What I Did Next

I’m joined today by a living legend, Tarek Nour, who single-handedly revolutionised the advertising world in Egypt and the Middle East at large. He made household names out of major brands with catchy jingles and his signature voice-overs. Today Tarek is semi-retired, active in some aspects of his business but also able to take a bird’s eye view of the industry, his life and Egypt. We also have more from Tarek in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this bonus episode, and early access to future episodes of the season as well!This episode is brought to you by: Sodic, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places EFG Hermes One, your one-stop gateway to investment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m joined on the show today by Caroline Louca. Carol is an art consultant and started out as a corporate lawyer in Paris and Cairo. In 2008, she moved to the UAE and joined the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. In that role, she was intricately involved with the establishment of the Louvre, the Guggenheim and the Zayed national museums. She then joined the Middle East team at Christie's in Dubai.Carol and I are old friends and we had a great chat about her career and the art world, especially the Middle East art scene. We also have more from Carol in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this, and early access to future episodes of the season.This episode is brought to you by: Sodic, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places EFG Hermes One, your one-stop gateway to investment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today is Ayman Mohyeldin, the Arab-American TV anchor on the NBC and MSNBC networks in the US. Ayman spent his formative years in the United States and gravitated towards journalism after he graduated. Over the years, he’s worked as a field producer and reported in the Middle East with CNN and Al Jazeera in addition to the NBC network of channels. A few years ago, he exchanged his flak jacket for a suit & tie to take on prestigious and high-profile anchor positions in New York with NBC & MSNBC. He is currently the host of Ayman on weekend evenings. We met over the summer in Almaza on the North Coast of Egypt and had a wide-ranging discussion about his childhood and education, his career choices and his opinion on the current political climate in the US.We also have more from Ayman in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this bonus episode, and early access to future episodes of the season as well.This episode is brought to you by: SODIC, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram joins me in the hot seat today to discuss her amazing, life-changing work. Dr. Nadine is a reconstructive surgeon working with the National Health Service in the UK. She's is also the founder of Proximie, a start-up revolutionising how surgery is conducted, with a technology platform that enables operating rooms across remote locations to virtually interact and conduct surgeries in real time.Dr. Nadine saw the horrors war inflicts on people and communities during her formative years living in Lebanon after the civil war, and how difficult it is for individuals to re-build their lives if proper health care is not available. Her story is one of perseverance, dedication and incremental change.We also have more from Dr. Nadine in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this bonus episode, and early access to future episodes of the season as well!This episode is brought to you by: Sodic, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places EFG Hermes One, your one-stop gateway to investment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode is a giant in every field he’s ventured into, Mo Gawdat. Mo was Chief Business Officer at Google X, and is now the popular author of Solve for Happy, Scary Smart, and more recently, That Little Voice in Your Head, with more books to come. He is also behind the One Billion Happy movement which is inspired by his late son, Aly, who died tragically in 2014.Mo today is more monk than mogul. He has gone from corporate man to living out of a carry-on bag, lugging his podcast equipment around the world, and having conversations with people who will shine a light on a hidden corner of the human experience. We also have more from Mo in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this bonus episode, and early access to future episodes of the season as well.This episode is brought to you by: Sodic, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode is Amy Mowafi, who makes up one-fourth of the MO4 network of companies. Amy and her team are the digital publishers of CairoScene, ElFasla, StartUpScene, NFTYScene, NFTY Arabia, SceneNoise, SceneTraveller, SceneEats, CairoZoom & the SceneNOW App. They also house a digital creative agency and are leading the way in the Web3 universe as well. Amy brings passion, authenticity and a sense that anything-is-possible to everything she does. She is a fierce proponent of what our generation used to call Girl Power, and is awed by how Gen Z women have given that voice full-throttle.We also have more from Amy in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this bonus episode, and early access to future episodes of the season as well!This episode is brought to you by: Sodic, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re kicking off this season with Fadi Ghandour, an icon of the Middle East’s business and entrepreneurial landscape. After co-founding Aramex, Fadi became the poster-boy for Arab entrepreneurship success. Aramex went on to become the first Arab company to list on NASDAQ, not a small achievement by any means.We’re focusing our conversation on the pivot that followed, when Fadi decided to leave Aramex and everything he’s been doing since. We also have more from Fadi in a bonus episode exclusively for our members coming out next week. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts to get this bonus episode, and early access to future episodes of the season.This episode is brought to you by: Sodic, celebrating 25 years of creating timeless places EFG Hermes One, your one-stop gateway to investment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What I Did Next is back with a new season, beginning September 5th.If you’ve heard the show before, you’ll know that the guests on our show are leaders in their fields from across the Middle East. This season we have entrepreneurs, doctors, designers, journalists, innovators and more! You’ll hear a new guest join me in the hot seat every other Monday until the middle of December.We’re also launching a subscription via Apple Podcasts this season. If you like the show as it is, nothing will change, but if you want little bit extra, you'll get to hear episodes a few days earlier, and be able to unlock bonus content. You can subscribe in Apple Podcasts now to get started with a free trial.While you wait, check out our library of episodes in your podcast player and don’t forget to save the date of 5th of September for the kick off of Season 4! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to Season 3 of What I Did Next! We’ve had an incredible line-up of guests, and want to thank each of you for listening in and sending in your feedback and reviews.Listen in to our wrap-up episode where I sit down with our producer Chirag Desai to talk about the highlights of the season, some learnings and a look ahead to Season 4. We’ll be back soon — until then, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter and on Facebook for updates on the show.This episode is brought to you by: Marakez, Spaces for Life EFG Hermes Holding, a universal bank in Egypt with the leading investment bank franchise in frontier emerging markets (FEM) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m delighted to have Youssef El Deeb as my guest today. Youssef is a film-maker, photographer, writer, ad-man, broadcaster, foodie and even a sailor. A son of Alexandria, Youssef’s life has seen him move from Egypt to Canada, to Kuwait, and finally to Dubai where he currently resides. In 2006, Youssef launched the food channel, Fatafeat, a venture he calls ‘his baby’. Youssef created the Fatafeat catchphrase, El Haya Helwa. The origin of this phrase is very close to his heart but can also be seen as the guiding words of his life. Youssef unpacks the peaks and troughs of his life in our conversation, and we discuss the pivots that have shaped his journey.This episode is brought to you by: Marakez, Spaces for Life EFG Hermes Holding, a universal bank in Egypt with the leading investment bank franchise in frontier emerging markets (FEM) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices