Delegation of Authority (DoA)

Geoffrey Alphonso is a recognised voice in education technology, named among Arabian Business's 'Top 30 CEOs' and '100 Most Inspiring Leaders' in the Middle East. With over 25 years of experience leading business transformations in the North American, Australian, and Middle Eastern markets, he has held senior roles spanning EdTech, telecommunications, and finance globally.

Under his leadership, Alef Education has grown from a startup in 2016 to a global EdTech leader. As CEO and founding member of the Alef Platform, an award-winning AI-powered learning platform, Geoffrey leads the overall vision, innovation, and product portfolio to drive global growth at scale. He rapidly grew the company into five new markets, serving over 2 million learners.

In 2024, Geoffrey led Alef Education through a landmark IPO on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, achieving a valuation of USD 1.89 billion and establishing Alef Education as the first publicly listed EdTech company in the UAE. This milestone underscores both the company's financial strength and its long-term vision for education innovation.

Beyond business growth, Geoffrey champions initiatives with strong social impact, serving on the board of THAKI, a non-governmental organization providing digital education products and services to underserved children in the MENA region. He also drives programs in AI-driven literacy benchmarking, climate education through EcoChamps, and digital inclusion.

Geoffrey holds an MBA from London Business School and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, an exclusive global community of senior technology executives. He is a frequent contributor to international education forums and a regular voice in global media, including CNN and CNBC, sharing insights on the future of learning, technology-driven innovation, and inclusive education.

A thought leader with over 27 years of experience in the education sector, Dr. Aishah Al Yammahi has been recognized among the 51 Emirati Women Achievers for her contributions to innovation in the UAE and for paving the way for future generations of inspiring women. Dr. Aishah has held many roles in education in the public and private sectors, including the UAE Ministry of Education, where she oversaw the rollout of the Alef Education learning platform across public schools in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Aishah also worked as the Director of the UAE National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science at UNESCO, where she had exposure to many different education systems worldwide.

Dr. Al Yammahi currently serves as the strategic Advisor for Alef Education, a leading EdTech company in the UAE. Through her work, Dr. Aishah has engaged in numerous international forums and conferences centered around education in several countries, such as Finland, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, and China. These experiences provided her with valuable insights into diverse modern educational and technological approaches and practices. Participating in these forums not only added a global dimension to Dr. Aishah’s professional journey but also significantly enriched her understanding of educational and pedagogical system development, and equipped Dr. Al Yammahi with a steadfast commitment to incorporating these global perspectives into the continuous evolution of the education sector

Dr. Al Yammahi earned her Doctorate degree in "Exploring the Influence of AI-Powered Digital Educational Platforms on Student Learning and Teaching Methods in Abu Dhabi Schools.

As part of the social role that Dr. Al Yammahi deems a responsibility, she launched a successful social media campaign to cover topics related to education, AI and technology, and leadership. Her insightful contributions have been widely acknowledged, and she continues to be a leading voice in the field.

Amit has 25 years of multinational experience in Europe, the Bahamas, the Middle East, and India, including the last 18 years in the UAE. He spent 13 years with ‘Big Four’ accounting firms, including Deloitte & Touche, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, followed by Waha Capital, where he was the Executive Director of Finance and Compliance.

Prior to joining Alef Education, Amit was the CFO of Qatar First Bank and Emirates Post (now called 7X) portfolio of companies, including the Wall Street Exchange, Instant Cash, and FINTX. He has led change, turnaround, and cost optimization strategies, resulting in significant company-wide improvements and value creation.

Amit earned a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from The University of Calcutta. He is qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He also earned the Associate CMA and CGMA titles from CIMA, United Kingdom, and certifications in Leadership from Harvard Business School and Corporate Finance from London Business School.

Joe El Sebaaly has over 20 years of experience working with technology and EdTech companies, with a strong focus on digital transformation.

Prior to joining Alef Education, he led education services and product initiatives at Pearson and McGraw-Hill across higher education, K–12, and vocational education. In these roles, he focused on leveraging global expertise and scalable capabilities to design and deliver high-impact learning solutions.

