Ahmad Ashkar
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Ahmad Ashkar (Arabian: Ahmad Ashqar; born Ahmad Adnan Al Askar, 16 October 1982) is a Palestinian-American businessman, author, and public speaker.[1] His focus areas include entrepreneurship, innovation, and venture philanthropy.[2] Throughout his twenty-year career, he created open innovation platforms for leading corporations, universities, philanthropists, businessmen and government leaders across the world, including founding the Hult Prize Foundation, co-founding, “The Laudato Si Challenge - Inspired by Pope Francis.” for the Catholic Church and co-founding the “Global Changemaker Festival and Impact Awards” for Arab based youth.[3][4] [5][6]
Born in Palestine, his role as founding CEO of the Hult Prize Foundation, has led him to become a member of the advisory board of the United Nations Development Programme and is a member of the Entrepreneurs Expert Network of the World Economic Forum and on the non-profit boards of the American Near East Refugee Aid Organization(ANERA), and the Georgetown Business Improvement District.[7][8][9]
In 2021, Ahmad Ashkar was terminated from the Hult Prize Foundation after an independent investigation by Kirkland & Ellis into allegations of misconduct revealed that Ashkar was "identified in multiple instances of alleged sexual misconduct" during his tenure as CEO. The allegations ranged in severity from unwanted sexual advances and touching to sexual assault, with the alleged victims consisting of Hult Prize staff, participants, volunteers, and mentors.[10][11]
Early life and career[edit]
Ahmad Ashkar is Palestinian-born. His family moved to Kansas City in 1989. His professional career began in investment banking with a French investment bank and then transitioned into Islamic Banking where he was the co-founder of the first US Islamic Bank initiative.
Entrepreneurial activities[edit]
- In 2009, Ashkar would close his US finance firm and enroll at Hult International Business School, where Ashkar became the president of the consulting club at the School and founded Open Sourced.
- In 2010, Mr. Ahmad Ashkar sold his idea and company to Swedish Billionaire Bertil Hult and became the Founder and CEO of the Hult Prize Foundation, backed by President Bill Clinton.[12]
- In 2017, Ashkar opened his first restaurant brand, District BBQ.
- In 2017, Ashkar founded Falafel Inc.[13] A quick-service food company which serves Palestinian inspired street food while employing and feeding refugees.[14][15][16] Through a partnership with the World Food Program, the company has provided free meals, 250,000 needy people.[17]
Honors and recognition[edit]
- In 2016, Ashkar won the Esquire Award for Entrepreneur of the Year. In his speech for the American men’s magazine, Ashkar said how capitalism and humanitarianism can be combined.[18][19]
- The Washington Post named District BBQ as, “Runner up for Best BBQ” in Washington. D.C”.[20]
- In 2018 Ashkar was selected to Esquire 100, the top 100 most influential people.[21]
- In December 2018, Ashkar was recognized by GQ Magazine Brazil as the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year.[22]
- In May 2019, Ashkar featured in a Spanish article in Forbes Mexico.[23]
- In May 2019, Hoodline ranked Falafel Inc. Number 1 Middle Eastern eatery in Washington, D.C.[24]
- In August 2019, USA Today named Falafel Inc best cheap eats in Washington, D.C.[25]
- In October 2019, Ashkar was invited to join the Anera Board of Directors.[26] American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), which has no political or religious affiliation, has helped refugees and others hurt by conflicts in the Middle East live with dignity and purpose.
- Gulf Business ranked their world’s “Top 100 Most Powerful Arabs” in their 2019 Edition.[27]
- In 2020, Hoodline ranked Falafel Inc. Number 1 vegetarian eatery in Washington, D.C.[28]
Lecturer and Keynote Speaker[edit]
Ahmad is a recognized speaker with over 10 years of experience in the Impact Industry, traveling around the globe to inspire the youth to be the change through multiple events, conferences, summits and more.
- In 2015 Ahmad was a Keynote Speaker about ‘Emerging Marketings Driven Innovation’ at the Banque du Liban Accelerate Conference.[29]
- In November 2016, Keynote Speech at the Net Impact Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[30]
- On January 2017, Ahmad hosted an evening conference titled ‘Inspiring Millions to a Million’ in Shanghai, China.[31]
- In March 2017, Ahmad joined as a panelist at the UNDP IDO Impact Conference in Armenia.
