Khalid Ikram held a number of senior positions in the Government of Pakistan and as a director at the World Bank. In the World Bank, he was responsible for the analytical work on, and policy-based lending to, several Middle East and East Asian and African countries, among them Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Nigeria, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Ikram is currently an international consultant, and has advised governments and think-tanks in several Asian and African countries, as well as international and national organizations, among them the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, UNDP, UNCTAD, USAID, DFID, GTZ, and many private sector consultancies, such as JE Austin, Adam Smith International, Oxford Policy Management Group, the Competitiveness Commission, the International Growth Centre, and others. Ikram holds an MA in economics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. He is the author of a number of books, monographs, and articles on development strategies and policies in Egypt, Pakistan, and East Asian countries, including Egypt: Economic Management in a Period of Transition (1981), The Egyptian Economy, 1952–2000: Performance, Policies and Issues (2006), and The Political Economy of Reforms in Egypt: Issues and Policymaking since 1952 (2021). He was awarded the Korean President’s medal for services to Korean development.
Heba Nassar is professor of economics and director of the academic journal of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science (FEPS), the Review of Economics and Political Science (REPS). Previously, she was Vice President of Cairo University, Chair of the Economic Department, Vice Dean of FEPS, and the Director of the Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies. She was awarded the country honorary award for women in social science from the National Academy of Research in 2021. Heba is also Vice Chair of Cairo University Alumni; Chair of the Arab Health Economic Platform; a founding member of the Health Policy Forum; a member of the Council for Coordination for Economic and Juridical Committees-Higher Council of Universities; and a member of the International Association of Institutions for Strengthening the Civic Roles of Higher Education and the UN Working Group on Global Compact for Universities. Previously, she was a member of the Consortium for Research in Migration (CARIM) and Migration Policy Center of the MENA, and a board member of the National Health Authority and the Electricity Holding Company. Since 1994, Heba has been directing research projects at the Social Research Center of the American University in Cairo and for several international organizations. She has several publications in national and international conferences and in journals on migration, small business, microfinance, social protection, populations and women, labor markets, and human resource development.
