Honorees
John F. W. Rogers
Executive Vice President, Goldman Sachs
John F.W. Rogers serves as executive vice president, the firm’s chief of staff and secretary to the Board of Directors. He oversees executive administration and is responsible for the firm’s corporate affairs functions, including public, investor and government relations, as well as corporate engagement. Rogers is a member of the Management Committee and the Client and Business Standards Committee. He is also chairman of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and Goldman Sachs Gives. Rogers joined Goldman Sachs in 1994. He was named managing director in 1997 and partner in 2000. Rogers’ career began in public service with roles in the White House and Treasury and as an under secretary of state at the U.S. Department of State from 1991 to 1993. In 1985, Rogers was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal — the second highest civilian award in the United States. Since the inception of 10,000 Women in 2008, Rogers has been intimately involved in overseeing the development and implementation of this program. He has traveled to Egypt a number of times, most recently as the commencement speaker at a 10,000 Women graduation ceremony.
Mustafa Abdel-Wadood ’91
Chief Executive Officer, Abraaj Group Limited
Mustafa Abdel-Wadood ’91 is chief executive officer, member of the board of directors and vice chair of the executive committee at Abraaj Group Limited. He is responsible for overseeing firm investments and teams spanning across several industries and regions, including the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Abdel-Wadood has 20 years of experience in the fields of investment management, corporate finance and business development throughout emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East. In 2002, he was selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow, and as a Young Global Leader in 2007. Holder of a bachelor’s in business administration from AUC and an MBA from Georgetown University, Abdel-Wadood received an Alumni Achievement Award from AUC in 2008. Demonstrating his commitment to his alma mater, he established the Mustafa Abdel-Wadood Public School Scholarship at AUC.
Perihan Abou-Zeid ’09
Co-founder and Communications Director, Qabila Media Production
Perihan Abou-Zeid ’09 is the co-founder and communications director of Qabila Media Productions, a media content creator that capitalizes on crowdsourcing and digital media to produce content that bridges the gap between entertainment and the intellectual needs of target audiences. She also works with Google as an account strategist, where she builds and optimizes online advertising strategies for clients in Saudi Arabia. A few months after her graduation, she founded the first online supermarket in Egypt, which will be relaunched by the end of 2012. She also worked at the Canadian Embassy in the commercial section, and at TE Data, a leading Internet service provider in Egypt, as human resource communications supervisor, managing employer branding and internal communications.
Holder of a bachelor’s in business administration from AUC, Abou-Zeid has four years of experience in online marketing and communication. She won several awards in academic excellence, leadership and entrepreneurship. Most recently, she received the Best Female Entrepreneur Award from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Enterprise Forum – Pan Arab Region, where her venture, Qabila Media Productions, won the first runner-up award. Outside of the professional world, Abou-Zeid loves nothing more than adventurous traveling. She has been to more than 40 cities around the world, where she participated in various activities including skydiving, bungee jumping and hiking. A professional basketball player for eight years, Abou-Zeid also enjoys telling stories through writing. She published several articles in local Egyptian magazines.