What I Did Next

I’m joined this week by Amina Naguib, fitness entrepreneur and founder of B-URN. Amina always wanted to explore the human body and health—she studied sports science in Washington and then physiotherapy in Amsterdam before returning to Egypt. With B-URN, she has created a community of people looking to improve their health and wellbeing.Amina and I talk about how she’s been connecting the dots of her life, particularly a major pivot in 2020 that was also a pivotal moment for me. She’s a believer in each of us having the tools to better the quality of our lives — you just need to figure out how to unlock them. If you’re a member of the show, you’ll get a bonus episode with Amina next week where she talks about the intersection of exercise and physical therapy with happiness, and the B-URN community she continues to build.This episode was brought to you by:EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank franchise in frontier and emerging markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mohammed Hefzy is the award-winning film producer behind mega hits such as Clash, Sheikh Jackson, Microphone, Paranormal, and Perfect Strangers, to name but a few of the films that make up his incredible catalogue of work. Hefzy began his career as a screen writer but made the transition to producing quite quickly, realising he wanted more control of the film-making process as a whole. This led to the formation of his company, The Film Clinic, where he not only develops his own movies but produces new and emerging talent as well.Hefzy and I go way back to his pre-film industry days when we were both London-based. Meeting in a formal interview setting gave me a license to ask all my nerdy questions about the film industry that you can't get away with at a party! We’ll also have a bonus episode next week for members where he dives deeper into the writing process, and how different it is for him to produce other people’s work versus writing his own.This episode is brought to you by:EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank franchise in frontier and emerging markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m joined this week by Sir Magdi Yacoub, ground-breaking cardiologist and founder of the Chain of Hope charity. Professor Yacoub has almost single-handedly revolutionsed cardiology from his early days as a junior doctor in London in the 60’s, to retirement from his beloved NHS in 2001.As someone who has been on my Top 10 list of dream guests since the show began three years ago, Professor Yacoub was a joy to interview and his breadth of his knowledge is incredible.Today, Professor Yacoub dedicates his time to his Chain of Hope charity. His much-anticipated biography, A Surgeon and a Maverick: The Life and Pioneering Work of Magdy Yacoub is now available at AUC Press. He has pledged a percentage of the book royalties to the Magdi Yacoub Foundation in Cairo. You can find more information on both the foundation and the book in our show notes.This episode was brought to you by:EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank franchise in frontier and emerging markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m joined this week by curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, founder of Art d’Egypte. From humble beginnings in 2017, their annual event has become a celebration of art, installations and global partnerships. Nadine is also an art curator with a passion for one of Egypt’s most celebrated artists, Mohamed Nagy, and manages their art estate along with his family.Nadine tells me how her childhood experiences led to her building a tremendously successful art platform and why her life’s mission is the development of all things culture.Links: Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi on What I Did Next Forever is Now 2023 This episode was brought to you by:EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank franchise in frontier and emerging markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a new season of What I Did Next! I’m joined by fashion entrepreneur Imran Amed, one of the leading voices in fashion and CEO of The Business of Fashion. Today, BOF employs 75 people with a presence in London, New York, Paris and Shanghai. It also boasts a community of 800,000 email subscribers and 100,000 paying members across 120 countries.What I Did Next was a media sponsor at the first edition of Egypt Fashion Week, where I met & interviewed Imran in front of a live audience at the Agricultural Museum in Cairo.This episode is brought to you by:EFG Holding, a trailblazing financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank franchise in frontier and emerging markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to be bringing you a new season of the show starting September 6, with new episodes every second Monday.I’ve had incredible guests over the past five seasons, leaders in their fields from a wide range of industries such as business, art, design, fashion, medicine, and entertainment. These conversations keep reminding me that each person’s journey is unique to them, and I’m always floored by how honest and authentic my guests are.I’m also excited to introduce a new platform this season! We’ve just launched our YouTube channel where you’ll find extended clips from our interviews. And of course, we’ll continue to have shorter clips and updates on social media. You can follow us on Instagram, X and on LinkedIn.I can’t wait to share some amazing conversations with you again.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re currently on a season break and will be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, I wanted to share my conversation from last year with renaissance man Samih Sawiris.Samih and his brothers, Naguib and Nassef continue to be icons in the business world in Egypt and the Middle East. Samih is the founder of Orascom Development Holding which operates 33 hotels with over 7,000 rooms and controls approximately 100 million sqm of land.Samih is above all, a sort of renaissance man, and a person who doesn’t define himself by his career or profession. He has a multitude of interests and he consciously prioritises the work / life balance. Now that he is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the company, he is spending time developing his passions and checking off his extensive bucket list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re currently on a season break and will be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, I wanted to share my conversation from last year with reconstructive surgeon Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram, who told me about her shift to entrepreneurship with Proximie, to revolutionise the world of surgery. Dr. Nadine saw the horrors war inflicts on people and communities during her formative years living in Lebanon after the civil war, and how difficult it is for individuals to re-build their lives if proper health care is not available. Her story is one of perseverance, dedication and incremental change.We also have more from Dr. Nadine in a bonus episode exclusively for our members. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or subscribe on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re currently on a season break and will be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, I wanted to share my conversation from last year with businessman, art collector, activist and academic Sultan Sooud Al Qaseemi.Sultan’s story starts out as a proud son of Sharjah in the UAE before he came to the attention of a wide audience around the world for his activism during the 2011 revolutions in the Arab World. His heritage, nationality and deep sense of what it means to be Arab today is the thread that links all his work and interests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re currently on a season break and will be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, I wanted to share my conversation from last year with Amy Mowafi, a dynamo in the region’s media space, and an inspiring role model for the younger generation of empowered Egyptian and Arab women.Amy and her team are the digital publishers of CairoScene, ElFasla, StartUpScene, NFTYScene, NFTY Arabia, SceneNoise, SceneTraveller, SceneEats, CairoZoom & the SceneNOW App. They also house a digital creative agency and are leading the way in the Web3 universe as well. Amy brings passion, authenticity and a sense that anything-is-possible to everything she does. She is a fierce proponent of what our generation used to call Girl Power, and is awed by how Gen Z women have given that voice full-throttle.We also have more from Amy in a bonus episode exclusively for our members. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or subscribe on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices