2023 BOD MEMBER-AT-LARGE NOMINEE BIOS
MEMBER-AT-LARGE
Director of Business Operations, Jones Group Middle East - Quincy Circle
Basma Abdulkarim brings hands-on experience with implementing Saudi Arabia’s Vision and National Transformation Plan. Based in Riyadh, Basma previously served in Saudi Arabia’s new Ministry of Culture, where she managed the Culture Fund initiative to develop the Ministry’s Fund strategy and operating model. She led the international relations initiatives for the Saudi Film Council portfolio and developed investment strategies for Saudi and international companies specializing in film production and content development.
Prior to her work at the Ministry of Culture, Basma served in Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an international affairs officer at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Berlin, Germany. She managed investment cases for Saudi-German companies and laid groundwork for public relations strategies with international bureaus for culture and economic development. She enabled bilateral communications platform for German and Saudi companies seeking investment opportunities and planned intercultural dialogue programs bringing together German and Saudi leaders.
Currently, Basma is the Director of Business Operations at Jones Group Middle East in riyadh. A USA based management consulting company specializing in advising the defense and security sector in Saudi Arabia. She is the primary connection between the Riyadh team and the USA office on all administrative, business, and operational matters, and the interface with all local business partners and government relations. She overlooks its people and processes to ensure all operations work smoothly,
efficiently, and productively.
Basma earned her master’s degree in international management from the European Business School in Weisbaden, Germany and her bachelor’s degree at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh. She is a graduate of the Diplomats Training Program of the Federal Foreign Office in Germany. Basma speaks Arabic, English, German and Portuguese.
General Manager, Accenture MENA RHQ
Associate Director, Strategic Operations at Accenture, Middle East, - Corporate
She joined Accenture Saudi Arabia as Associate Director for Geographic Operations in the Middle East and Turkey in March 2018.
Samar was the first Saudi woman to join Accenture Middle East Executive Leadership team where she also held the title of ‘Information Security Sponsor’ in the Middle East and Turkey.
Throughout her career, Samar Al Amro was eager to promote the role of Saudi women in the her society and job market also within Accenture to empower female employees in all fields in order to assume leadership positions in the near future, in line with Vision 2030, which aims to increase Women's Participation in all the labor market sectors.
Samar was also the Senior Specialist Global Government Relations for Public Sector & Healthcare in SAP KSA, from 2010 to January 2018. In this position, she built high-profile relationships between SAP's Senior Management and many governmental entities and bodies in KSA, such as the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and several other ministries, as well as foreign embassies.
Her professional career also included Operations Manager at the King Abdulaziz Medical City(National Guard Health Affairs) from 1996 to 2010. Overall, Samar Al Amro garnered 22 years of combined experience in business administration, in both the public and private sectors.
Samar has joined She is Arab speaker platform https://sheisarab.com/ voluntarily as professional speaker for deferent topics in Business & Management, Leadership, Inspiration & Motivation and Gender Equality: https://sheisarab.com/speaker-profile/239.
She is passionate about women empowerment and motivation she is very active socially within her professional network or her community.
In her free time, she likes to read, travel and to learn about other nations and their history and culture.
As mental health ally
Am interested in
1- To be the source of support for our employees in ME regarding any MH topics
2- I feel more responsible due to my seniority as female leader from ME, I need to learn more about MH and how to provide support to my collogues
3- I was put in situation where I was approached by our employees (male & female) as trusted advisor regarding some mental health issues which make me feel even more responsible.
4- MH is very critical health issue specially with the challenge we are facing due to the COVID19 and post covid19 we will be facing more topics and we need to address it professionally
Operations Lead, KAUST - Individual
Maxwell Andrews is currently the Chairman of the AmCham Sports Committee and serves as the Operations Lead at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). With over 20 years of experience, Maxwell has excelled in providing strategic planning, leading teams, project management, and successfully developing and implementing complex initiatives.
Originally from the Chicagoland area, Maxwell has spent the last 6 years in KSA, managing a multimillion-dollar portfolio with KAUST while also founding the AmCham Sports Committee. Under his leadership, the committee has flourished into a well-funded and widely recognized entity within AmCham KSA and the industry.
