Association of Moroccan
Professionals in America

Yassir Abouselham

Yassir Abousselham is a US-based Moroccan professional specializing in technology consulting and information risk management. He currently manages the Corporate Data Security program for Google, Inc. His role at Google consists of developing and managing global capabilities to mitigate security and regulatory risks to corporate data. Prior to joining Google, Yassir led a successful consulting career at Ernst and Young, where he acted as a Senior Manager within the Americas Information Security Center of Excellence. Throughout his career with Ernst & Young, Yassir focused on helping Fortune 500 executives manage organizational change, mitigate cyber security risks and achieve regulatory compliance.

Mr Abousselham holds a Master in Computer Information Systems and a Bachelor in Business Administration, in addition to professional information security and risk management certifications.

Chaouki Zahzah

Chaouki Zahzah has been involved with AMPA for the last 7 years; first as a member, then as an active volunteer in the San Francisco Bay Area before joining the previous management team in the capacity of VP of communication. Chaouki is currently managing the Customer Top Tier program for SAP consisting of fortune 100 companies. He also acts as an adviser to a number of companies responsible for strategic direction.

Chaouki has over 14 years' experience in customer management, customer advisory, strategic direction and business development. After finishing "Les Classes Preparatoires" in Rabat, he joined the "Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble" in France. Before coming to the US, he worked for France Telecom, TRW before joining Business Objects in Paris. He was then transferred to Atlanta to manage the east coast support operations. He was then transferred to San Jose - California to manage the North America Support operations, a total of 60 people across 4 different locations both in the US and Canada. He was awarded the certificate of excellence multiple times during his tenure with SAP.

Chaouki resides in the Silicon Valley - California. In his free time, Chaouki enjoys soccer, windsurfing and horseback riding. Chaouki is also the marketing director for both the California De Anza Youth Soccer League as well as GiveLight Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian relief organization seeking to create durable orphanages in response to natural disasters and extreme conditions.

Narjis Rachad

Narjis is currently a Forex Specialist with Forex.com, a division of GAIN Capital group (Online Foreign Exchange trading company) on Wall Street. She is a Series 3 Registered AP with the NFA (National Futures Association) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Prior to landing in the Big Apple, Narjis earned a degree in Business Admnistration from l'Ecole Superieure de Commerce International ESCI in Fontainebleau, France after getting her degree from L'Ecole Francaise des Affaires (Concours d'entree aux Ecoles de Commerce). She holds an MBA in International Business from Buffalo, NY.

Ali Benmoussa

Ali is a Managing Director and co-founder at Ticketwood, Inc - a ticket search engine that provides a comprehensive, fast and easy-to-use resource to find tickets to sports, concerts, and theatre events. He is responsible for business strategy, operational execution and product development vision and execution. Ali is also a co-founder at Bnet Technologies, a service provider of quality eCommerce websites, custom web/software applications and e-Business consulting in Morocco. Prior to co-founding Ticketwood, He Held positions in Tenet Healthcare, MedTech and Barry’s Tickets Service. Mr. Benmoussa received a BS in Computer Engineering and an MS in Engineering Management from California State University – Northridge. Ali was the President at IEEE – CSUN chapter, an elected member to the student government association in Alakhawayn University; he is also a member of the American Society of Quality, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Network of Arab-American Professionals. Ali enjoys watching the Los Angeles Lakers, and also is a fan of Chelsea FC. In his spare time, he likes to go see live music concerts, Travel and play soccer.

Mehdi Menouar

Mehdi Menouar is an Equity Research Junior Analyst at Bloomberg. He covers the Energy sector, with a focus on Oil & Gas in North America. Mehdi previously covered Base & Precious Metals within Bloomberg’s Equity Fundamentals group, and took part in the launch of Bloomberg Research.

Mehdi holds an MBA from the University of Tampa in Finance, and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Philadelphia University.

Lina Alaoui

Lina Alaoui is currently a senior consultant with Capgemini – a major technology consulting firm. She held several positions in various technology and strategy focused areas ranging from managing the delivery of Business Intelligence projects and leading post acquisition data migration efforts to Customer Experience and Business Support Systems strategy focused work. Most of her professional experience was in the Communications industry working for major telecommunication and cable clients.

