Our team
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Taher Benbenhani, Principal
Taher is a visionary executive with a distinguished career spanning leadership roles in AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and enterprise technology. As the Executive Advisor & General Manager of Project Olympus – AI Cloud & Data Center at PPC S.A., he is pioneering sovereign enterprise AI services, leveraging cutting-edge technology stacks and advanced data center designs. Prior to this, he served as Corporate Vice President & GM at Intel Corporation, where he drove enterprise AI adoption, confidential computing, and data center workload optimization. His tenure at Samsung Electronics America as SVP & GM of the Mobile B2B Division saw the expansion of a multi-billion-dollar enterprise business, further solidifying his expertise in scaling high-growth technology ventures. Over the years, he has led transformative initiatives at industry leaders including Cisco, BroadSoft, BlackBerry, and American Express, specializing in AI, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and enterprise software. Taher holds a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and advanced studies at Yale University and Columbia Business School.
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Farzin Arsanjani, Principal
Farzin is a visionary entrepreneur and executive with a distinguished career spanning technology, including SaaS, Cloud, Ai, and Data Center related technologies. As a five-time founder, he has successfully led three mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and two initial public offerings (IPOs),. His entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding Hyper Office, where he bootstrapped the company to success, launching three commercial SaaS products that have served over two million users worldwide. Farzin has received prestigious industry awards, including The ComputerWorld Honors, Red Herring Top 100, and the AT&T Mobile Software Award. Currently, Farzin serves as a Principal at USDC, as an Advisor and Consultant to several companies in the US and Japan. Beyond his executive roles, Farzin is an active business mentor and board member for organizations such as the Maryland Technology Council and the West Asia Council. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.
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Ramzi K. Maalouf, Principal
Mr. Maalouf is a builder, entrepreneur and inventor whose work experience spans four continents. He co-founded Golden Ratio Builders, a design-build multi-faceted general construction company and Bethesda Power Systems which specializes in back-up emergency generators systems. In science and technology, Mr. Maalouf has over 20 US patents and publications, the applications of which have achieved global recognition and worldwide commercial success. Mr. Maalouf has worked as an international Consultant to multi-national groups such as Consolidated Contracting Company (Athens, Greece), Jacobs Engineering Group (Dallas, TX), and Contrack-Watts (McLean, VA). Mr. Maalouf received his B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from the University of Maryland, in College Park.
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Foroud Arsanjani, Principal
Mr. Arsanjani is the founder and CEO of NEWR Energy, bringing over 30 years of executive, management, and technical expertise to the forefront of energy and sustainability solutions. His career spans diverse areas including electric grid operations, renewable energy projects, microgrids, critical power systems, data centers, engineering design, and energy sector commissioning. Mr. Arsanjani has held key positions at Dominion Energy, KEMA, North America Power, and Statoil Energy where he co-founded their Electric Marketing Group which achieved $2B in sales within 28 Mths. He provides expert counsel to utilities, industrial customers, and municipalities on deregulation and energy system optimization across the globe. Mr. Arsanjani is a two-term Chair of the Mont. County Energy and Air Quality Advisory to the Executive Council. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Maryland, an MBA from Averett University, an International Executive MBA from Georgetown University and Harvard Business School (OL).
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Christian Manasseh, Technology and Information Advisor
Christian is a technology leader with over 25 years of proven experience across a variety of tech industries. He is currently the CEO of Mobius Logic, a tech company that specializes in advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) solutions to enterprises and governments. Christian has served as principal investigator on various innovative projects including deep learning decision making systems, single-operator-multiple-robots operations, autonomous swarm technology and on-orbit satellite autonomous inspections. He is the first to: use machine learning to quantify fraud in healthcare claims in 22007, and to create driver safety profiles from GPS traces in 2009. He is a patent holder for beyond-line-of-sight drone flights. Christian has advised several start-up companies. He has extensive experience in software engineering, team leadership, business development, and technology product commercialization across consumer apps, healthcare services, financial services, manufacturing and non-profits. Christian holds a Master of Engineering from MIT and a PhD in Civil Systems from UC Berkeley and is well published in the areas of AI, Human-machine teaming, Reinforcement Learning and Autonomous Large-scale Systems.
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Mohamed Dekkak, Strategy and Investment Advisor
Mr. Dekkak is a leading entrepreneur and investor in the MENA region, recognized for his expertise across diverse sectors including infrastructure, energy, hospitality, security, and strategic services. As the founder of Adgeco Group and Gate One, he plays a pivotal role in facilitating the establishment and expansion of multinational companies and investors within Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and the broader Middle East. Leveraging his extensive network, strategic foresight, and established reputation, Mr. Dekkak actively fosters new business ventures and attracts international investment. His deep experience encompasses large-scale projects throughout the region, spanning infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, security, and defense. Mr. Dekkak is dedicated to driving economic development and innovation in Morocco through strategic investments, joint ventures, and alliances with companies based in the US, EU, and Gulf countries.
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Elias N. Nader, Financial Advisor
Mr. Nader is the CFO and Senior VP of Finance of a publicly traded Company. He previously served as CFO of several high technology companies and semiconductor companies. Mr. Nader is a transformative and strategic business leader, with deep financial & international expertise in high technology & semiconductor companies. Mr. Nader also has expertise in turn-around with successful exits. He also serves as an Independent Lead Director and Chairman of the Audit and Compensation committees of Immersion (IMMR) and as a Board Member and Chairman of the Compensation committee of Barnes & Noble Education Group (BNED). Mr. Nader has guided start-ups, turn-arounds, and accelerations, while leveraging and navigating a range of new business development through acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures.
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Jamil Zouaoui, Esq. - Of Counsel
Mr. Zouaoui is a member of the boutique public service-oriented firm, Mizene PLLC, where, since 2001, he has represented aggrieved parties in consumer protection and commercial service litigation. Previously, Mr. Zouaoui was a partner at Arent Fox Schiff LLP where he worked in commercial litigation and project finance. Prior to that, Jamil worked at the World Bank where he developed legal reforms in several developing countries to enable privatization programs, create securities markets and reform commercial and financial sector laws in several countries. He also worked on the establishment of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Laws in Africa, a regional treaty-based organization aiming to improve the business law environment in west-central Africa. Mr. Zouaoui received his undergraduate degree from the College of Wooster, his Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School, and his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree Harvard Law School, where he was an Associate Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal.