George Bitar

Jean Pierre Daccache

George Bitar co-founded in 1994 Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (“MLGPE”) for which he currently serves as a consultant. He was a member of MLGPE operating and investment committees. He held several management positions over the years including Co-Head of North America, Partner in charge of Western and Eastern Europe and prior to that Latin America.
Mr. Bitar served on the board of directors of a number of private and public companies operating in several industries including healthcare, consumer products, manufacturing, banking, re-insurance, retail and business services. Prior to MLGPE, Mr. Bitar was a Director in the Merrill Lynch High Yield and Restructuring group. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 1990, Mr. Bitar was an Assistant Vice President of Thomson McKinnon Securities Inc. Foreign Exchange and Futures division. Mr. Bitar received a B.S. in Systems Engineering from Boston University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School.

Jean Pierre Daccache is Executive Vice President of Capital E Advisors, Inc. with responsibility for managing the operational, business development, compliance and legal functions. From 2000 to 2004, he was Vice President of the International Private Client Services Division of The Bank of New York with direct responsibility for the bank's private banking activities in Europe and the Middle East. Previously he held other banking assignments in the ME and he was the Senior Legal Consultant for the Public Authority for Assessment of Compensation (PAAC), a Kuwaiti government body in charge of war compensation following the Iraqi invasion. Mr. Daccache holds a BA in Premedical Studies & Modern Languages and a Juris Doctor degree.

Habib Kairouz is Managing Partner of Rho Capital Partners, a New York based private equity firm with $2 billion under management and offices in New York, Palo Alto and Montreal. Rho's activities span all classes of private equity investments, including venture capital in early stage technology and healthcare companies, direct private equity investments in more mature growth companies, and fund investments in all classes of venture capital and private equity funds. Prior to joining Rho in 1993, Habib had five years of investment banking and leveraged buyout experience in New York with Reich & Co. and Jesup & Lamont. Habib received a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University.

Marc Malek is a Managing Partner of Conquest Capital Group LLC, an alternative asset management firm with more than $700 million in assets. His previous work engagements include trading for a large hedge fund, heading global exotic FX Options for UBS, and later heading Proprietary Trading for the combined UBS/SBC in Europe. Marc graduated with honors from the California Institute of Technology.

Adla Massoud is a New York-based freelance journalist for various international media outlets. Previously, Adla worked for BBC News, AFP, UPI and MBC TV in London. She holds a bachelors degree in Politics & International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury and a Masters degree in International Journalism from London's Graduate School of Journalism. Adla served as President of SEAL from 2006 to 2009.

Joumana Tager is a Learning Leader volunteer at the Metropolitan Museum. Past experience includes more than
nine years in the banking operations field at UBS. Joumana holds a B.A. in Economics from the American University of Beirut and an M.S. in Management Information Systems from Boston University.

Anwar Zakkour Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan. He has over 20 years of investment banking experience in London and New York with Morgan Stanley (1990-1995), Citigroup (1996-1999; 2000-2005), and J.P. Morgan (2005-current). Throughout most of his career, Anwar was a Mergers & Acquisitions specialist focused on the technology, internet digital media, traditional media and communications sectors, and until 2010 he acted as Head of J.P. Morgan’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications Mergers & Acquisitions practice, where he was responsible for managing all aspects of strategic coverage and advisory for the firm’s most important clients in these sectors. Anwar attended Copenhagen University of Medicine between 1982 and 1985, Copenhagen Business School between 1985 and 1987, followed by ESCP Europe (previously, EAP - European School of Management) between 1987 and 1990.