M. Shafik Gabr is a renowned leader in international business, innovation, investment and one of the world’s premier collectors of Orientalist art, and an accomplished philanthropist.
During his career, Gabr established over 25 companies plus three investment holding companies including ARTOC Group for Investment and Development which, established in 1971, is a multidisciplined investment holding company with businesses in infrastructure, automotive, engineering, construction and real estate, over the past three years focusing on investment in technology and artificial intelligence.
Gabr is the Chairman and a founding member of Egypt’s International Economic Forum, member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and serves on Yale University President’s Council on International Activities. Gabr is Member of the Metropolitan Museum’s International Council and serves on the Advisory Boards of Stanhope Capital, LLP and the Global Advisory Council of the Mayo Clinic.
Gabr was previously the Chairman of COMESA (Common Market for East and South Africa) Business Council and a member of the Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), and served on the advisory boards of Zurich Financial Services and The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Furthermore, Gabr was a founder of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt in 1982, serving as its first Egyptian President from 1995 until 1997. He was a Founding Member of the Wilson Global Advisory Council.
Gabr ranks among Arabian Business and The Middle East magazines 2012 “Most Influential Arabs” and “Our Top 50 Arabs”. In 2009 Mr. Gabr was presented with the Foreign Policy Association’s (FPA) award for Corporate Responsibility. In June 2014 Mr. Gabr was awarded the Meridian Global Citizen Award and in November 2014 the Middle East Institute’s Visionary Award. In March 2015 Gabr received the American University in Cairo’s Global Impact Award in New York. In May 2016 Gabr was awarded the College of Mount Saint Vincent’s Saint Vincent de Paul Award and the Drew University’s Peacebuilder Award. In September 2017 Gabr received the Policy Direction and Leadership Award from the London Center for Policy Research.
Since 2016, Gabr focused his attention on innovation and investment in technology plus his Foundations. Gabr has invested in a wide spectrum of technology companies from startups to the fully mature ones, and in many sectors in between. Gabr’s focus is multidimensional in a world of technology and that is translated in his personal approach to the sector with its multifaceted AI, machine learning, data mining, mobility and business.
Through the Shafik Gabr Social Development Foundation, Gabr is helping to improve elementary-school education in Egypt, introducing students to arts and culture and promoting sports and physical fitness for youth. In the area of higher education, Gabr is a major supporter of the American University in Cairo. The Foundation also developed a free medical-care system by providing “Medical Caravans”, for residents of underprivileged areas of Greater Cairo. The Foundation is constructing and launching its first Medical and Social Development Center in Mokattam, Cairo, offering free medical and health services. In 2012 Gabr established in the US the Shafik Gabr Foundation which supports educational and medical initiatives plus launched in November 2012 the ‘East-West: The Art of Dialogue’ initiative (see www.eastwestdialogue.org) promoting exchanges between the US and Egypt with the purpose of cultural dialogue and bridge building.
Gabr holds a BA in Economics and Management from the American University in Cairo and an MA in Economics from the University of London.