Global Chamber Dhaka Young Global Leaders: How to Be Tomorrow’s Changemakers

Greetings from Global Chamber® Dhaka! We hope you are keeping safe and positive through these uncertain times. We are featuring a special online event with Young Global Leaders.

In this event we featured 6 extraordinary Young Global Leaders (YGL's) from around the world in a roundtable globinar that covers how to have a bigger global impact in these times and beyond.

Watch the globinar HERE.

These young leaders have already been successful... and they each seek more success. So we asked each of them what works and what tips and ideas do they have, to help other YGL's grow business across metros and borders.

This globinar offers both learning as well as a networking opportunity for the participants with an esteemed Young Global Leader Panel.

After individual presentations, each YGL was sent to a breakout room to engage with attendees who shared similar interests. In the breakout rooms, attendees networked with the speakers, discussed their ideas, initiatives, business, and more.

BTW - the breakout rooms are NOT on the video linked to above.

Target Audience: CEOs, Professional, Executives and Students in the Americas, South East Asia, South Asia, Western Europe, East and West Africa. Age: 18-70+ years old

Speakers:

Khan Muhammad Saqiful Alam, Program Manager, Trust and Safety, South Asia Region, TikTok | Data Analysis | Machine Learning | Startup Scaling

Saqif is at present working in the Trust and Safety zone in TikTok, looking after the South Asia Markets. Besides that, he is also a Commonwealth Scholar in National University of Singapore (NUS). His area of research is in Innovation and Application of Machine Learning in Business Strategy. Besides this, he is an analytics adviser of Intelligent Machines Limited (a company working with machine learning and big data) and Upskill (a professional training and certification platform), and work on several other strategic and analytics consultancy projects. He is also a professional trainer for Light Castle Partners, Upskill, GP Accelerator and NUS Executive Education School, and the community manager for Google Business Groups Sonargaon. He did his MSc in Operations and Risk Management from University of Manchester and did his BBA from IBA, Dhaka University.

His consulting and work areas of focus are – data-driven decision making, application of machine learning in businesses, helping businesses be strategically data driven, strategic risk management and simulations. He also specializes on startup scaling up and strategic planning.

Ornella Gunesekere, Miss Universe Sri Lanka | Mental Health, Education and Climate Change Advocate

Ornella Gunesekere is the reigning Miss Universe Sri Lanka who was the first Sri Lankan to win a mini-title placement of "Miss Congeniality," at the Miss Universe pageant in 2018. Ornella represented Sri Lanka among 18 other models from Nepal, Finland and Italy at the "Mt. Everest Fashion Runway," by KASA, the highest altitude Fashion show, which took place at Kala Pathhar, Mount Everest, on 26 January 2020. The fashion show entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Highest Fashion Runway on Land," at 5,644 meters. The models had to trek to the venue, in the harsh Himalayan winter whilst collecting trash along the way and not using any running water. Ornella, was adjudged the "Toughest Model," as she proved her strength by trekking the entire journey, even after having undergone two spinal fusion surgeries in the past. The theme of the show stood against climate change by promoting sustainable fashion and himalayan environmental awareness.

Arjun Vaidya, Ex-CEO, Dr Vaidya’s | Forbes 30 under 30 | Angel Investor

Arjun Vaidya was the CEO at Dr. Vaidya's: New Age Ayurveda (until Jan 2021). Prior to his entrepreneurial stint, Arjun graduated from Brown University, USA with a BA with honors in International Relations and Economics. He then worked in private equity at a consumer sector focused fund, L Capital Asia (the private equity arm of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Group) where he focused specifically on consumer brands and consumer tech.

In October 2016, Arjun quit his job to take on his 150-year-old family legacy of Ayurvedic formulations that his grandfather left behind. Dr. Vaidya’s repackaged the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda and emerged as India’s largest Ayurveda brand online. The brand has successfully reached 1m+ consumers across 500+ cities and 16,500+ pin codes in India. Arjun was the first Ayurvedic Entrepreneur to be featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List for and Business World 40 Under 40 List! Dr. Vaidya’s also won Youth SMB of the Year from Amazon and the Retail Startup Award from the Retailers Association of India. In June 2019, Dr. Vaidya’s partnered with the USD 4b RP Sanjiv Goenka Group and has now been acquired by the group – making it one of India’s first successful D2C exits.

Outside of work, Arjun is an advisor to football focused NGO, Just for Kicks, is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and a Mentor at the Atal Innovation Mission. He is also a part of the All-India Management Association’s Young Leaders Conference and a member of Brown University’s Young Alumni Advisory Council.

