Meet our Leaders
As AIB Middle East North Africa’s main governing body, our leadership team is responsible for member outreach, facilitating professional development opportunities, and organizing our annual Chapter Conference.
Below, you’ll find background details on each of our team members, our roles and responsibilities, and contact information to help you connect with us online.
Immanuel Azaad Moonesar
President (Chair)
President (Chair)
President (Chair), Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Dr. Immanuel Azaad Moonesar R.D.
Assistant Professor – Health Policy
Health Policy Research Group Leader
MPA Program Coordinator
Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai, UAE
immanuel.moonesar@mbrsg.ac.ae
Linkedin Profile
Immanuel Azaad Moonesar
Dr. Immanuel Azaad Moonesar hails from the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, and he also serves as Managing Director at “I AM Consulting” (Trinidad & Tobago), and President (Chapter Chair) and Executive Board member of the Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa (AIB-MENA).Throughout his career, he has worked in quality assurance and management, nutrition and dietetics, health and safety, teaching, and institutional research. His current research interests are in public policy, healthcare management & leadership, maternal & child health, health policy and innovation, nutrition, and quality management.
Dr. Moonesar holds a PhD in Health Services: Leadership (Superior Distinction) from Walden University, USA; Master of Quality Management (Distinction) from the University Of Wollongong Australia (UOW); a Postgraduate Diploma in Institutional Community Nutrition & Dietetics (Distinction); and a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology: Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago.
A registered dietitian, he possesses professional certifications in ‘NEBOSH Occupational Health and Safety’, ‘Project Management: Certified Business Professional (CBP)’ and ‘Quality Management System Internal Auditors (ISO 9001:2008)’. Dr. Moonesar also over 80 publications ranging across peer-reviewed journal articles, peer-reviewed international conferences, co-authored books, and book chapters to date.
Melodena Stephens
Advisory Board & Founder
Advisory Board Member
Advisory Board & Founder, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Prof. Dr. Melodena Stephens Balakrishnan
Professor of Innovation Management
Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government
melodena.stephensb@mbrsg.ac.ae
Melodena Stephens
Melodena has over 25+ years of corporate and academic experience. She has a multicultural background having lived in India, USA, Taiwan, UAE and Germany. Her corporate experience is in areas of market potential estimation, new market and product development and joint venture negotiations. Before her PhD, she worked in India for the Tata Group. She consults for governments and institutions.In academia, she has been involved in strategic planning, accreditations, course development and industry outreach. She is currently Professor of Innovation Management at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) in Dubai. Prior to MBRSG, she was one of the first female Indian deans for a German University – Karlshochschule International University, Germany. For over a decade, she also held various positions like Deputy Dean, Associate Professor and Program Director of MBA in the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), one of UAE’s oldest private universities.
Her areas of research are brand strategy, place/country marketing, social entrepreneurship and crisis management. She is an active contributor of articles in this area. She has published extensively – over 130 publications. Her didactive approach to teaching has been to facilitate an inter-disciplinary, co-created problem-solving competency with a global mindset. She has won several teaching and research awards, including two UAE National Research Foundation grants.
Melodena is the founder of the Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter (AIBMENA), a nonprofit social initiative founded in 2009 in Dubai under UOWD. The purpose of the organization is to act as an ambassador and champion for the MENA region by fostering research and teaching in the field of international business. AIBMENA was awarded the ‘Dubai Brand Ambassador Status’ by Dubai Conventions & Events Bureau, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in 2012.
Vijay Pereira
Vice President
Vice-President
Dr. Vijay Pereira
Associate Professor
vijay.pereira@kustar.ac.ae
Linkedin Profile
Vijay Pereira
Vijay is a Human Resource (HR) professional with a wide range of experience in the field of HR, Personnel & Administration and Labour management. He has achieved this in industry, consulting and academia. He has experience of working on his own initiative and as part of a team. Vijay has proven leadership skills involving managing, developing and motivating teams to achieve their objectives. He has exposure to most aspects of HR and managing employees from cross functional and cultural areas. Vijay also possess first-class analytical, design and problem solving skills and is dedicated to maintaining high standards.
Racquel Warner
Finance & Sponsorship
Finance & Sponsorship
Vice President (Finance & Sponsorship)
Dr. Racquel Warner
Assistant Professor – Education Policy
Education Policy Research Group Leader
MPA Program Coordinator
Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai, UAE
racquel.warner@mbrsg.ac.ae
Racquel Warner
Filareti Since 2003, Dr. Warner has worked in various academic and leadership positions at three major off-shore branch campuses in the UAE. A career educator with over 25 years international teaching experience, her professional engagement has been defined by her keen interest in social justice and equality.