- In May 2017, Ahmad opened up the UNESCO NGO Forum in Riyadh.[32]
- In October 2017, Ahmad was invited as a Speaker to the Al Sharq Youth Conference in Istanbul, Turkey.[33]
- In October 2017, Keynote Speaker at Beirut’s StartupGrind event.[34]
- In November 2017, Keynote Speaker at INCmty in Monterrey, Mexico.[35]
- In 2018, Ahmad was an ambassador for #WeDC and acted as a Speaker at the SWSX in Austin, Texas.[36]
- On Feb 2018, Ahmad was invited to lecture a TEDx Talk at Georgetown University.[37]
- On June 2018, he participated as a key panelist on Forbes ‘IMPACT: Call To Action - Refugees x Impact.’[38]
- In December 2018, Keynote Speaker at the third African youth leaders forum in Kampala.[39]
- In May 2019, Ahmad acted as the Festival Kick-off Keynote Speaker at the Changemaker Festival in Beirut.[40]
- In May 2019, participated as a Panelist and Moderator for the ‘Access, Justice and the Environment: The Future of Food’ at the By The People x WeDC Festival brought by Halcyon and WDCEP in Washington, DC.[41][42]
- In November 2019, Keynote Speaker at the World Bank Summit opening.[43]
- iHeart Radio CEO’s You Should Know.[44]
- In February 2020, Ahmad addressed a forum organized by the Eastern Regional office of the African Development Bank in Nairobi.[45]
- In July 2020, Keynote Speaker at the Lifestyle Tech Conference as part of the Startup HK Festival hosted by Jumpstart Media to talk about Decade in ACTION: Youth Leadership in Global Innovation.[46]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar". World Bank Live. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ↑ Godinho, Varun (2019-09-14). "Ahmad Ashkar's ambitious plan to change the world". Gulf Business. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar, Founder and CEO, Hult Prize Foundation | HOT 99.5 | CEO's You Should Know". HOT 99.5. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ Thomas, Aby Sam (2018-05-16). "Impacting The Future: Ahmad Ashkar, Founder And CEO, Hult Prize Foundation". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ↑ "Changemaker Festival awards top Lebanese impact leaders - Maria Matar". An-Nahar. 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ↑ "Ahmad A. Ashkar". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "New members join Anera Board of Directors". Anera. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "About Us | Georgetown DC - Explore Georgetown in Washington, DC". Georgetown DC. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ https://inews.co.uk/news/hult-prize-sexual-assault-allegations-culture-fear-1328380
- ↑ https://www.hultprize.org/conclusion-of-kirkland-ellis-llp-investigation/
- ↑ "Eyes on the prize: Ahmad Ashkar". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "I Wanted to Open a Badass Falafel Shop". byGeorge. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ Loewentheil, Hannah. "Here's The One Restaurant To Try In Every State In 2018, According To Yelp". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ Doyle, Terrence (2017-09-27). "D.C.'s Falafel Inc. to Open Kendall Square Location This Fall". Eater Boston. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Mega-Entrepreneur Launches Falafel Inc. in Georgetown to Support Refugees". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "This Washington D.C. Falafel Joint Is Feeding Refugees Halfway Around the World". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "WINNERS: Man At His Best 2016". Esquire Middle East. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "How capitalism and humanitarianism can combine". Esquire Middle East. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ Carman, Tim (2017-07-06). "Review | District BBQ and three other runners-up for best barbecue in the D.C. area". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar". Esquire Middle East. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar, o empreendedor de 2018, quer mudar o mundo". GQ (in português). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ Medina, Alejandro (2019-05-20). "Ahmad Ashkar y la evolución del emprendimiento social • Forbes México". Forbes México (in español). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "The 5 best Middle Eastern spots in Washington". Hoodline. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Best restaurants for cheap eats in each state, according to Yelp". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "New members join Anera Board of Directors". Anera. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Top 100 most powerful Arabs 2019". Gulf Business. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "4 top options for low-priced Middle Eastern food in Washington". Hoodline. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Emerging Markets Driven Innovation Keynote - Ahmad Ashkar - BDL Accelerate 2015 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "NI16 Keynote - Ahmad Ashkar - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ Eco-Business. "Inspiring Millions to a Million: An Evening with Ahmad Ashkar". Eco-Business. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "Social enterprise to target youth unemployment in Saudi Arabia". Devex. 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "2017 Al Sharq Youth Conference - Embracing the Future". Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar (Hult Prize) | Startup Grind". www.startupgrind.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ Disruptivo (2017-11-15). "INCmty 2017; listo para impulsar las ideas exponenciales". Disruptivo.tv - Emprendimiento social, startups e innovación social. (in español). Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ staff, Stephen Babcock / (2018-03-09). "Here are a few places to find DC technologists at SXSW". Technical.ly DC. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "The Future of Business | Ahmad Ashkar | TEDxGeorgetown - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "IMPACT: Call To Action - Refugees x Impact | Forbes Live - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "Youth urgued to take part in struggle for change during young leaders forum". PML Daily. 2018-12-09. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar – Changemaker Festival". Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ Halcyon. "Halcyon's By The People Festival Features Art and Dialogue June 15-23". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "Presenting By The People x WeDC House: A Day of Dialogues Imagining the Future of Washington, DC and the World". WDCEP. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ "Leveraging Innovations for Rights and Justice". World Bank Live. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar, Founder and CEO, Hult Prize Foundation | HOT 99.5 | CEO's You Should Know". HOT 99.5. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
- ↑ Bank, African Development (2020-02-21). "Kenya: Celebrated entrepreneur calls for better policies and resources to support youth and women entrepreneurship". African Development Bank - Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ↑ "Ahmad Ashkar". StartmeupHK 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
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