Brad Namdar, CEO, The Namdar Group | International Trade | Supply Chain Management and Distribution

Brad Namdar is a young, diverse, and extremely knowledgeable business leader from Dallas, Texas. From International Trade & Commerce, to supply chain management and distribution; Brad has ample experience as he created two successful businesses in Dallas, Texas and has been recognized for his various achievements. Additionally, Mr. Namdar donates, contributes, and assists countless non-profit organizations, and has received appointments and recognitions from countless Chambers, elected officials, and non-profit entities. Brad was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to the One Star Foundation in March of 2020, as well as, serves on their Public Policy and Advocacy Committee. Brad's was also selected to become official partners with the Texas Secretary of State - in their Texas Businesses Against Human Trafficking (TBAT) initiative. Additionally, Brad was also selected to serve on the United States Chamber of Commerce - Small Business Advisory Council, as well as, their Task Force to Eradicate Human Trafficking.

Brad is a rising star in business, service, and is a valuable young and upcoming leader on the international stage.

Katerina Karakehagia, CEO, SetteMari Trading LTD | Gourmet Foods | Wholesale, Retail and HORECA

Katerina Karakehagia is a Greek entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of SetteMari Trading LTD, a Trading company based in Nicosia, Cyprus. Katerina initially started SetteMari to provide brokerage, sourcing, and consulting services to her food industry clients. However, SetteMari has grown to become the parent company to the Nicosia headquartered gourmet foods e-shop “Gourmetestore.com”. The company also features a department specializing in wholesale gourmet foods for HORECA customers. In 2020, Katerina relocated to Sofia Bulgaria to begin expansion of her gourmet business to the rest of Europe. Operating under the name “Tablespoon Gourmet”, Katerina launched a gourmet food shop in Sofia along with an online e-shop “tablespoon.bg”. In addition to eclectic food, Katerina is also pursuing her passion for cutting edge technology and is currently setting up a “smart” show room to showcase home automation electronics for her electronics company “SmartPlace Online” (smartplaceonline.com). Katerina’s next project is to design and launch a smart-home product herself. In her free time, Katerina paints, takes smart-home/smart-city courses at MIT and creates recipes for her international cookbook.

Farzeen Ferdous Alam, Chairman, Oggro Ventures | Farming | Economics

Farzeen Ferdous Alam is an economist turned farmer and Chairman of Oggro Ventures, a holding company for social enterprises that are obsessed with solving development challenges using the power of the market. His portfolio includes Ferdous Biotech (Pvt) Ltd, a leading private sector based biotechnology company that uses Tissue Culture technology to produce virus free high quality potato and banana seeds as well Orchids and Gerbera flowers. Through its Farmers Academy and Oggro Crops, Farzeen has built a network of over 10,000 farmers who are now stakeholders in Oggro Ventures. He started his entrepreneurial journey while in High School when he founded OGGRO, a youth led organization which provides education to visually impaired girls across the country. A serial entrepreneur, Farzeen also founded Oggro Dairy, the first home delivery service of fresh, pasteurised bottled milk in Dhaka from its own farm. He is also one of the Founding Directors of JOIKKO AGRO LTD, a Public Limited Company that works as a Social Franchise bringing Allied Services to small holder farmers across the North West of Bangladesh. He is currently serving as the Managing Director of JOIKKO AGRO LTD. A graduate of Economics from the University of Dhaka, he has been recognised by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations with the Youth Solidarity Fund award as well as the MTV Staying Alive Foundation UK. Furthermore, Farzeen has been recognized as one of the International Leaders by the Government of the United Kingdom. Aside from his work, Farzeen is a passionate Manchester United fan

Moderator

Maimun Ur Rashid Mustafa is Executive Director for Global Chamber® Dhaka, one of our first three chapters in Bangladesh. Join us to reach new markets and discover new opportunities. Optimizing people, technology and processes, Maimun Mustafa is an entrepreneur who delivers simple solutions to complex problems. With 11+ years of marketing, branding and business development experience, Maimun has gained work competencies in sectors that include CSOs, Social Businesses, Media, Communications, Trade and Technology. Maimun believes he is successful in what he does by delivering the right information to investors; possibilities to business partners; motivation to colleagues; and the promise of uncompromising quality to end beneficiaries.

Apart from managing his personal ventures, Maimun have been associated with trade and business associations for the majority of his career. He has held top tier positions in Italy-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Indonesia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry and now serves as the Executive Director of Global Chamber® Dhaka and Barisal.