Public Policy Program's Interim Executive Director from January to May 2021.

Job Titles:

• Viacrucis Mauricio Research Manager

Regie is a researcher interested in how entrepreneurship and innovation can address global inequality. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa member from Columbia University majoring in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies. He has a master's degree from the London School of Economics in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies. Regie has worked on sustainability and enterprise development initiatives at the American University in Cairo and with Ahead of the Curve, a social enterprise based out of Egypt working to create a more sustainable capitalism. Regie has also worked in Jordan at Migrate where he led efforts to support startup ecosystems in the West Bank and Jordan. In addition, he implemented MSME capacity building programs with USAID, UNDP, UNICEF, and GIZ. In his current role, Regie looks to advocate for the systematic changes needed for creating shared prosperity.

Job Titles:

• Eisenhower Fellow
• Professor of Entrepreneurship

William (whurley) is an Eisenhower Fellow, A Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Liaison for Strategic Partnerships for the Entrepreneurship Steering Committee at the IEEE, the first Ambassador to CERN and Society, founding partner of the CERN Entrepreneurship Student Programme (CESP), recipient of the IEEE Entrepreneur Achievement Award for Leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit, and co-founder of EQUALS; The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age.