AstroLabs Leadership Team

Muhammed is a Founding Partner at AstroLabs, a startup hub and training academy for tech entrepreneurs in the Middle East. AstroLabs Dubai is a specialized coworking space that hosts high potential digital technology companies, assisting founders to establish their startups and providing them with a platform to scale globally. AstroLabs Academy delivers a variety of practical training courses on topics related to digital business.

Prior to AstroLabs, Muhammed co-founded Dubai-based Namshi, now one of the largest ecommerce companies in the MENA region. He built and led the operations teams and helped raise venture capital funding to fuel the company’s growth. Muhammed is a former McKinsey & Company strategy consultant with clients across the GCC.

Muhammed received an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He was selected for a full academic scholarship as a Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fellow based on professional achievements as well as a demonstrated commitment to the development of the Arab World. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania as a member of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business.

Roland is the COO (Chief Operating Officer) at AstroLabs.

Prior to AstroLabs, Roland was the Head of Dubai 100, the first digital health accelerator in Dubai and the MENA region. Over 2 years, he helped run 3 cohorts in Dubai and Shanghai with 18 startups from the UK, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, China, Singapore and Argentina.

Roland also was a Founding Member and Head of Business Development for Wamda, one of MENA’s largest tech entrepreneurship platforms.

Roland has an MBA from London Business School and a BS in Computer Engineering.

Ahmad is the Director of Marketing & Learning Programs at AstroLabs. He handles all marketing, running of academy programs and tech systems at AstroLabs.

Ahmad graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering from the American University of Sharjah in 2011, and has been Google Certified (in Analytics & Adwords) since 2012. Since then, he has worked at MBC, Namshi (Rocket Internet) and a digital agency in Dubai (RBBi, where he worked on Analytics and BI setups for some of the largest organizations in the region). His professional expertise is in Analytics, Digital Marketing, Fullstack Web Development and Tech Workshops.

By combining his technical knowledge and experience with his passion to contribute to the learning and development of others, Ahmad makes sure that AstroLabs course offerings are both technically relevant, and provide lasting real-world value for all who take them.

Norah is the Director of Program & Partnerships at AstroLabs

Before joining AstroLabs, Norah worked as a Senior Manager in Strategy and Policy at the Dubai Creative Clusters Authority. Prior to that, she worked as a Public Policy Consultant at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Dubai and a Policy Analyst at the Saudi Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. Throughout her experience, Norah spent time specializing in public policy development as well as economic development, education, and gender equality.

Norah holds an MSc in Gender, Media, and Culture from the London School of Economics and a BA in Business Economics and Financial Management from the University of Hull.

Saad is the KSA Director of Operations at AstroLabs.

Saad has an entrepreneurial background where he founded multiple ventures in eCommerce, Real Estate, and Trading. Prior to that, Saad worked 3+ years in leading financial & management consulting firms with exposure on multiple industries.

Saad has passion for supporting entrepreneurs and capability development. Saad holds a BA in Finance from King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals.

As Operations Manager, Charles is the first person to greet you at AstroLabs.

Charles (or “Chaz” as he’s known around the office) takes care of the day-to-day operations; he is the point person for the AstroLabs space, enquiries, calendars and administrative processes.

With an extensive background in administration and events, Charles is as detail-oriented, resourceful and organized as they come. He makes certain that every AstroLabs member receives an extraordinary experience from onboarding to work environment.