Heba Ayad - Founding Partner & VP
Heba Ayad enjoys more than 25 years of experience in the fields of natural gas and energy. She is considered one of the leading female talents in the region as she was the first woman to lead petroleum joint ventures in Egypt. From 2015 to 2017 she was the Managing Director of Rashid and Burullus which operate the WDDM gas concessions in the Mediterranean for Shell (formerly BG Group). Heba was nominated for the role by BG Group, which was the concessions operator at the time. During her successful tenure she was responsible for managing all operational activities to achieve the partners’ objectives as agreed upon by the Board of Directors, representing the companies in all contractual agreements, and acting as the primary interface between the partners and joint venture companies. Before that, Heba held the position of Deputy CEO of ELNG, the company operating the first natural gas liquefaction facility in Egypt located in the port of Idku on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt, which is owned by Shell and its partners. Her responsibilities at ELNG included directing several departments, supply chain management, development of human resources, as well as leading on key operational, financial, and project financing matters which had a direct impact on ELNG and its shareholders. She also acted as the most senior Shell Shareholder representative in ELNG.
Heba holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo with honors. She began her career in 1998 as a Planning Manager at the Nile Valley Gas Company, a local Egyptian gas distribution company founded in the same year after BG Group (formerly British Gas) and its partners obtained a concession from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to build and operate a gas distribution network in the area of Upper Egypt. She joined BG Group in 2001 and since worked in different roles including Performance Management, Business Development, Strategy, Commercial and VP of the Upstream Business