In her home country of Jamaica, she has initiated inner city community engagement projects that connected benevolent business owners with families who needed educational assistance. She also works actively in communities in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Kenya to support the development and accessibility of quality education to at risk groups.
Dr. Warner holds an MA Education degree from the University of Wollongong in Australia, a PG Cert HE from Middlesex University and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Exeter (both UK). Her research interest in student engagement and learner autonomy has led to her work in curriculum redesign, teacher training, and education policy development. Her doctoral thesis at the University of Exeter explored student engagement as an alternative pedagogical approach in Higher Education institutions in the UAE.
She is a member of Higher Education Teaching and Learning (HETL), the Vice President- Finance (Sponsorship & Treasurer) of the Academy of International Business – MENA Chapter, and has presented at many international conferences and published papers on the subjects of study skills, student engagement and the policy imperative of this approach.
Sadaf Khurshid
Secretary & Membership Liaison
Secretary
Secretary, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Sadaf Khurshid
PhD Candidate in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry
University of Wollongong, Australia
mena@aib.world
Linkedin Profile
Sadaf Khurshid
Sadaf Khurshid is a PhD Candidate in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Her research focus is on Social Enterprises specific to the role of familial relations in the growth of female social entrepreneurs in India. She has been involved in research with social enterprises since early 2014 and published various case studies through her research in the MENA region. She has developed an affinity towards social enterprises, especially understanding the networks that support them. She completed her Master’s in Business Administration with Distinction from University of Wollongong, Australia in 2013 and has done Bachelors of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering with Distinction from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India in 2009.
She has been an academic topper throughout her studies. Currently, she is working as an Instructor with University of Wollongong in Dubai. Having worked in the IT sector previously she has a diverse knowledge of software development. While in Bachelors, she was the Vice Chairperson of WIE-IEEE (Women in Engineering- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Student Branch, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi India. She has also been in the editorial team of the Student Branch’s IEEE Magazines.
Sally Shamieh
Outreach Chair
Lebanon
Outreach Lebanon
Secretary, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Sally Shamieh
Research Project Manager
ESA Business School,
shamieh.s@esa.edu.lb
Linkedin Profile
Sally Shamieh
Sally Shamieh is an advocate of continuous learning, growth and development. I am also a champion of women’s empowerment and supporter of women entrepreneurship. The above summarizes the multiple hats I wear, often enough wearing more than one hat at the same time.
With an educational background in public administration and over 15 years of experience in the private sector in administrative and managerial positions, she was able to collate the public as well as the private perspectives, bringing a multi-disciplinary outlook to bridging the gap between academia and practice. Being the Research Project Manager at ESA Business School, Lebanon offers her the pertinent platform to conduct research on topics like business and human rights, women entrepreneurship and empowerment, inclusion through social entrepreneurship and the intersectionality of ethical leadership and sustainable development. She also teach, train and coach in the fields of entrepreneurship, business and human rights, and gender issues.
She is also the Director of Heart of Rachaya, a civic institution concerned with human, social and economic development of rural areas in the Bekaa region. The neonatal institution is the product of the recent parliamentary elections in Lebanon in which she ran as a candidate advocating for change, reform, social justice and development. She is also in the process of setting up a new venture in the Gulf that operates as a platform connecting subject matter experts with companies in in a consultative and advisory capacity.
Abdilkader Aljandali
Outreach Chair
North Africa
Outreach Chair North Africa
Outreach Chair North Africa, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Abdilkader Aljandali
SPOC – Finance & Innovation
Business Africa School, Morocco
Abdulkader.Aljandali@um6p.ma
Linkedin Profile
Abdilkader Aljandali
Having successfully graduated from ENCG Settat back in 2006, Abdulkader completed his International Finance Masters degree in England. At the height of the financial crisis of 2008-2009, he was granted a doctoral scholarship to conduct research which examines volatility drivers in the FX market with a particular focus on emerging markets following which he obtained a PhD degree from London Metropolitan University in 2014. Since then, he has worked as a Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Finance at Regents University London, Coventry University and Anglia Ruskin University all of which are academic institutions based in the UK. Abdulkader has also acted as a visiting Professor in International Finance at IES London, Bucks New University, Roehampton University, London Met in the UK as well as IESEG in France and Stuttgart university in Germany. Abdulkader is a senior fellow of Advance HE, the UK’s higher education academy, in recognition of his contribution to learning and teaching in the UK. He is fellow of the British Accounting and Finance Association as well as being a member of the CFA UK society. Abdulkader published various textbooks on quantitative analysis and financial modelling with current research focus on fintech drivers in emerging markets.