Lina graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with an emphasis on Database Systems and User Interface Design. She also obtained from Georgia Tech a Master of Science in Human Computer Interaction with a certificate in Management of Technology. Lina has been a member of AMPA since 2008 and is now excited to be joining the Management team!

Hicham Kabbaj

Hicham is the president of the association of Moroccan Professionals in America http://www.amp-usa.org/, he joined the association in 2005 as Events Vice President and was elected in May 2008 as its second president. Hicham is a Senior Project Controls at one of the world's premier engineering, construction and project management companies. He joined Bechtel after graduating from Purdue University with a BS in Management and Minor in Finance and MIS. Hicham has a vast experience in construction management and energy projects, he was a key member in some of the company signature projects. He was awarded the certificate of achievement multiple times during his 9 years with Bechtel. Hicham obtained his MBA from Istituto de Empresa, and founded www.marocevents.ma, first portal of professional events in Morocco. He enjoys playing Tennis and he is originally from Rabat.

Faiza Laghrari

Faiza is a senior programmer analyst and onsite project manager at Hewitt Associates, a global consulting firm specialized in outsourcing human resources systems where she has been working for over six years. Faiza passed the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) examination in 2000, holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in information systems from the University of Florida. She is very proud to be an AMPA member and believes that " Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Rym Fizazi

Rym Fizazi is an Account Manager at USMorocco Consulting. She has significant experience in event management as she has organized many fashion shows in Paris and New York. Rym is a Cum Laude graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology MBA program, and has also earned a degree in Business Administration from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris. She is a member of the National Association for Academic Excellence.

Khalil Jai Hokimi

Khalil is an experienced professional with a focus in online media, education services, community development, consumer marketing and sales. He has played instrumental roles in helping numerous small teams/companies grow to become multi-million dollar producers. He has also acted as a college market advisor for franchisees of corporations such as McDonald's, Domino's Pizza, 7-Eleven and New York Broadway shows Rent and Cabaret.

Prior to stepping into the entrepreneurial world by co-founding the Student Employment Council and www.zippyjobs.com, Khalil was a senior management member at Blackboard Inc., the global leader in software solutions for the education industry, where he helped leading universities create and implement new student programs through partnerships with local and national corporations.

Khalil holds a BTS in International Commerce from ISEG Toulouse, a BS in Business Management and Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an MBA in Global Commerce from the Instituto de Empresa. He lives with his wife and two children in Bethesda, MD.

Omar Tazi

Omar is currently heading the open source program at Oracle. Prior to re-joining Oracle in 2005, Omar was President and CEO of Orbeon a professional services software company based in Silicon Valley, California. Before stepping into the entrepreneurial world, Omar has held several senior management positions in Silicon Valley based high-tech companies including Symantec, Oracle, and WebGain. He is also a regular speaker at IT events such as BEA eWorld, Gartner Summits, Sun Tech Days, ApacheCon, and JavaOne. Before crossing the Atlantic, Omar has held several research and teaching positions in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI). He holds an M.S. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Aly Horma

Aly currently lives in Morocco, where he manages his own investment advisory firm, in addition to developing real estate projects.

Aly is also a Principal at WesaGen Inc., a Massachusetts biotech venture founded by Dr. Abdelouahed, a fellow Moroccan AMPA member and Post-Doc at Harvard Medical School. WesaGen is developing nanotech drug delivery and anti-cancer platforms, using coiled motifs to make and deliver new biopharmaceuticals for specific diseases. The potential impact and benefit are significant for Morocco, and in general for countries where generic drugs could provide greater access to cures. Previous to that, Aly spent several years in finance. Among others, he was Vice President at Citigroup Private Bank, New York, in charge of the bank's special asset offshore portfolio. He also covered Middle East North Africa at Credit Suisse Private Banking, London.

Aly holds a B.Sc. from New York University Stern School of Business, and an MBA from INSEAD. He also holds a Certificate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the New York University Graduate Center for Finance, Law, & Tax.