Management Board Chair and Executive Director

Karim Elgendy is an energy and climate policy expert based in London. His research and policy interests include climate policy, the energy transition, energy geopolitics, climate resilience, climate diplomacy, climate security, and urban sustainability, all with a focus on the MENA region.

Elgendy has authored numerous publications and articles on energy and climate policy. He has been invited to over one hundred public speaking engagements to-date, and has delivered guest lectures at some of the world's leading universities. Elgendy is regularly interviewed and quoted by broadcast, print and digital media, and has appeared in most global and regional mainstream media outlets.

In addition to his roles leading the Carboun Institute, Elgendy is also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and at the Middle East Institute.

Supervisory Board Chair

Zeina Kahlil Hajj is the Executive Director at the Pooled fund on International Energy, an international platform on clean energy and steel transition. Hajj has more than 25 years of experience in creative campaigning, advocacy, communications, political and policy development, organising and mobilising on a global level. She has a wide experience in running social change and policy change in the global south.

Hajj has helped set-up organisations and worked on organisational structures and campaigns around the world. For more than 15 years, she shaped Greenpeace’s global strategies and led many of its creative campaigns. Between 2018 and 2020, she founded and established Greenpeace Office operating in the MENA region.  She also shaped and developed the solution strategy at 350.org where she led their global campaigning and organising.

Management Board Member

Ruba Farkh is an environmental expert and sustainability leader with nearly two decades of experience across the Middle East and North Africa region.

She currently serves as Senior Director of Environmental Assessment and Management at Red Sea Global. Her expertise spans environmental management, impact assessment, and stakeholder engagement, with particular focus on infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing sectors.

Farkh has extensive experience implementing international environmental standards including IFC Performance Standards and World Bank frameworks. She has led multi-disciplinary teams and delivering complex environmental projects across diverse cultural contexts. Her work combines technical expertise with a strong emphasis on practical implementation and capacity building.

Supervisory Board Member

Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Climate and Water Initiative, and an internationally-experienced water resources management and climate adaptation policy expert. He is also the Lead for Middle East Climate and Water Policy with the United Nations University's Institute for Water, Environment, and Health.

Mahmoud’s previous leadership roles included his tenures as Founding Director of the Climate and Water Program at the Middle East Institute, Chair of the Water Utility Climate Alliance, and President of the North American Weather Modification Council. He has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Middle East Sustainability Voices, and regularly provides expert analysis on climate change and water security issues in the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States.

Supervisory Board Member

Tariq Al-Olaimy (FRSA) is Managing Director of 3BL Associates, a people + planet systems transformation consultancy. Through 3BL he also co-leads think-tank initiatives including Public-Planet Partnerships, Diversity on Board, Recipes for Wellbeing, and Post-Growth Earth. These initiatives span his expertise in ESG policy, biomimicry, post-growth economics, and the future of governance. His advisory board roles include the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UNEP & FAO), the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions - Race to Resilience Campaign, World Economic Forum Foundations Board - Global Shapers, and 1t.org.

Al-Olaimy is also a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Faith in Action. He advises and collaborates with organisations including the G20 Global Land Initiative, Greenpeace MENA and Oceans5 on engaging faith communities in climate action and ecosystem restoration.