Abdulrahman Khalid al-Ghunaim

Position: Communications Minister

Biography: As Communications Minister, Abdulrahman Khalid al-Ghunaim not only looks after the entire range of communications, such as telecommunications and postal services, but also takes care of transport and allied services in the country. Al-Ghunaim was born in Kuwait in 1938 and graduated from San Jose College in California with a BSc degree in electrical engineering in 1962. Following this, he joined the Post, Telegraph & Telephone Ministry, which later became the Communications Ministry. In 1984, he was elected to the Kuwait National Assembly, and in 1986 he was appointed Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, a position he held until 1988. He is currently a member of the Higher Council for Planning and Higher Council for Education, and is chairman of the Bank of Lebanon & Kuwait, and president of Al-Baida Trading & Contracting.

Contact: (+965) 481 9033

Abdulrahman Khalid al-Ghunaim

Position: Communications Minister

Biography: As Communications Minister, Abdulrahman Khalid al-Ghunaim not only looks after the entire range of communications, such as telecommunications and postal services, but also takes care of transport and allied services in the country. Al-Ghunaim was born in Kuwait in 1938 and graduated from San Jose College in California with a BSc degree in electrical engineering in 1962. Following this, he joined the Post, Telegraph & Telephone Ministry, which later became the Communications Ministry. In 1984, he was elected to the Kuwait National Assembly, and in 1986 he was appointed Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, a position he held until 1988. He is currently a member of the Higher Council for Planning and Higher Council for Education, and is chairman of the Bank of Lebanon & Kuwait, and president of Al-Baida Trading & Contracting.

Contact: (+965) 481 9033

Tarek Sultan

Position: Chairman and managing director, Agility

Biography: Tarek Sultan is chairman and managing director of Agility, the Gulf’s largest logistics and transport provider, with more than 35,000 employees in 100 countries. He served in the same capacity at the former Agility company PWC Logistics for almost 10 years, and was a driving force in its global expansion. Prior to that, he served as managing director of New York Associates, a regional investment banking services provider, and as an associate with Southport Partners, a US-based corporate finance advisory firm. Sultan also serves on the board of directors of the National Real Estate Company, Burgan Bank and the Sultan Centre in the Middle East, and is on the board of governors in the logistics and transportation industry at the World Economic Forum. He holds a Masters degree in business administration and has a BA in economics. He has lived and worked in the US, UK and Kuwait.

Contact: (+965) 809 222

Ali Dashti

Position: Chairman, KGL Holding

Biography: Having started out in 1956 as Dashti Construction Company, specialising in construction and stevedoring, KGL expanded to incorporate a full range of transportation services and in 1982 extended transportation operations as Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport Company (KGL). In 1993, it introduced passenger transportation services for the first time. Before becoming chairman, Dashti served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of KGL subsidiary Axis Solutions Company. He has also served on the board of KGL since 2000. Dashti holds a professorship at the computer engineering department at Kuwait University, where he teaches strategic IT management. Before joining the department, he was a researcher in the integrated media systems centre at the University of Southern California where he obtained an MSc in computer engineering and a PhD in computer science.

Contact: (+965) 888 900

Hamad al-Falah

Position: Chairman and managing director, Kuwait Airways

Biography: Hamad al-Falah was appointed chairman and managing director of Kuwait Airways on 20 January 2008, following the resignation of Barrak Mohsen al-Sabeeh. Al-Falah, a trained engineer, has worked in several teams within the company. He was involved in developing and assessing aircraft with regard to maintenance, purchase and charter. He has also participated in various studies and research related to the development of Kuwait Airways, where he has been for 27 years. Prior to becoming chairman, he was director of the engineering department and played a key role in broadening the department’s activities. Kuwait Airways is the national airline of Kuwait, based in Kuwait City and wholly owned by the Kuwaiti government. Reports from Kuwait in April stated that, according to Al-Falah, the national carrier would be privatised within 10 months.

Contact: (+965) 431 1154

Sheikh Sabah Jaber al-Ali al-Sabah

Position: General Manager Kuwait Ports Authority

Biography: In his role as general manager of the Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA), Sheikh Sabah Jaber al-Ali al-Sabah oversees the operation of Kuwait’s two container terminals: Shuwaikh and Shuaiba. There has been year on-year-growth at the two ports since 1995, with a marked increase each year since 2000. Last year, the combined cargo through the terminals at Shuwaikh and Shuaiba reached 753,334 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs). During his tenure, Sheikh Sabah has increased the number of Kuwaiti nationals working at the KPA to 98 per cent. In June, it was announced that Sheikh Sabah would head the 37th Arab Sea Ports Federation (ASPF) at the board of directors meeting. Sheikh Sabah attended the American School of Kuwait, where he graduated in 1967, before furthering his education abroad at Iowa state university in the US.

Contact: (+965) 481 2622