Leadership

Mr. Berzi has 38 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, having started his career in 1986 by joining Tasty Foods Egypt, his family’s snack food business. Mr. Berzi subsequently held the position of Sales and Marketing Vice President at Tasty Foods Egypt, after a sale of a part of its shares to PepsiCo, from 1990 to 1992. In 1993, Mr. Berzi founded Digma Trading Co., which is specialized in the distribution of food products. He also founded Edita Food Industries in 1996 and became Chairman of the Board in 2006. Mr. Berzi is also a member of the board of the Chamber of Food Industries, a member of the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies, Chairman of the Egyptian-Greek Business Council (Egyptian side), Chairman of the Food Export Council, and Board Member of the Export Development Fund. Previously, he was a member of the boards of a number of companies, including Technopack in 1987, Rotopak in 1989, and Egypt Sack in 1997, and he also served as a Board Member of the Federation of Egyptian Industries. He graduated from Ain Shams University (Cairo, Egypt) with a BSc in Computer and Control Engineering.

Mr. Ahmed Samy has over 20 years of experience in marketing and brand management and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Edita Food Industries S.A.E. Mr. Samy joined the company in 2014 as Marketing Manager for the cakes & bakes categories before getting promoted to Group Marketing Director responsible for the entire brand portfolio and finally Vice President of Marketing. Prior to joining Edita, he held a variety of marketing and sales positions, including Marketing & Wholesales Senior Manager at Bavarian Auto Group, the sole importer of BMW and MINI in Egypt, Senior Brand Manager at the Non-Alcoholic Division for Heineken Egypt, Sales and Retail Manager for the Consumer Electronics — Near East Area at Philips and began his career at British American Tobacco where he held a variety of marketing roles. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from The American University in Cairo with a double specialization in Design & Industrial Engineering.

Mr. Berzi has 41 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, having started his career by joining Tasty Foods Egypt. In 1986, Mr. Berzi founded Berzi Confectionary, which was later acquired by Tasty Foods Egypt. He subsequently held the position of Industrial Operation Vice President at Tasty Foods Egypt after a sale of a part of its shares to PepsiCo. Mr. Berzi has also established a number of companies, including Digma Trading, a fast-moving consumer goods distribution company, and Edita Food Industries. Mr. Berzi became a Board Member of Edita Food Industries in 1996. He is also the Chairman of Digma Trading and Edita Confectionary Industries; a member of the American Chamber of Commerce; a Board Member and shareholder of Le Pacha 1901; a Board Member and shareholder of Mirage Hotels S.A.E, which owns the JW Marriott at Mirage City; and a Board Member and shareholder of Sakkara Tourism Investment S.A.E, which owns the Mirage City compound in New Cairo. He graduated from Cairo University (Cairo, Egypt) in 1982 with a BA in Commerce.

Sameh Naguib joined Edita following his most recent stint as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of the ASEC Company for Mining, an EGX-listed company better known as ASCOM, which he joined in late 2011. Naguib’s earlier professional track record includes a more than 10-year run with Heineken International, where he held a series of increasingly senior positions in Egypt, Algeria and the Netherlands, including business controller for the group’s activities across 10 countries in the Middle East and Africa. Naguib entered the workforce as an assistant to the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade in 2000 before joining Al Ahram Beverages Co. in 2001 as a financial analyst prior to that company’s acquisition by Heineken. He worked on the group’s EGP 250 million El Gouna Beverages Group acquisition before going on to become costing manager responsible for both the company’s primary factory and its raw materials plants. He was later promoted to become regional business controller for Africa and the Middle East with responsibilities for 10 countries. After a two-year stint in that role, Naguib was seconded to Heineken’s Algerian subsidiary, where he was finance director from January 2009 until he joined ASCOM as CFO and Board Member in October 2011.

Mr. Younan has 31 years of experience in the FMCG industry and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Edita for Trade and Distribution S.A.E. He originally joined Edita Food Industries as National Sales Manager in 2005 before assuming his role as Vice President of Sales and International Business in 2007. Previously, he worked as Business Development and Export Director at Hero Middle East from 2002 to 2005, National Sales and Distribution Director at Al Ahram Beverages (a member of the Heineken group) from 2000 to 2001, Marketing and Sourcing General Manager at Mansour Distribution Company (Distributor of Philip Morris in Egypt) from 1997 to 2000 and the Horn of Africa Representative at Philip Morris from 1994 to 1996. He graduated from Alexandria University (Alexandria, Egypt) in 1992 with a BA in Commerce, and completed the International Marketing Program at INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France) in 1998 and the Executive Development Program at Kellogg School of Management (Chicago, USA) in 2009.

