AUB Technology Conference

An Extraordinary Gathering in Silicon Valley

2024 Issue No. 2

More than 200 people, including senior university leadership from Beirut, attended the AUB North American Technology Conference in Palo Alto, California on April 19- 21, 2024. “It was an extraordinary gathering,” commented Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations-North America Lina Jazi (BS ’89), “and an invaluable opportunity for us to showcase what AUB is doing in the tech field in terms of academic programs – and to hear from some of the biggest names in the field about important issues and future trends.” The conference was also a successful fundraiser. More than $2 million was donated to AUB in advance of, and during, the dinner for university initiatives including $83,000 for the recently established Northern California Chapter Scholarship Fund.

Many AUB alumni were among the distinguished list of panelists. Abdo George Kadifa (BE ’81), chairman elect of the AUB Board of Trustees and managing director of Sumeru Equity Partners, commented, “AUB is a major presence in Silicon Valley. Over the last 50 years, our graduates have contributed to the innovation, research, engineering, management, and education fields that we see realized today in the valley.”

The conference began with an informal gathering at Terún Pizzeria on Friday evening. Participants gathered on Saturday to hear panel discussions on entrepreneurship, digital businesses, and artificial intelligence, an introduction to the Talal and Madiha Zein AUB-Innovation Park by Chief Information and Transformation Officer Yousif Asfour; a presentation by MSFEA Dean Alan Shihadeh about what sets AUB apart in engineering and design; and a fireside chat with Sassine Ghazi, president, CEO, and board member of Synopsys, with Trustee Fuad “Ford” Tamer (BE ’83), senior operating partner at Francisco Partners, on scaling a technology company.

The Saturday evening gala featured welcoming remarks by President Fadlo R. Khuri who provided an update from campus. He also spoke about some of AUB’s plans in the area of computing and data sciences. Another highlight of the evening was the president’s announcement of the Nabil Bukhalid People’s Choice Award for Innovation, which is named for the late Nabil Bukhalid (BE ’81, EMBA ’05) who headed the AUB computing and networking team for many years and was responsible for bringing the internet to Lebanon.

Reflecting on the conference, President Khuri said, “Deeper and broader engagement with the university’s alumni is critical to expanding AUB’s impact. This event is just one of many that has taken place in North America recently, which have gathered our exceptional graduates across generations. These events are invaluable to our university.”

Many alumni and friends played key roles in helping to organize the conference including Chairman Elect Abdo Kadifa, Trustees Fuad Tamer and Kevin Taweel, Murad Al Haj (BE ’06) and the leadership of the Northern California Alumni Chapter, WAAAUB Advisory Board member Walid Ali-Ahmad (BE ’88), who were ably supported by Sally Kadifa and Rula Tamer.