Management Team

Karim Nagy, Chief Executive, Kalima
An Egyptian national who has worked in Abu Dhabi for the last five years, Karim Nagy is an entrepreneur whose passion in life is books.

Karim counts himself as fortunate that his education in English has enabled him to read and be inspired by writers, philosophers and thinkers from around the world, many of whom are not available in Arabic. He passionately believes in the importance of books in spreading knowledge, ideas, and tolerance. His motivation is to widen access to such great works in the Arab World.

His passion for books and reading also extends to collecting old and rare titles. Karim has been collecting books since 1999, and his particular topics of interest include history and Arab heritage.

Karim is also an enthusiast for classical Arabic music, and a patron of a number of performers and musicians.

Before setting up his own group of companies in Abu Dhabi, Karim worked in business development, investment and private equity. In his earlier career, he was a consultant for McKinsey & Company.

Sherif-Joseph Rizk, Business Development, Kalima
Joe Rizk was born in Columbus, Ohio and educated at the American University in Cairo, where he studied with fellow colleague Karim Nagy. He has been responsible for driving business development at Kalima since its inception in early 2007.

Like Karim, Joe has a passion for books and his particular interest lies in philosophy. He has been inspired by many writers, philosophers and thinkers from all over the world including Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche and Gilles Deleuze. He is committed to broadening Arabic speakers’ access to translated writing and to reviving the translation gap in the Arab world.

He spent his early career working in business development for internet and telecoms companies such as Bellsouth. More recently he was an English lecturer at the American University in Cairo and has also taught history and psychology at a secondary school in Cairo.

Ziad Jadaa, Information Systems
Having managed corporate infrastructure for EDS, Dow Chemicals, Mubadala, and Icon Investments, Mr. Ziad brings IT leadership and value to Kalima with building a world class infrastructure, Web site, and spearheading initiatives such as Kalima’s Arabic translations bibliography database.
 
Nada Kames, PR & Marketing
Nada Kames was born in Abu Dhabi where she received her Basic and Higher education. With a B.A. in Business Management and Marketing from Abu Dhabi University, Nada joined Kalima, a few months prior to launch, as a Public Relations and Marketing Officer.

Nada is distinguished as a quick achiever and as an excellent initiator of new friendships. Before Kalima, Nada worked for a number of years as a PR- Administrative Assistant at “Offsets” and at the Abu Dhabi Terminals – Port Zayed, as an Assistant-Marketing Manager and as an Assistant to the Financial Manager.

She is thrilled to be involved with Kalima’s mission of reviving translation in the Arab World.