Helmy Abul-Eish
Helmy Abouleish is the Managing Director of the SEKEM Group in Egypt. The SEKEM Group of companies employs more than 1,500 people and cultivates Egyptian desert areas into fertile land through bio dynamic agriculture, processing the harvest into foodstuffs, textiles and phyto-pharmaceuticals. It is part of the holistic SEKEM initiative founded 1977 by Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, which strives for sustainable development in the fields of economy, culture and social/political life, in harmony with nature. The SEKEM Development Foundation runs a range of schools and cultural institutions as well as a medical center. Helmy Abouleish acquired a BSc in Financial and Commercial Studies at the Faculty of Commerce of Cairo University in 1995. Three years later, he received his Salesmanship and Marketing Diploma at American University in Cairo. In 2003, SEKEM received the ‘Right Livelihood Award 2003’ and both his father Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish and, he were selected as Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs by the Schwab Foundation. In 2007, Helmy Abouleish founded, and since has chaired, EcoTec Holding providing funds, support and mentorship to start-ups in green technologies. In 2004, Helmy Abouleish founded the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council to shed light on the issue of national competitiveness, enhance Egypt’s performance and provide an international benchmarking mechanism. He is a member of the Schwab Foundation and World Economic Forum. SEKEM is a founding member of the Arab Sustainability Leadership Group and Helmy Abouleish initiated the formation of its Egyptian National Chapter in 2010. For UN Global Compact, he is a member of the Caring for Climate Initiative and Steering Committee and is engaged in the CEO Water Mandate. A renowned leader of sustainable change in the Arab world, Helmy Abouleish is heading several organizations and is driving manifold initiatives for organic agriculture, corporate sustainability, national and global sustainable development.