Nikolas Fotilas
CEO & Founder
Partner at Gulf Investor Circle Group and has led 12 successful investments over the past three years. Specializes in financial services, mobile marketing, analytics, telcos, tourism and manages relationships with investors, lawyers, consultants, VCs, PEs, investment banks and other financial institutions. He leads cross-border transactions, financing & deal structuring, fund raising and budgeting. He is engaged in business development of all subsidiaries and affiliate companies in MENA and SE Asia. Nikolas is sitting on the board of various companies and acts as Interim CEO on a number of ventures. He holds a BSc Economics from LSE and an MBA from Insead / Wharton. He is currently leading InvOrOut and passionately supports fintech startups. Loves all water sports and snowboarding.
David Martinez de Lecea
Co-Founder
A fintech specialist with 10+ years in financial services, specializing in banking, asset and wealth management. He has been a Principal in Bain & Company and a consultant at Deloitte and Accenture. Has an MBA from INSEAD, an MSc & BSc in Computer engineering from Deust and a BSc Economics from LSE/UoL .
Board of Advisors
Angus Paterson
Partner, STC Ventures
Angus Paterson is a partner with STC Ventures , one of the leading VCs in the MENA region, backed by Saudi Telecom, and independently managed by Iris Capital. STC Ventures aim is to help empower entrepreneurs to create market leading, innovative businesses in the broader digital sector across the GCC, wider MENA region and Turkey, in addition to funding globally minded international companies seeking capital and access to the MENA region. Angus is responsible for STC Ventures’ investments in companies such as Careem, the leading on-demand transportation provider regionally, Compareit4me, the no.1 finance comparison site in the Middle East, and TransferTo, a global leader in mobile remittance. Angus has over 15 years investment and corporate finance advisory experience focused on the TMT and digital sectors. Prior to STC Ventures, Angus was responsible for setting up and leading the venture capital activities of Abu Dhabi based twofour54.
Ambareen Musa
Founder of Souqalmal.com
Ambareen Musa holds an undergraduate business degree from RMIT university in Melbourne, Australia & MBA from INSEAD. She started her first online business, an online property portal for international students in Australia, at the age of 21. Moving to London in 2004 to work for GE’s financial arm, GE Money, Musa held various roles in marketing, financial literacy, customer advocacy and ecommerce, and led the first online financial literacy initiative in the UK, Moneybasics.co.uk. Moving on to the UAE in 2008, Musa worked as a consultant for Bain & Company Middle East, focusing on financial services projects such as growth strategies for banks in the region. She went on to set up the consulting arm of MasterCard Middle East and Africa, where she stayed for two years before founding Souqalmal.com in 2012. She is the co-author of Entrepreneurial Opportunities On the Internet.
Omar Christidis
Founder & CEO, Arabnet
Omar holds a BA in Ethic, Politics, and Economics from Yale, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. After his studies, Omar worked as a consultant where he was exposed to exciting and innovative digital developments. After spending a year working for Sheffield Investment Co., Omar decided to return to Lebanon and join his family business, International Business Alliance Group, a corporate event-planning firm that he sought to revitalize. Under the IBAG umbrella, Omar launched the Web and Mobile Business Summit in 2010. It was the first of its kind in the region to focus on entrepreneurs and the digital economy. Its success drove Omar to develop ArabNet, which organized a region Road Show, boosting its brand.
Team Members
Rouba Fouz
Chief Financial Officer
Over 8 years of professional experience including experience in Financial Reporting and establishing and leading the accounting team in a startup environment. Driving InvOrOut's finance function and performance. Graduated from John Molson School of Business with an Accounting degree. Currently a CPA candidate with the North Dakota State Board of Accountancy. Personal interests include travel and outdoor sports.
Kiran Lingam
Chief Information Officer
Has 5 years of experience in Product Development, Finance Analysis, Feasibility & Preparation of business cases. Excels at helping bridge technology and business thus creating simple to use and great user experiences. B.Tech from JNTU Hyderabad & Post Graduate Program in Management from Great Lakes Institute of Management. Passionate about emerging technologies & Sports buff.
Diego Falanga
Head of Strategy
Co-founder of MEDinACTION. Gained international experience working in 4 continents in the last 3 years: Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. He was involved in Business Development and the launching of new projects. Being particularly passionate about startups, he worked with first class teams with exceptional backgrounds from Rocket Internet, Naspers, Google, and McKinsey. Diego completed a Master’s degree in Economics and Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Finance from University of Roma Tre, Italy , attending Innovaction Lab.
Leila Nursapina
Business Development
Experienced in Accounting, Business development, and Sales. Graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Kazakh Economic University with concentration in Management. Obtained a second Bachelor’s in Business from Oxford Brookes University in Budapest. Holds an MBA with a major in Finance from NOVA Southeastern University, USA. Fluent in Russian, Kazakh, English, and basic Turkish.
Sokayna Mulquin
Legal Consultant
Currently doing a traineeship at Loyens & Loeff law firm in DIFC. Previously did a number of internships in different law firms across Europe and Morocco. Holds a LL.M cum laude with a focus on International Business Law (Banking, Finance, Financial law) from University of Brussels. As part of her University experience, Sokayna took part in an exchange program to complete a semester in Essex, UK.
Valentina Sanna
Consultant
Experienced in everything from Online Marketing to HR & Recruitment to Logistics and Operations. Currently the Managing Director at Gozoop Pvt, Ltd, a digital marketing agency. Having previously been with Rocket Internet, Valentina has Completed a Master of Science, Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from University Luigi Bocconi.