Our Team

James Harmon

CHAIRMAN OF THE EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE FUND

James Harmon is the Founder and Chairman of the Caravel Fund, an emerging and frontier market fund. He served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States from 1997-2001. James was appointed as EAEF Chairman in 2012. Bringing extensive investment and emerging markets experience, he helped nominate the inaugural board of directors and select the Lorax management team, establishing the EAEF as a reputable player in the Egyptian market today. In 2004, James was elected Chairman of the Board of the World Resources Institute, a global policy and research institution. Prior to working at the Export-Import Bank, James was Chairman and CEO of Schroder Wertheim & Co. investment bank.

Nishan Seal

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Nishan Seal is the Chief Financial Officer with EAEF and has over 13 years of experience with hedge fund and private equity fund structures. Nishan was previously with PineBridge Investments where he was a Fund Controller for several different global products with AUM of over $8 billion. Prior to PineBridge Investments, Nishan was an associate at JP Morgan where he worked on onboarding and automating the financial reporting for the firm’s largest private equity client. Additionally, he was a senior fund accountant at SS&C Technologies where he specialized in distressed debt and exotic derivatives. He received a BA in Economics from Rutgers University and his MBA from NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business with a focus on Accounting and Corporate Finance.

Yasmine Ghobrial

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Yasmine Ghobrial is a Senior Vice President with EAEF. She joined the fund in 2017. Prior to assuming her role as an Associate at the EAEF, Yasmine was Senior Investor Relations Specialist at Edita Food Industries, one of Egypt’s largest publicly listed snack food companies. Prior to her stint at Edita, Yasmine was Head of Business Development at Inktank Communications, a leading investor relations and financial communications agency based in Cairo, where she also assumed the role of Investor Relations Project Manager. Yasmine began her career as an Investment Analyst at First Equity Partners, a Cairo-based private equity outfit. She holds a Bachelor’s from the German University in Cairo with a double major in Economics and Strategic Management.

Cornelius Queen

VICE PRESIDENT

Cornelius is a Vice President with EAEF, where he leads the Impact and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practice. He also leads EAEF’s Press and Communications practice. He has over 10 years of experience working on Middle East and North Africa issues.

From 2015-2015, he worked on the Syrian Crisis Response in Beirut, Lebanon and from 2013-2015 served as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives. From 2011-2012, he served as a core team member for the Carter Center’s international election observation mission in Egypt after the 2011 revolution. He is a Middle East Policy Council 40 under 40 awardee. He earned an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and his BA from the Johns Hopkins University.

Margaret Engelhardt

Chief of Staff

Ms. Engelhardt is Chief of Staff of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF). Margaret assisted the Chairman from 2013 to 2015 in launching EAEF. In 2020, she was appointed Chief of Staff.

Ms. Engelhardt is Chief Administrative Officer of Caravel Management where she is responsible for a variety of the Firm’s operations and for investor relations. Margaret has been with Caravel since its inception in 2004 and has been a partner in the Fund since 2007.

In 2001, Margaret was instrumental in the formation of Harmon & Co. where she is Vice President, Administration.

In 1997, Margaret joined the Export-Import Bank of the United States as a political appointee (Schedule C) in the Clinton Administration. During her four years at Ex-Im Bank, Margaret served as Special Assistant to the Chairman where she acted as a liaison between the Chairman’s office and the Bank’s Board of Directors as well as other areas of the Bank. Margaret also served as Ex-Im Bank’s Schedule C White House Liaison.

Ms. Engelhardt began her career in 1984 as Executive Assistant to the Chairman and CEO (James Harmon) of Wertheim & Co.

Fiona Mora

Assistant to the Chairman

Fiona is Assistant to EAEF’s Chairman. She has worked with the Chairman since March 2006. In 2018 Fiona formally joined the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) where she assists with all staff travel, office procurement, scheduling and works directly with the members of the board of directors on logistics of their travel related to our semi-annual board meetings.

Born, raised and educated in Scotland, Fiona holds her City and Guilds certificates in Hotel and Catering Management from Ayr College, Ayrshire Scotland.

Amanda Aversano

Senior Associate

Amanda Aversano is an Associate with EAEF. She is a CPA with 4 years of experience in the financial services industry. She started her career as an audit associate at CohnReznick after getting her Bachelor’s degree at Rutgers University. At CohnReznick she specialized in auditing hedge funds, private equity funds, and fund of funds. She later worked as a supervisory senior fund administrator at US Bank, with a focus on financial reporting of business development companies (BDCs). Amanda joined Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund in 2020 as an associate in the finance department. She Is currently pursuing a CFA charter.

Nada Samy

Associate

Nada Samy is an Associate at EAEF. In this role, she works directly with EAEF’s portfolio companies and fund managers and represents the fund in Cairo. She is involved in deal origination and sourcing and assists in deal execution and portfolio monitoring. Nada began her career by taking on investment analyst roles at startups, where she gained experience in fundraising and investor relations.

Nada is a Scholar Alumna of the UAE-based Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation for Education and holds a BSc from the American University of Cairo. She is currently pursuing her CFA charter.