Mr. El Bahey has 28 years of experience in the FMCG industry and joined Edita Food Industries as Vice President Supply Chain in 2012. Previously, Mr. El Bahey was working for Kraft Foods for 8 years from 2004 till 2012. During his career with Kraft he held several assignments as Supply Chain Director, as well as Sale Director at Kraft Foods Egypt. His last assignment was in Algeria as Managing Director and CEO of LU Algerie, the French biscuit subsidiary acquired by Kraft Foods in 2007. He has also been member of the Executive Management committee of Kraft Foods Egypt from 2004 to 2012 and Managing Director of Kraft Foods Distribution Limited from 2006 to 2012. Mr. El Bahey, started his career with Gillette Egypt in 1995 as production Engineer. He spent 9 years with the company where he had several assignments in Egypt, Dubai and Morocco. He held the position of Value Chain Manager for Egypt, North Africa and Pakistan. He has been member of the executive management committee of Gillette Egypt, Pakistan and Morocco from 2001 till 2004. He graduated from Ain Shams University in 1995 with a BSc in Engineering (Mechanical Power Section).

Mr. Tadros has over 34 years of experience in human resources and joined Edita as Vice President HR and Administration in 2010. Before joining Edita, Mr. Tadros was Human Resources Development Manager at Al Ahram Beverages (a member of the Heineken group) from 2006 to 2010 and as an Independent Organisational Development Consultant from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, he worked as Training and Development Senior Supervisor at Vodafone Egypt from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Tadros is certified as a Human Resources Assessor and Franklin Covey Trainer. He graduated from Helwan University (Cairo, Egypt) in 1986 with a BA in Hotel Management.

Mr. Sobhi has over 29 years of experience in the international FMCG market, best showcased through a proven track record of mega-project executions in greenfield and brownfield contexts. He joined Edita as Group Engineering & New Investment Director in 2015, later assuming the role of Operations Director in 2018 where he leads plant operations in Egypt and Morocco. In 2020, he became Vice President of Industrial Operation. Before joining Edita, Mr. Sobhi was with PepsiCo Egypt, where he occupied versatile operational roles across its beverage and snacks market units between 2003 and 2015. He launched his career with the company as Technical Manager, and later moved on to the roles of Plant Manager, Manufacturing Director, and finally, Engineering Director. Prior to this, he assumed the role of Operations Manager at Food Machinery Trading between 1995 and 2003. Mr. Sobhi graduated from Cairo University in 1994 with a BSc. in Engineering

Mr. Shaker has 39 years of experience in finance and auditing and joined Edita Food Industries as Financial Manager in 1997 and is now the company’s Senior Internal Audit and Corporate Governance Director. Previously, Mr. Shaker was Financial Manager at Peugeot Egypt from 1993 to 1997, Accounting Supervisor at Hoechst Egypt Pharmaceutical Company from 1991 to 1993 and held various positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1983 to 1991. Mr. Shaker is a Certified Director of the Egyptian Institute of Directors (EIoD). He graduated from Ain Shams University with a BA in Commerce in 1983 and obtained his MBA from the Arab Academy Graduate School of Business (Alexandria, Egypt) in 2009, specialising in Finance, Investment and Banking.

Ms. Shams El Din has over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, economics and finance and currently serves as Head of Investor Relations at Edita. Prior to joining Edita, Ms. Shams El Din served a Vice President of Pharos Asset Management, where she evaluated the company’s investment opportunities while also managing the portfolios of high-net-worth individuals and public institutions. In the past, Ms. Shams El Din has also served as a Research Analyst for Morgan Stanley based in Dubai, UAE, an Economist for EFG Hermes Research based in Cairo and held positions at Vodafone Egypt where she helped develop marketing strategies. She holds a BA in Economics and a minor in Psychology from The American University in Cairo.

Mr. Papadodimas has 23 years of experience in research and development and joined Edita as Research and Development Director in 2014. Before joining Edita, Mr. Papadodimas was Senior Research and Development Food Developer and Continuous Improvement Coordinator at E.J. Papadopoulos from 2011 to 2014, Research and Development Scientist at General Mills from 2005 to 2009 and Jotis from 2001 to 2005. He graduated from the University of Surrey (Guildford, United Kingdom) in 1998 with a BA in Chemistry and from the University of Reading (Reading, United Kingdom) in 1999 with a MSc in Food Science and Technology. He obtained his MBA from Alba Graduate Business School (Athens, Greece) in 2010.

