Jul23121 MEA | Middle East CEO of the Year Awards 2024 7 Nov240743 Climate Change Solutions CEO of the Year 2024 (Egypt): Omar Ghaly The Egyptian Carbon Center, or ECC, was founded by CEO Omar Ghaly in April 2022, around six months before Egypt hosted the COP27 summit. Demonstrating the country’s commitment to addressing climate change, ECC initially started out working with the banking sector, before expanding into other segments of the market by securing clients across in industry and finance. Today partnering with a number of diverse organisations, ECC helps them to all measure, reduce, and offset their emissions. eading the charge in Egypt’s climate change efforts, the Egyptian Carbon Center delivers a range of solutions to a string of discerning clients, all of which are based around empowering them to manage their carbon outputs and lessen the environmental impact had by their operations. The comprehensive assessments carried out by the team identify the areas of businesses where the most impact can be had, before a series of tailored strategies are created to align an enterprise with current global sustainability goals. At the helm of this operation is CEO Omar Ghaly, who sees his responsibilities as being largely two-fold. First of all, Omar strives to bridge what he believes to be a big knowledge gap when it comes to climate change in the MENA region, helping business to understand exactly what is going on and why it is so important to act now. Omar’s second key area of focus involves overcoming the language barrier that exists, as although many people speak English as a second language, climate change is very much its own language. To make the process of understanding this simple for ECC’s clients, Omar likes to work with real examples, such as making short video clips that are published on the company’s social media pages and being involved in a podcast that engages stakeholders through quality ESG content. Initiatives like these have resulted in ECC being chosen as an ‘accelerator’ in the MENA race to zero campaign, which is a programme supporting the adoption of net-zero practices for SMEs operating across the Middle East and North Africa. Omar knows a great deal about this field, given his previous experiences in senior positions at a number of carbon-focused companies. For example, until late 2021, Omar was the CEO of MIDO – his family’s business – a role he took on in early 2018. Omar made the difficult decision to move on from the company after spending three-and-a-half years steadying its growth and preparing it to receive an IPO. This was made more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Omar’s success is a testament to his abilities. Having also played instrumental roles in a number of other businesses over the course of his career, including for a Kenya-based company that now does manufacturing coatings for the likes of cars and wood surfaces, Omar has come to realise that the customer is always king, no matter the nature of a business. In the case of ECC, this involves carefully listening to the client’s needs and assessing whether or not the team can help. Should Omar believe that a client is not in need of these services, he tells them so upfront. This is just one example of the transparency in effect across ECC, which is something that starts at the top with Omar and works its way down the company’s culture. Seeing himself as the leader of a team as opposed to the boss of individuals, teamwork and continuous learning are two of the elements prioritised in Omar’s leadership approach. Yes, a ‘corporate mode’ has its strengths, but by treating his employees well and prioritising their development – personally as well as professionally – ECC is able to thrive. Given that the industry is currently booming, ECC certainly has a bright future ahead of it, even if it is having to overcome the challenge of encouraging regulators to make the necessary mandates to encourage carbon footprint and sustainability reports. Besides navigating this challenge, the future for ECC is set to involve the development of carbon credits, as there are a lot of renewables currently being installed. Omar is working on several of these developments in Egypt, as well as a mobility project that is yet to be announced. Ultimately, through its diverse ESG-based initiatives, the Egyptian Carbon Center is paving the way for a greener and more sustainable future in the MENA region. For his vital work in achieving this, Omar Ghaly is a worthy recipient of this best-in-class award. Contact: Omar Ghaly Web Address: https://www.egyptiancarboncenter.com/ L
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY1MjM3