Arif Zaman
Outreach Chair
Pakistan
Outreach Chair Pakistan
Outreach Pakistan, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Arif Zaman
Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead for Enterprise
Bloomsbury Institute London, UK
arif.zaman@bil.ac.uk
Linkedin Profile
Arif Zaman
Arif Zaman is an experienced strategy, risk and reputation professional, market analyst and project manager with a high level of business understanding. Able to identify, embrace and leverage new ideas and leading edge thinking including emerging drivers of change and uncertainty, especially in emerging markets in Asia. Politically astute, commercially aware and cross culturally sensitive. Strong commitment to diversity and community development at a local and global level. Lived and worked extensively in Asia including in volatile environments for extended periods between 2007 and 2012.
Glenn Muschert
Outreach Chair – Levant
Outreach Chair Levant
Outreach Chair Levant, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Glenn Muschert
Len Jessup Chair Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change
Khalifa University, UAE & Woxsen University
glenn.muschert@ku.ac.ae, glenn.muschert@woxsen.edu.in
Glenn Muschert
Dr. Muschert is a professor of sociology based in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Khalifa University of Science and Technology (جامعة خليفة) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is a research advisor to the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development and is appointed as the Len Jessup Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at Woxsen University, India. Previously he served appointments on the Law and Society faculty at Purdue University (USA) and the Sociology, Social Justice Studies, and Comparative Media Studies faculties at Miami University (USA). His research focuses on the metaverse, digital inequalities, sustainable development, and the ethical resolution of social problems.
Dr. Muschert earned a Ph.D. (2002) in sociology from the University of Colorado (USA), and a BS (1992) in International Studies from Drexel University (USA). He has been a visiting scholar at various universities worldwide, including Seoul City University (South Korea), Erzincan University (Turkey), and Atatürk University (Turkey). He is proficient in various qualitative and quantitative methodologies of social research inquiry and frequently serves reviewer and editorial board member for dozens of academic journals. With over 25 years of experience as a university instructor, he is certified by the UAE Ministry of Education as an External Reviewer for the Council on Academic Accreditation.
Dr. Muschert is a member of international professional associations such as the Academy of International Business (AIB) and the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), where he is a lifetime member and has served since 2010 as SSSP Secretary. He has written or edited over a dozen academic volumes/special issues of journals, dozens of academic research articles, and dozens of chapters in academic volumes. Major books include Theorizing Digital Divides (Routledge); The Digital Divide: The Internet and Social Inequality in International Perspective (Routledge); multiple volumes of the Agenda for Social Justice (Policy Press).
Outreach Chair GCC
Outreach Chair GCC, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Rubina Malik
Senior Assistant Professor
Morehouse College, USA
Rubina.Malik@morehouse.edu
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Rubina Malik
Global Learning and Development Expert with over 20 years of experience in academia, consulting and professional services. Driving development of high caliber talent, creating learning curricula, coaching, mentoring new and established leaders / entrepreneurs / business owners / senior management across multiple business units. Delivering organizational effectiveness, productivity, profitability, innovation, training and social responsibility achievements.
Senior Associate Professor with a Ph.D. in Human Resources Organization Development from the University of Georgia, USA, an MBA in Marketing and a first degree in Industrial Psychology combined with extensive experience in the business world. Enhanced skills that drive the engagement, retention, promotion and development of diverse talent. The scholarly activities expand insight into and lend credibility to human capital development, ultimately creating real and practical globalized opportunities for individuals and organizations.
Strategic business advisor to competitive organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and universities. Notable recipients of expertise include Microsoft, Google, UPS, CDC, Home Depot, Deloitte, and Streamline Communication, The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Georgia, Georgia State University and Morehouse College. Creating and propelling programs on organizational development, change management, conflict resolution, employee motivation and retention, teamwork, collaboration, management development, succession planning, diversity and inclusion. Comprehensive experience liaising with business leaders on identifying and closing skills and learning gaps with timely and relevant learning interventions.
A TEDx speaker, SXSW mentor, a popular guest speaker at conferences and podcasts. Frequently published in industry magazines, including highly respected academic and business journals such as The Harvard Business Review. Serving on several non-profit boards that actively support education and equity-based incentives.
Communication Manager
Communication manager, Academy of International Business – Middle East North Africa Chapter
Rhonda Roopchan
rhonr@hotmail.com
Rhonda Roopchan
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