As Chief Product Officer at Alef Education, Joe leads the company’s product and AI strategy. He is responsible for translating educational and technological insights into scalable platforms, and driving the development of AI-powered solutions.

Under his leadership, Alef’s product scaled from a single school in 2017 to serving over a million students across multiple markets.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and a Master of Computer Science from the American University of Beirut, as well as an MBA from London Business School.

Amjad is a technology leader with over 29 years of experience, highlighted by a 14-year tenure as an independent consultant.

His professional journey spans over 15 diverse companies, including HP, EE, Siemens, DXC, Cap Gemini, TNT, and the Ministry of Justice. His expertise is built on a foundation of varied roles within the government, telecommunications, and service sectors, ranging from startups and scale-ups to large-scale enterprises.

As Chief Technology Officer at Alef Education, Amjad spearheads the development and delivery of the technical product vision, ensuring high availability, scalability, resilience, performance, security, and cost optimization across the product portfolio. His responsibilities span various technical domains, including software engineering, data engineering, platform engineering, machine learning, business intelligence, agility, security, and enterprise architecture.

Amjad earned a Master of Computer Science from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds.

Mounia Hajji is an executive with over 20 years of experience in business transformation, organizational change, and strategic growth. Her career spans consulting, technology, and telecoms, in more than 10 countries and across organizations ranging from startups to major corporates, where she has worked at the highest levels of leadership.

As Chief of Staff at Alef Education, a publicly listed AI-powered EdTech company serving over 2 million students globally, Mounia works closely with the CEO to drive the company's most critical strategic priorities.

Prior to Alef, Mounia served as Chief of Staff — and interim Chief People Officer — at YouGov, the global data and analytics group, where she was a trusted advisor to the CEO and co-founder. She led three major organizational restructures and drove commercial initiatives that delivered significant revenue and profit growth, and a 50% rise in share price, during a period of high-stage growth.

Having supported CxOs directly for over a decade, Mounia brings a combination of strategic and operational experience to the executives she partners with.

Mounia holds a Master of Science in Economics from HEC Paris and has completed the Executive Leadership Programme at Oxford Saïd Business School. She is fluent in Arabic, French, and English.

Gregoire has over 30 years of experience in customer service and IT service delivery. He has successfully led large teams in several countries and regions in the telecommunications and IT sectors and held senior positions at BT, C&W, NCR, DELL EMC, and NTT DATA Corporation.

Throughout his career, Gregoire achieved key milestones, including building BT’s first outsourcing support center in France, efficiently managing service delivery in the US, and building remote resolution teams across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) from the Netherlands.

As Director of Service Delivery at Alef Education, Grégoire leads the end‑to‑end delivery of contracted services, ensuring clients realize sustained value that drives retention and renewal. He shapes and executes delivery strategies that elevate customer satisfaction while maintaining operational efficiency and strong account profitability. His portfolio spans the Project Management Office, training and quality assurance, large‑scale school implementations, IT support, and service desk operations—bringing together people, processes, and technology to deliver a consistently high‑quality experience..

Gregoire earned a Master of Innovation Management, Information Technology and Communication from Gustave Eiffel University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Paris XIII University.

Sarah Bradfield has over 20 years of experience in HR across a range of industries, from financial services to automotive to quality assurance and, more recently, in the technology sector in the UAE and UK. She has extensive experience in strategic consulting and implementation of human capital solutions focused on talent acquisition, performance, retention and succession strategies and organizational development. Sarah holds an MBA from Strathclyde University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business from St Andrews University.

Daniel (Dan) Abela is a UK-qualified lawyer with over 20 years of exceptional legal expertise across the UAE and UK markets. He brings a wealth of experience from senior roles in blue-chip companies and top-tier private practices, where he has consistently translated complex legal challenges into strategic, business-focused solutions.

As a key driver of growth and risk management within the organisation, Dan excels in multi-jurisdictional corporate law, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and fundraisings. His ability to navigate intricate transactions and regulatory landscapes has established him as a trusted advisor in high-stakes environments.

