Mr.Yahya Jawdat Shunnar

Chairman of the board

Mr. Yahya Jawdat Shunnar brings over thirty years of experience in economics and finance. He has served as the Chairman of the Establishment of Manage and Development Orphans Fund at the rank of minister. In addition, he was the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamkeen ‎ Insurance Company and a member of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Islamic Bank. He held the position of Investment Manager at PADICO, where he played a pivotal role in developing the Palestine Stock Exchange. He also served as Director General of the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, contributing significantly to institutionalizing and developing the administrative structure of the Palestinian Authority.

On the international stage, Mr. Shunnar held the role of Head of Real Estate Investments at Ibdar Islamic Bank in Bahrain and served as Chief Investment Officer at Capivest Bank. He also founded YJS Consulting, a financial advisory firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, based in Bahrain.

Mr. Shunnar holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Yarmouk University.

Mr. Mohammad Rabee

Board Member

Mr. Rabee has held several positions in the Ministry of Finance, currently serving as the Ministry’s Chief Accountant. Previously, he was the Director General of Financial Control from 2020 to 2023, and from 2017 to 2019, he served as the General Manager of General Supplies and Chairman of the Central Tenders Committee. During the period 2014-2016, he was the Director General of Revenue System, and served as the Deputy Director General of Customs and Excise from 2013 to 2017. In the years 2010-2012, he held the position of Director of Crossings and Trade Facilitation Centers (General Customs Administration), and prior to that, he was the Head of the Purchase Tax Department within the same administration.

Mr. Rabee has represented the Ministry of Finance in numerous national and sovereign institutions, holding the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Fund for Compensating Road Accident Victims. He is also a board member of several institutions, including the Orphans’ Funds Management and Development Foundation, the Municipal Loans Fund Management, PALSAT Foundation, Capital Market Authority, Standards and Metrology Institute, Olive for Islamic Finance, Deputy Chairman of the Public Procurement Policies Council, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Palestinian Institute of Public Health.

On the academic side, he has served as a certified trainer and lecturer, contributing to the development of university courses on public financial management at Birzeit University’s Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. He has conducted numerous training programs and lectures on public financial management tailored for Palestinian university students and has been involved in the rehabilitation of new trainer programs.

Mr. Rabee holds a Master’s degree in Institutional Building and Human Resource Development – General Management, and is in the final stages of completing his Ph.D. in Strategic Management.

Mr. Tareq El Masri

Board Member

Mr. Masri has held several key positions in the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy, currently serving as the Deputy Minister in addition to his role as a Companies Registrar. From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Director General of Company Registration, and prior to that, he worked as an advisor to the Minister of National Economy.

Mr. Masri brings extensive expertise in various fields, having been a member of several prominent national institutions such as the Supreme Council for Public Procurement Policies, the Board of Directors of Palestinian Airlines, and the Palestinian Institute of Public Finance and Taxes. Furthermore, he served as the Financial and Administrative Rapporteur of the Arab Organization for Industrialization and Mining, and currently holds the position of Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Capital Market Authority.

In addition to his positions, Mr. Masri possesses a diverse set of skills and experiences in financial management, accounting, and administrative organization. He is distinguished by his leadership abilities and effective strategies in enhancing organizational performance and developing economic policies. He also has deep expertise in commercial registration and corporate governance, contributing to the improvement of the business environment in Palestine.

Mr. Masri holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from An-Najah National University since 1995, and continues to enhance his skills and knowledge through participation in numerous international training courses and workshops in the fields of economics and management. Combining practical experience with academic knowledge, he leads significant economic projects and provides valuable consultations that contribute to driving economic development in Palestine.

Dr. Mohammad Al Ahmad

Board Member
Mohammad Farouq Al-Ahmad holds a PhD in Private Law and is currently an assistant professor at the faculty of Law and Public Administration at Birzeit University. Dr. Mohammad Al-Ahmad is also the Dean of Student Affairs at Birzeit University and a legal consultant to many private and public institutions.

Dr. Mohammad was a member of the Board of Directors in some of public, private and official institutions .He worked on preparing and drafting many proposals, laws and regulations in several fields.

He also participated in many scientific visits to various Arab, regional, European and international universities where he delivered various training sessions in addition to being an active participant in local, regional and international conferences and forums.

Dr. Adel Zagha

Board Member
He was born in Nablus in 1956, he holds a PhD in Economic Theory and Public Finance from the Free University of Berlin in 1994, a Master’s degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University/USA in 1984, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from Birzeit University in 1981. He is professor of Economics at Birzeit University, where he held the position of the Chairman of the Department of Economics, and the Director of the Master’s Program in Economics from 1994-1999, and Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics from 1999 to 2004. He was appointed by Birzeit University as Director of Planning and Development in 2005, then Vice President for Planning, Development and Quality during the period 2006-2011. After that, he became the university Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs during 2011-2016 and during 2021-2023. He is currently working on a book on global political economy. During 2016-2018, he was a visiting scholar at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and a visiting professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. His latest research work is part of a research team with UNFPA to draw up a report on the population in Palestine until 2050. He has research relationships with the Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (MUWATIN), and the Chris Michelsen Institute in Norway. His research themes include tax reforms and fiscal decentralization in developing countries, issues of higher education quality and institutional performance, and poverty and inequality issues. He also works as a consultant to numerous consulting institutions for the public and private sectors in Palestine.

Mr. Iyad Joudeh

Board Member

Iyad Joudeh is the founder and the Managing Director of Solutions for Development; a private consulting firm specializing in the field of economic development and business consulting.

Iyad has over 30 years of diversified experience in private sector development, business strategy and marketing. His knowledge covers many fields including financial services, manufacturing, agriculture and ICT.

During his professional career Iyad held many senior management positions including the Chief Executive Officer of Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade- The national export promotion agency), the Marketing Director of Bethlehem 2000, the General Manager of Development Resource Center and the General Director of the Economic Development Group.

Moreover, Iyad serves as a member in Bir Zeit University’s Board of Trustees (the University’s Treasurer), Mr. Joudeh is also a member of the Boards of Directors of the Palestine Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Palestine Investment Fund.

He has also held several previous positions in Palestinian national institutions, including the Palestine Monetary Authority, Vice President of the Palestinian Export Council and Asala Credit Institution.

Iyad has a finance and management high Diploma through the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program, from Boston University and a Bachelor degree in Economics from BirZeit University.