Board of Trustees

ERF has a distinguished Board of Trustees. Of the total of 13 members, up to 4 representatives are from donor institutions and 7 members are elected by ERF’s Research Fellows. The remaining 2 members are appointed by the board for the purpose of maintaining regional or professional balance.

Board members serve 5 year terms and can serve a maximum of 2 terms in total. They meet at least once a year, usually at the Annual Conference.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for enforcing the ERF charter, setting broad policies and priorities for the Forum and monitoring and evaluating progress of the network. The board also approves the Forum’s annual work program and budget as well as the selection of Fellows. It appoints committees for a specific purposes, such as the Advisory Committee, which is responsible for considering new fellow nominations.

Below is a list of the present Board of Trustees organized alphabetically by last name.

Last updated: 28 October, 2025.

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Board of Trustees – 2025 (Last updated: October 28, 2025)

Ahmed Galal (Chairman)

Ahmed Galal (Chairman)

Economic Research Forum, Egypt

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Development Studies & Research Forum, Dubai

Hala Elsaid

Hala Elsaid

Economic Advisor to H.E. President of Egypt and University Councilor at the American University in Cairo

Mahdi Majbouri

Mahdi Majbouri

Babson College, Wellesley, MA, USA

Raed Safadi

Raed Safadi

Whiteshield Partners, Dubai

Insan Tunali

Insan Tunali

Koç University, Turkey

Tarik Yousef

Tarik Yousef

Middle East Council on Global Affairs, Qatar