In a short span, Maxwell has orchestrated multiple successful committee events, bringing together industry stakeholders from across the Kingdom to foster investment and collaboration. Additionally, he has played a pivotal role in reinstating and leading the re-launch of the long-standing Riyadh AmCham golf tournament, subsequently expanding its success with two additional annual tournaments. These initiatives have significantly raised AmCham's visibility in the sports sector, providing valuable social and networking opportunities for its members.
Maxwell's ambition, motivation, and strong commitment to the AmCham mission make him an engaged executive with a passion for driving positive change. As a member-at-large, Maxwell aims to contribute to the board with his exceptional skills in strategic thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, collaboration, advocacy, and networking.
His extensive experience and dedication to furthering AmCham's goals make Maxwell Andrews a highly qualified and valuable candidate for the member-at-large position. His enthusiasm for advancing the organization and driving meaningful impact is sure to benefit AmCham and its community in meaningful ways.
Founder/CEO, Milestones - Individual
Sage Madeline Park is a seasoned trainer who develops real, resourceful and resilient leaders who achieve results.
Whether the need is stronger leadership presence, increased conflict management skills, higher emotional intelligence, more persuasive influence or higher performing teams, Sage’s approach focuses on creating an engaging experience that makes learning both enjoyable and directly relevant to each participant. Her experience, skill and knowledge of human behavior in strategic contexts produces pragmatic and aligned change strategies. Fundamentally, her training techniques do more than simply deliver content, she makes the content relevant to the participants, based on their current level of responsibility and prior learning history. Sage works to provide real-life examples, give actionable ideas and have fun doing it!
Since 2014, Sage has been providing executive, leadership and individual and team coaching. Colleagues describe her as an intuitive, intelligent, focused, and engaging coach who is candid and sincere with her feedback. Her expertise is in the areas of organizational development, team building, and increased productivity. As a sought-after subject matter expert on Middle Eastern organizational behavior management and employee engagement, her work has supported several talent and management initiatives for companies such as Saudi Electric Company, Najm Insurance and Unilever.
Among Sage’s professional roles are Founder/CEO of Milestones, Inc, an organizational consulting and coaching business, professor for students in the Master’s degree program at Arizona State University and she also serves as an active member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce Saudi Arabia. Sage has written and delivered trainings for large organizations such as the Prince Nasser Bin Abdulaziz Center for Autism in Riyadh and the American International School in Jeddah. She has also designed and helped implement organizational development plans for smaller entities. In addition to designing and delivering her own trainings, Sage works as a facilitator of corporate trainings for Blanchard and Crestcom, international leadership development companies based in the United States. Her work has also helped individuals clarify their personal values, resolve career stressors and align personal priorities with professional pursuits.
Sage has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Science degree in Education from Fairfield University, and a Post-Masters Certificate in Organizational Behavior Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. She is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and holds a medical license in the state of Virginia, USA. Sage is a native English speaker and facilitates in this language. In her free time, Sage enjoys scuba diving, kite surfing, golfing and traveling.
Testimonials:
I am amazed at Sage’s ability to bring us all along, engage our input, keep us to task, tie a multitude of complexities together & enable great outcomes. She has a wonderful way with people, a highly developed understanding of leadership & interpersonal relationships & unlike many other facilitators, an affinity with business principals. HR Director, Insurance
Sage is a natural talent in facilitation & leading people. She raises the bar as she demonstrates the art of facilitation. The seamless transitions, clear instructions & deeper dives into her experience & knowledge all serve to validate her credibility as a subject matter expert. With a powerfully intuitive sense for what is needed in the moment to meet the needs of her audience, you feel her vibrant energy in the room & you know you’re in for an amazing experience. Director, Education Facility
It has been my pleasure to work with Sage. She understood our organization’s cultural needs and was able to connect board, management & staff for all voices to be heard in a process that was thorough & productive for the benefit of our organization. Head of Training, tourism