Professor Riyad TARAZI
Chairman of the Board
Medical
Professor Riyad Tarazi is a world renowned cardiovascular surgeon with more than 44 years of experience in the field of cardiac surgery going beyond limits to save patients and improve their quality of life. After he received his B.S. and M.D. degrees from the American University of Beirut, he trained at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio where he completed his residency in General Surgery (1984), Vascular Surgery (1985), Cardiothoracic Surgery (1987) and received the American Board in all these specialties.
In 1988, he completed his training in cardio-pulmonary transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at the University of Minnesota. In 1989, he moved to the University of San Diego and spent 10 years there before he finally moved to Kuwait in 1999 in the capacity of clinical professor for Cardiac Surgery. Currently, he holds the position of Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at Al Dabbous Cardiac Center, Ministry of Health, the State of Kuwait.
Dr. Tarazi’s career has been endowed with numerous records of recognitions, awards and publications. His expertise revolves around the treatment of high risk cardiac surgical patients and the management of end-stage heart failure. He performed the first total artificial heart implantation in the Gulf and Arab world. Over the past 8 years, he has performed more than 55 permanent mechanical circulatory support cases (LVAD, RVAD, BI-VAD, and Total Artificial Hearts). He performed the first human heart transplantation (2 Pts) in the State of Kuwait.
Over the past 44 years, he was involved in the advising and planning phases on many new hospital projects and cardiac centers.
Professor Martha J CRAWFORD
Board Member
Engineering
Dr. Crawford is an internationally recognized leader on the development and deployment of low carbon energy and materials recovery technologies in industry. In her present work as Operating Partner with Macquarie private equity, she is focused on the scaling and deployment of low-Carbon technologies in the waste management and energy sectors.
As former CTO in three multinational companies in the energy and chemicals sectors (Air Liquide, Orano, L’Oreal), she has led industrial R&D teams in the development of blue Hydrogen, Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), second generation biofuels, green chemistry and waste-to-feedstock technologies. In 2011, President Sarkozy decorated Professor Crawford a Dame in the French National Order of Merit for her contribution to the technological innovation in the French industry.
Between 1998 and 2007, Professor Crawford served as Principal Administrator in the Environment Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), leading the environmental performance reviews of some 20 countries, and publishing numerous books and reports. Crawford has taught Energy and Innovation at Harvard Business School (2016-2019), and served on the board of Suez SA, a global leader in environmental management.
Dr. Crawford presently serves on the board of Agilyx, a public company which is scaling pyrolysis technology for the chemical recycling of plastics to make chemical or fuel feedstocks. She also serves on the boards of two Macquarie portfolio companies in the waste sector.
Professor Crawford holds B.Sc. degree in Ecology and evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona, PhD in Environmental Engineering from Harvard University (1997), and an MBA from the French College des Ingenieurs (1998). She also completed an executive certificate at Columbia Business School, in venture capital and private equity.
Dr Crawford is a dual, French and American, national.
Professor Anas Faisal ALTOURAH
Board Member
Legal
His academic journey will inspire the new Kuwaiti generations. Professor Altourah pursuit for unique excellence made him land in Germany. While he did not know one German word, he was determined to become the first Kuwaiti holding Ph.D. degree in Private Law from Germany in German, and later the first Kuwaiti scholar to work at the German Parliament.
Professor Altourah is currently occupying several active positions.
He is a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of Law in Kuwait University, lawyer at the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Constitutional Court, General Secretary of the Kuwait Commercial Arbitration Center, Director of the Legal Department of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Board Member at Sabah Al-Ahmad Center of Giftedness and Creativity of Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), and advisor to several ministers.
Professor Altourah holds master’s degree and Ph.D. in Private Law from the University of Constance, Germany.