With over 31 years of international experience in the FMCG industry, Mr. Philips currently serves as Head of Business Development at Edita Food Industries, where he leads the company’s new business ventures. He is also the Managing Director and member of the Board of Edita Morocco. Mr. Philips began his career at Nestle, where he gained expertise in finance and marketing. He went on to hold various Business Development and General Management roles for Nestle in Switzerland, Libya, and sub-Saharan Africa. He later served as Director of the Commercial Centre of Excellence at PZ Cussons International in Manchester, where he led global Commercial Best Practices initiatives in the UK, Greece, Nigeria, and Indonesia. Before joining Edita, Mr. Philips served as Director of International Business Development at Hochdorf Swiss Nutrition in Switzerland, where he focused on developing the company’s business in Vietnam and expanding its e-commerce channels in China. Mr. Philips holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Cumbria in the UK and a BA in Commerce from Ain Shams University in Egypt.

Mrs. Khater joined Edita in January 2022 to head the newly formed Legal, Compliance, and Governmental Affairs Sector in response to the growth and expansion of Edita group of companies. Mrs. Khater has extensive experience with a career spanning more than 20 years in diversified legal and compliance experience, both locally and internationally, as she assumed the role of Legal Counsel on several cross-border commercial and corporate transactions for several Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Edita, Mrs. Khater was the former ExxonMobil Egypt Legal Manager with oversight to other countries in the region, both as Legal and Compliance Senior Counsel, and she acted as the Egyptian Legal Advisor for ExxonMobil in the Egyptian Upstream activities. Prior to moving as an inhouse counsel, Mrs. Khater worked in private practice in several top-tier Egyptian law firms, such as Zulficar & Partners and Sarwat A. Shahid Law Firm, with a focus on M&As and restructuring. Her work included, among many other things, leading the Energy and Infrastructure team for a multinational electricity production company in its proposed listing on the Malaysian Stock Exchange; representing a major oil and gas company in its potential acquisition of a 100% stake of two multinational oil and gas companies in Egypt; representing a major Egyptian automotive group of companies in it is restructuring process of their entire group in Egypt, Europe, and Africa; representing a major multinational pharmaceutical company in its acquisition of the business of a multinational company in Egypt; representing a Fortune 500 company specialized in the production of glaze in its acquisition of an Egyptian ceramic and glaze company; and representing a major FMCG multinational company, along with an Egyptian partner, in acquiring the chilled dairy products of a multinational company in Egypt. She holds a dual undergraduate degree, a BA in Political Science – International Law, The American University in Cairo, and an LLB from the Faculty of Law, Cairo University. She also holds an LLM in International and Comparative Law. Mrs. Khater is a member of the Egyptian Lawyers Syndicate.

Chairman, Representing Quantum Invest BV Mr. Berzi has 34 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, having started his career in 1986 by joining Tasty Foods Egypt, his family’s snack food business. Mr. Berzi subsequently held the position of Sales and Marketing Vice President at Tasty Foods Egypt, after a sale of a part of its shares to PepsiCo, from 1990 to 1992. In 1993, he established Digma Trading, a food products distributor. Mr. Berzi became a member of the Board of Edita Food Industries in 1996 and became the Managing Director and Chairman of the Board in 2006. Previously, he was a member of the Boards of a number of companies in the food and beverage industry, including Technopack in 1987, Rotopak in 1989 and Egypt Sack in 1997, and has also served as a Board Member of the Federation of Egyptian Industries. Mr. Berzi has also served as a member of the Board of the Chamber of Food Industries and the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies and is the Chairman of the Egyptian-Greek Business Council (Egyptian side) and is the Chairman of the Food Export Council. He graduated from Ain Shams University (Cairo, Egypt) with a BSc in Computer and Control Engineering.

Mr. Berzi has 38 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, having started his career by joining Tasty Foods Egypt. In 1986, Mr. Berzi founded Berzi Confectionary, which was later acquired by Tasty Foods Egypt. He subsequently held the position of Industrial Operation Vice President at Tasty Foods Egypt after a sale of a part of its shares to PepsiCo. Mr. Berzi has also established a number of companies including Digma Trading, a fast-moving consumer goods distribution company and Edita Food Industries. Mr. Berzi became a member of the Board of Edita Food Industries in 1996. He is also the Chairman of Digma Trading and Edita Confectionary Industries, a member of the American Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board and shareholder of Le Pacha 1901, a Board member and Shareholder of Mirage Hotels S.A.E, which owns the JW Marriott at Mirage City, a Board Member and Shareholder of Sakkara Tourism Investment S.A.E, which owns the Mirage City compound in New Cairo. He graduated from Cairo University (Cairo, Egypt) in 1982 with a BA in Commerce.

