Waseem Anwer

Managing Principal and Senior Instructor

Waseem Anwer is a Managing Principal and Senior Instructor for MBA Essentials®. As both a teacher and thought leader, he regularly consults for companies worldwide and trains top executives seeking to raise their understanding of financial economics.

A rich academic perspective is complemented by hands-on involvement in world markets. Trained in finance and management at the University of Chicago, Waseem earned an MBA in Analytical Finance, and also holds an MS in Computer Engineering and a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. Diverse practical experiences contribute to a seasoned yet innovative approach that meets complex business management challenges with engaging, interactive, high-value executive training. He views learning as a life-long process, gaining insight from every engagement that enhances the value of his contributions to clients and students.

In the corporate world he has advised on finance, strategy and governance, and taught programs in finance, management and real estate to senior executives, board members and companies throughout the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States. He is also a popular guest speaker at universities and conferences, and was an adjunct faculty member at the City University of New York.

He also serves on the board of Capitas Group International, international leaders in sophisticated mortgage and construction finance, and real estate development, and is the Managing Director and Senior Consultant at CCG Value Advisory, a management consulting firm.

A trusted advisor to corporate clients, both privately-owned and publicly-held in developed and emerging economies worldwide, on all aspects of shareholder value analysis, value-based management, design of incentive-based executive compensation, and strategic initiatives to optimize the value equation. Previously, as a Vice-President for Stern Stewart & Company, he specialized in corporate finance and shareholder value management, and was a key member of firm's Latin American team. He also spent five years with the Hewlett-Packard Company as a design engineer.

Academically grounded yet real world disciplined, Waseem is at home in all markets and stages of business development. Combining comprehensive curriculum with contemporary case studies, he delivers uniquely engaging results-based training for senior executives. His broad-based understanding of financial economics and strategic-based value development provides rare expertise and vision to corporate clients.

Haroon Imtiaz

Advisor and Senior Instructor

Haroon Imtiaz possesses the comprehensive acumen and broad-based understanding of most every facet of the energy industry. He is an expert in providing customized energy solutions for clients' specific needs and solving complex problems.

For MBA Essentials students, he brings a unique perspective which is the product of 15 years in commodity structuring, trading, origination and risk management.

He currently heads the Hess Energy Trading Company's Dubai office, and oversees the Middle East and Africa on the firm's behalf.

Previous assignments with some of the largest energy companies and financial institutions in the United States and around the world were invaluable opportunities to learn and grow. These included Pacific Gas & Electric, TXU, Sempra, Cantor Fitzgerald in the United States, and Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai.

Familiar and comfortable with the intricacies of all forms of energy and energy markets, he has extensive experience in an array of energy commodities including electricity, natural gas, coal, oil and emissions.

A natural leader, at TXU and Sempra, Mr. Imtiaz initiated, formed and led Commodity Structuring and Derivatives teams and provided natural gas and electricity risk management solutions to industrial and commercial clients. At Cantor Fitzgerald he played a similar role, covering natural gas, electricity, oil and refined products.

Mr. Imtiaz holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, an M.A. in Economics and B.S. in statistics & business management from Syracuse University.

He lives in Dubai and lectures throughout the Middle East and North America.

Stephen F Obyrne

Advisor and Senior Instructor

A renowned analyst and consultant, Stephen F. O'Byrne is also the president and co-founder of Shareholder Value Advisors Inc. In this capacity he has served companies of all sizes across most every industry, enabling them to apply empowering principles in the real world, to achieve measureable and sustainable results.

He is an expert in economic profit measurement, target setting analysis, stock option valuation, competitive compensation analysis, bonus and phantom stock plan design and the development of total compensation strategies. Steve has a passion for problem-solving and teaching and is a celebrated author of many business works, including EVA and Value Based Management; McGraw-Hill 2001.

For many years, Steve headed the compensation consulting practice at Stern Stewart & Co. and was a Principal in the executive compensation consulting practice at Towers Perrin. Prior to joining Towers Perrin in 1979, he worked in the tax department at Price Waterhouse and taught mathematics at Loyola University of Chicago.

Steve holds a B.A. degree in political science from the University of Chicago, an M.S. in Mathematics from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

He is the vice-chair of the corporate governance committee of the New York Society of Security Analysts, a certified public accountant and a member of the Illinois bar.

A few of his most popular and widely read works include:

• Achieving Pay for Performance; Conference Board Director Notes, December 2012
• What Investors Need to Know about Executive Pay; The Journal of Investing (with Professor David Young of INSEAD) Spring 2010
• Why Executive Pay is Failing; Harvard Business Review (with Professor Young) June 2006
• Top Management Incentives and Company Performance; Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, (with Professor Young) Fall 2005
• EVA and Value Based Management; (with Professor Young) McGraw-Hill 2001
• EVA and Shareholder Return; Financial Practice and Education, Spring/Summer 1997

Walid Sfeir

Advisor and Senior Instructor

Walid Sfeir brings a rare combination of experience and skill to MBA Essentials®. He is currently a Managing Partner at Valquest and heads the Operational Enhancement Practice for business of all sizes is diverse industries.

To these duties he brings a broad array of practical experience and a rich academic heritage to meet daily and future challenges, with particular expertise with many of the world's most dynamic and emerging markets around the world.

For six years, prior to co-founding Valquest, Walid served as Secretary General to the Board and Corporate Development Director of Fattal Holding, a leading FMCG and Pharmaceutical distribution company that operates in the MENA region. His duties also included the groups' new ventures. Initially specializing in the handling of affiliates in the Levant region and developing a North African presence.

As an engagement manager with McKinsey & Company in France and South American, Walid focused strategy and growth project in the automotive, telecommunications, and consumer goods industries. These included directing a manufacturing plant for Valeo, a leading automotive component manufacturer in Argentina, working for Proctor & Gamble France, and for EADS, a leading aerospace company.

Every assignment has provided an opportunity to apply a broad spectrum of problem-solving techniques from a strategic perspective. A project of particular note was strategic development for the board of Ecole Centrale de Paris, internationally noted as the leading educational institution in Europe.

Walid has an Industrial Engineering degree from the University de Technologie de Compiegne in France, a Degree in Business Administration from ESSEC in France and holds an MBA (Honors, Dean's List) from INSEAD.