Mona Zulficar (born in 1948) is the Non-Executive Chairperson of EFG Hermes since 2008. She is one of the founding partners of Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, a specialized law firm of seven partners and 23 lawyers, which was established in June 2009 and grew into one of the best ranked law firms in Egypt. She is a specialist in major international, financial, industrial and commercial transactions. She speaks Arabic, English and French.

Education:

She graduated from Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, 1969. She had LLB (Bachelor of law) from Mansoura University, 1980.

Early Careers:

She was previously senior partner at Shalakany Law Firm, the largest corporate law firm in the Middle East, and Chair of its Executive Committee for many years. Zulficar is recognized in local and international legal circles as the precedents maker and one of Egypt’s most prominent corporate, banking and project finance attorneys.

She works as a volunteer for several Egyptian and international NGOs.

Zulficar served as a Director of Suez Cement Company SAE.

As a practicing attorney for more than two decades, Mona Zulficar specializes in major financial, industrial and M&A transactions and she is recognized a pioneer in introducing new products into the Egyptian market. She has played a significant role in the success of many major international transactions, such as the unprecedented $500 million commercial loan granted to EgyptAir, the first Egyptian BOOT power plant project in Sidi Krir for Intergen (the Bechtel/Shell subsidiary), the first GSM telecom concession to MobiNil (the France Telecom and Orascom subsidiary), the first leveraged buyout of Helwan Portland Cement Company, the Heineken acquisition of Al Ahram beverages company, the Italcementi acquisition of Suez Cement Company, SAE and ASEC Cement Company, SAE and all the largest bond and GDR/ADR issues in Egypt.

Zulficar has negotiated, drafted and concluded major contracts for many joint venture companies in Egypt, including General Motors Egypt, Chase National Bank, Bechtel Egypt, Ferrostall AG, and the Warner Lambert joint venture (Incogum). She was involved in major restructuring of companies in financial trouble, through mergers, acquisitions, refinancing, and swaps.

Membership:

Mona Zulficar is a professional member of the Egyptian Bar Association, International Bar Association, the Egyptian Society for Economics, Statistics and Legislation, and the Egyptian Society for International Law. She is also a board member of the Central Bank of Egypt, member of the National Council for Human Rights, Chair of the Women’s Health Improvement Association, Cairo, and Chair of Al-Tadamun Micro-Finance Foundation. Moreover, she is Chair of EFG Hermes Holding, Member of Board in Sawiris Foundation Board of Trustees. She was recently elected member of the International Advisory Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council. She is also a member of Egypt-US Business Council since 2002, the World Bank' s Council of Advisers for the MENA Region, 2000 to 2004.She is also a board member at Women & Memory Forum (WMF). WMF was founded in 1995, the Women and Memory Forum (WMF) is composed of a group of women academics, researchers and activists concerned about the negative representations and perceptions of Arab women in the cultural sphere.

Accomplishments:

Zulficar has also played an instrumental role in modernizing and reforming economic and banking laws and regulations as a member of the board of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and as a prominent member of national drafting committees. She is also a leading human rights activist recognized locally and internationally and has initiated several successful campaigns for new legislation including women’s rights, freedom of opinion and family courts. She heads several NGOs active in social development and microfinance to poor women.

She has participated in legal reform in Egypt as a member of several drafting committees of important legislation including: the Banking Law issued in 2003 and its Executive Regulations, the new NGO Law, the new Telecom Law of Egypt, the Capital Market Regulations of Egypt, and the new Special Economic Zones Law.

Mona Zulficar was the speaker at Harvard Law School Islamic Studies Workshop in 1996 and International Conference on the Islamic Marriage Contract in January 1999 and author of chapter on “The New Islamic Marriage Contract"

Awards:

She was selected in December 1994 by Time Magazine as one of the Global 100 young leaders of the 21st Century.

She won La Légion d'Honneur by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy for her significant rule in reinforcing transactions between Egypt and France and for her achievements in the field of human rights, 2009.

She also was granted CEWLA Award for her unique role in the issue of equal right to divorce law (Khul) by Law No. 1/2000, in 2003.

She received Cairo Governor Award 2000 for defending women’s rights, in addition to the Awards of Assiut Governor and the President of Assiut University, 1999 & 2000 for her key role in establishing the Cancer Hospital in Assiut University.

She got UNDP Award on the occasion of celebrating International Women's Day in Cairo, 1995.

About Zulficar & Partners Law Firm:

Zulficar & Partners is an international corporate law and arbitration practice based in Cairo, Egypt, which mainly specializes in Mergers and Acquisitions, Banking, Capital Market Procedures and Transactions, IT and Anti-Trust, Litigation, Project Finance and International Arbitration. It offers a comprehensive range of legal services to a diverse array of commercial, industrial, and financial clients both in Egypt and internationally. Established in June 2009, it has 20 associates and seven partners.

Sources:

http://www.expertguides.com/includes/print.asp?egaBOBID=&CountryID=86&ExpertOfficeID=14327&GuideID=141&fcIndex=906&fIndex=312

http://www.zulficarpartners.com/Home/tabid/38/Default.aspx

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=44231564&ticker=HRHO:EY&previousCapId=2472872&previousTitle=EFG-HERMES%20HOLDING%20SAE

http://www.efg-hermes.com/english/AboutUs.aspx?PageID=195&h=h3

http://www.wmf.org.eg/en/node/303

http://www.sawirisfoundation.org/sawiris/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=207:me-mona-zulficar&catid=46:board-of-trustees&Itemid=59

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