Beyond his technical expertise, Dan is a proven leader who has built and guided agile legal teams while implementing robust legal frameworks that align with business goals and enhance operational efficiency.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Mikhael El Hachem is a Lebanon-qualified lawyer and Senior Legal Counsel with over ten years of experience across in-house, private practice, and multinational advisory environments in the United Arab Emirates and the wider region. He currently serves as Senior Legal Counsel at Alef Education Holding PLC and was appointed Board Secretary in August 2025. He has advised multinational organisations across the GCC, including during his three-year tenure at PwC Middle East.

He is the Company’s lead authority on data privacy and AI governance, having designed and implemented a comprehensive data protection compliance roadmap aligned with the UAE Personal Data Protection Law and international standards, including the GDPR, and established the Company’s Artificial Intelligence Ethics Framework.

He holds a Master’s degree in E-Commerce and Digital Economy Law from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a Master of Private Law from Saint Joseph University.

Mr. El Hachem is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as a CIPP/E, CIPM, and AIGP, and was recognised in 2025 as a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP).

Sudha Sharma leads the Risk & Compliance function at Alef Education Holding PLC and brings over 18 years of experience in risk management, compliance, business continuity management, and corporate governance.

Ms. Sharma most recently served as Corporate Senior Manager Risk and Compliance at Agthia PJSC, where she played a key role in strengthening enterprise risk and compliance frameworks. With a strong background in corporate risk management, she has extensive experience in building and enhancing risk and compliance posture, systems, defining key risk indicators, implementing internal control mechanisms (ICFR), and developing enterprise-wide risk management and compliance frameworks.

She has led crisis management initiatives, including oversight during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring business continuity and resilience across operations in HCL technologies (India). She has also served in the metal and mining industries, telecommunications sectors, and information technology industry in India.

Ms. Sharma is a Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary by qualification. She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Honours from Calcutta University (India) along with membership at ICAI (India) and ICSI (India). She is a Certified Risk Professional (CRiSP), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRiSC) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She is also a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

Lilian Erian serves as Senior Internal Audit Manager at Alef Education Holding PLC and brings over 18 years of experience in internal audit and risk advisory across Egypt and the Middle East.

Ms. Erian has previously worked with leading organisations including PwC Middle East, Protiviti Middle East, Orange Telecom Egypt, and Barclays Bank of Egypt. Her experience spans internal audit, risk advisory, governance advisory, and control framework development across Education and Telecommunications Sectors.

She holds several professional certifications, including Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Agile Auditor Professional (CAAP), Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC & GRCA). She is a UAE IAA Member and ACFE Member.

Eyad Darawsheh is an education strategist and technology leader with over 20 years of international experience in education policy, digital learning solutions, and growth strategy across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

As General Manager of Miqyas Al Dhad (MaD), he leads the development and expansion of one of the first comprehensive Arabic frameworks for measuring text complexity and assessing learners’ reading proficiency. In this role, he works closely with governments and institutional partners to implement data-driven solutions that strengthen Arabic literacy and modernize national assessment systems.

Eyad has extensive expertise in strategic planning and large-scale education initiatives that drive measurable improvements in learning outcomes. He holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Middlesex University and actively collaborates with policymakers, academic leaders, and industry partners to advance sustainable education reform across the Arab world and globally.

Walid Nsouli is a distinguished digital transformation leader with 20 years of experience driving innovation, strategic growth, and operational excellence.

As Director of UAE Growth & Partnerships at Alef Education, he leads the company’s market expansion efforts, fostering strategic alliances with technology providers, government entities, and key stakeholders to advance digital learning solutions. His ability to analyse market trends, identify growth opportunities, and implement sustainable education technology business solutions has been instrumental in strengthening Alef Education’s presence in the UAE.

Walid has a proven track record in managing large-scale digital transformation initiatives, including cloud modernisation and ICT infrastructure projects. His expertise spans cloud transformation, modernised application platforms, and leveraging emerging technologies to drive business sustainability and competitive advantage.

He holds a Master of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Liverpool and a Bachelor’s in Business Computer from Computer and Engineering College, Beirut.