Streams Of Progress

Isobel was born and educated in Cambridge and came to Dubai in 1968 which has been her home ever since.Isobel taught at the Dubai Infants School for several years before her involvement in setting up Al Ittehad Private School and soon after co-founding Magrudy’s, a bookshop chain, in 1975.In addition to Magrudy’s, Isobel actively set about publishing children’s books in Arabic and English that have relevance to children from, and living in, the region. Together with the support of the Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum Foundation, Isobel initiated a new reading and teaching scheme in Arabic, called Bustan Al Qusas, which empowered teachers to write and use their own stories.In 2008 Isobel founded and is Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, bringing people of all ages together with authors from across the world to promote education, debate and, above all else, reading. The Festival won the Best Festival title at the Middle Ea

Jean-Michel Gauthier is the CEO of InternsME.com, an online platform that connects students & fresh graduates with top employers for internships, traineeships and entry-level job opportunities. He is actively driving the growth of the company, which has attracted thousands of registered candidates and employers.In 2015, InternsME was ranked amongst the top 100 SMEs in Dubai and recognized in the top 3 most innovative SMEs. In 2016, InternsME was awarded “Digital Startup of the Year” by Entrepreneur magazine. The company is now active throughout the GCC and planning further expansion and product launches in 2018.Jean also manages Eternal Venture’s fund which has made 3 portfolio investments within its first year of operation. He has assessed hundreds of business plans and market opportunities.Jean was educated in the UAE, followed by a Masters degree from Kings College in London. He founded his first startup in 2007 and successfully launched the world’s fastest PC in the UAE. He has since worked in a numbe

Amel Murphy is the Co-Founder and Director of Sustain Leadership, which is a boutique Leadership, Change and Innovation consulting firm. Her clients include FTSE100 companies, Public Sector Leaders and Social Entrepreneurs. Before building her own consulting business, Amel had an 18 year career working for large multinationals, with 8 years of experience as an Executive in the O&G industry.In this episode, Amel shares a powerful story about how she experienced a very tough time of uncertainty in her life and how she broke through to start fresh with a new vision of what success looks like, both professionally and personally.Enjoy the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jad Halaoui is the Chief Operating Officer of Washmen, which is the UAE’s fastest-growing DryCleaning and Laundry business. He has successfully transitioned from a promising career as an engineer in the oil & gas sector to building a thriving startup based in Dubai.Jad is a passionate guy who gets right to the point and helps us explore how to effectively bootstrap your way to growth. In this episode, Jad shares how his social network and community around him helped to propel him to entrepreneurial success.Enjoy the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.