ADVISORY BOARD

Edward Burton was appointed President and Managing Director of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council in March 2006. In his position, he works with the public and private sectors to promote the interests of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian business relationship. The U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council was established in December 1993 to improve the mutual knowledge and understanding between the private sectors of the United States and Saudi Arabia, and to promote trade and investment between the two countries.  The Council’s activities include trade missions, conferences and seminars, and high level networking events. The Council also publishes updated documents including A Business Guide to Saudi Arabia, a bi-monthly newsletter, the U.S.-Saudi Business Brief, and specialized industrial sector reports. These activities are now focused on highlighting the more than $1 Trillion in Saudi earmarked projects and market opportunities in Saudi Arabia over the next 20 years.

Prior to joining the Business Council, Mr. Burton served as the Commercial Attaché at the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He managed a staff of 27 officers, commercial specialists and other local direct hire personnel serving offices in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran. He was responsible for all U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) operations in Saudi Arabia and had oversight of all USFCS management, administrative and fiscal matters in the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the Kingdom. He also supervised USFCS operations in Manama, Bahrain through a partnership arrangement with the U.S. Embassy in Manama. Mr. Burton was also appointed directly by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to serve as the USFCS Regional Coordinator for the agency’s Iraq Reconstruction Regional Initiative.

Prior to being assigned to the Embassy in Riyadh, Mr. Burton was the Director of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Philadelphia. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mr. Burton served former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman as the State of New Jersey’s International Trade Director.

Mr. Burton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Charleston and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Dickinson School of Law. He practiced law in the State of New Jersey. He also received certified international trade and management training at the Thunderbird School of International Business and the Harvard Business School of Publishing.

Holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from King Saud University (KSU), and received a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Nottingham, UK.

He got on-the-job-training in Chase Manhattan Bank and in the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) in USA. He passed the Credit CHASE Program, USA.

In Saudi Arabia, Mr. Al Rashoud worked in the Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), Al Jazirah Bank, and the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

Mr. Al Rashoud is a member of several international and local associations like; the International Islamic Foundation for Economics and Finance (IIFEF), the Executive Committee of Prince Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz Young Entrepreneur Award, and Saudi Economic Association.

He is also the Chairman of the board of several local and international investment Funds.

Khalid Al Othman is a Founding Partner and CEO for Tahaluf Development Company and Saudi Mubadara Development Company. He is also the owner and president of Imar, Urban Consultants since its foundation in 1993. He is currently an active member of the Committee for consulting firms at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. He is also an active member of the Advisory Committee at the Saudi Council of Engineers. Khalid has a working experience as a program manager in Arriyad Development Authority and as a General Manager for the Saudi Umran Society. He maintains strong network connections in the Saudi government and private sectors as well as connections in the international business community. He has played a major role in the development of various new start-up entities and projects in the real estate sector and other business sectors. He is holding a degree in Architecture and Planning since 1989 and has attended several courses, conferences and seminars in Business and Real Estate development and financial engineering. He is also active in the business media community as a TV speaker and newspaper writer.

As a result of his work as the Chief Operating Officer of SASCO Global Investments, a $400 million private equity fund, Mr. McLaughlin has assumed the addition role of Executive Manager of Danet Al Midmar Co.

Danet Al Midmar is a joint venture between a major Saudi company and a fifty year old construction firm from Canada, Daoust Construction.  Mr. McLaughlin is spearheading the company’s effort in the construction and development sector in Saudi Arabia.  The company strategy is based on four key success factors; well established local presence, proprietary construction related technologies, proven history and management capability, and capital, which allows us to invest through real estate value chain.

Sultan Faden has been heading Urban Future Organization (UFO) in Jeddah since 2007.  UFO is an international organization is present in 9 countries around the globe.

Sultan has been a practicing architect for more than 16 years and studied at both KFUPM Dhahran-Saudi Arabia, and at the Architectural Association (AA) – London – UK. He also was a design liaison officer with offices, such Architectonica- Miami-USA, and Dr.  Shakir Buhairy office Cairo-Egypt, and an advisor for the architectural design of Hail Economical City-Saudi Arabia.

Sultan wrote numerous articles in various publication and was named as 1 of 10 industry leaders in construction and real estate in Saudi Arabia. He has lectured in various conferences in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

Dr. Rehab Mahmoud Reda is the co-founder and CEO of MIDRAR. With 25+ years of success leading and managing benchmark-setting real estate and construction projects in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Reda has held a number of executive management positions in various corporations.

Most recently, Dr. Rehab was VP of Projects, Real Estate Division – The Savola Group, and  was previously with Saudi Consulting Services and Soliman A. Kheriji Architecture & Engineering Offices as Senior Project Manager and worked on numerous projects for The King Abdul Aziz University.

Dr. Rehab holds a PhD in Construction Engineering and Management, an M.Sc in Construction Engineering and Management from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A and a B.Sc in Civil Engineering from the college of Engineering, Cairo University.

Mr.  Imad Damrah has an extensive background covering over 13 years in the real estate industry.  Prior to joining Colliers Imad has been working for 10 years with Ernst & Young Saudi Arabia as a senior manager of the transaction advisory services in Riyadh, during that time Imad was involved in managing and delivering assignments in the field of real estate advisory i.e., feasibility studies, market research, best use studies, business plan, financial modeling, and business valuation.

Imad has a vast experience in real estate sector some of the biggest projects in Saudi Arabia including: five star hotels, furnished apartments, residential resorts, commercial malls, residential cities, office towers, commercial complexes, land use, e-real estate, and real estate financing.