Ms. Lotfy has been a member of Edita’s Board of Directors since 2015, with over 34 years of commercial and investment banking experience under her belt. Since she began her career in the late 1980s, Ms. Lotfy has held senior and key executive positions in a number of renowned international and local banks and sits on the boards of several largescale financial institutions. Since 2015, she has been a board member of Credit Libanais Beirut and is currently the Chairperson of EFG Hermes Finance. Prior to that, Ms. Lotfy was the Deputy Chairperson and Managing Director at Bank Audi Egypt, the First Deputy Chairperson and Managing Director at Alexbank Intesa San Paolo and Managing Director and Board and Executive Committee Member at Al Watany Bank of Egypt (currently NBK Egypt), in addition to several other senior positions at various institutions including the Commercial International Bank (CIB). Ms. Lotfy is also highly engaged in her role as an active corporate citizen through her activities as a member of the Egyptian European Council, the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce, and the Egyptian American Chamber of Commerce, in addition to being an active member of the Economic Committee of the Women’s National Congress.

Mr. Choukri is among the pioneers of Egypt’s investment banking sector. He joined the investment banking department of Morgan Stanley in New York as an Associate in 1980 and acted as Managing Director from 1987 until 1993. In 1993, he became its Advisory Director and served in this capacity until 2007. In 1996, he established HC Securities & Investment, which currently is one of the leading investment banks in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Choukri is a board member of a number of associations and reputable companies, including Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and Cinema and The Egyptian British Business Council (EBBC). Mr. Choukri joined Edita as a Board Member in January 2015. Mr. Choukri is the head of Edita’s Remuneration Committee and is also a member of the Audit Committee. He graduated from Ain Shams University and the American University in Cairo with a degree in Commerce and Management, respectively.

Ms. El Sallab worked and trained at Citibank Cairo and Athens before spending 26 years working at Commercial International Bank, where she assumed the roles of Vice Chairman and Managing Director. She was also the Chairperson of Commercial International Capital Holding Company (CI Capital) and is currently chairperson of HitekNOFAL Company and a board member at the National Bank of Egypt. After significant private sector experience, she became the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry for Development and Investment in Internal Trade in Egypt. Ms. El Sallab has been nominated as one of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women in 2011 by South African Magazine, CEO, and one of 10 Most Powerful Egyptian Women in 2011 by the Egypt Business Directory. Ms. El Sallab is also the head of Edita’s Audit Committee. She graduated from the American University in Beirut and from the Harvard Kennedy School for Management.

Mr. Abdel Nour is a veteran banker, industrialist and public servant. Mr. Abdel Nour first entered government service in 2011 as Minister of Tourism, a post he held until 2012. He rejoined cabinet as Minister of Trade and Industry in July 2013 and went on to serve as Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment and as Minister of Trade, Industry and SMEs until he left office in September 2015. Prior to entering government, Mr. Abdel Nour was a banker with Banque de l’Union Européenne and American Express. He founded Vitrac, a leading Egyptian maker of jams, juices and syrups, in the 1980s and grew the company into a category defining player with a dominant market share in Egypt and strong export network. Mr. Abdel Nour led Vitrac’s sale in 2002 to Hero Group, a leading Switzerland-based international consumer foods company. Mr. Abdel Nour was chairman of Hero Middle East from 2004 until 2011. He is currently a board member of GB Auto, Domty and Beltone Financial. His past directorships include service to the Egyptian Exchange (1999 to 2002), the Federation of Egyptian Industries (2004 to 2007), the Egyptian Competition Authority (2005 to 2007), among others. Mr. Abdel Nour holds a BSc in statistics from Cairo University’s School of Economics and Political Science and an MA in economics from the American University in Cairo.

Mr. Tamir Saeed has 16 years of experience in the finance industry, having started his career at Goldman Sachs where he spent eight years in a variety of roles in the firm’s Investment Banking, Equity Derivatives Trading and Principal Strategies groups. Currently, Mr. Saeed is a Managing Partner at Kingsway Capital Advisors LLP, a leading U.K. based investment manager, managing institutional capital with a long-term investment horizon and a focus on high-quality consumer franchises in frontier and emerging markets. Aside from Edita, Mr. Saeed is a board member of a number of reputable companies in Egypt and the broader region, including Al-Eqbal Investment Company (EICO) in Jordan. He graduated from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) with an MA in Economics, and is a CFA Charterholder.