| Abdulsalam Haykal عبد السّلام هيكل |
|
|---|---|
| Born | July 14, 1978 Damascus, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Alma mater | American University of Beirut |
| Occupation | Founder, CEO of Haykal Media Founder, CEO of Transtek President of the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association |
| Known for | Entrepreneur, social activist |
| Religion | Islam |
| Awards | Young Global Leader, Delegate to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, Washington, D.C. |
Abdulsalam Haykal (Arabic: عبد السّلام هيكل) (b. Damascus, July 14, 1978) is a Syrian technology and media entrepreneur, who lives and works in Damascus, Syria. In 2009, the World Economic Forum named Haykal as a Young Global Leader, the first Syrian to receive this recognition.[1]
Haykal is CEO of Transtek, an enterprise software development firm, and of Haykal Media, publisher of the business newsmagazine Aliqtisadi, and the English monthly Forward Magazine. The Report: Emerging Syria 2008 listed Haykal Media with its magazines and online media as one of three main players in the media sector in Syria.[2]
Haykal is president of the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association (SYEA), an NGO formed as part of the reform process in Syria. He is also a founder and trustee in several other organizations including BIDAYA Foundation, an NGO to help disadvantaged young people to become entrepreneurs by providing business mentoring and charitable micro-loans; and Tumuhi, a national college scholarship fund.
Haykal studied at the American University of Beirut,[3] and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. In June 2007, he was elected as an alumni trustee of the American University of Beirut,[4] the youngest in its history. He is also a trustee of the University of Kalamoon, a private higher education institution in Syria.[5] In April 2010, he was invited by the Obama Administration to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, in recognition of his business development activities.[6]