The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is pleased to announce that Mr. Alexis Serfaty has joined the team as Vice President, and Mr. Abad Allawi has joined as Director, effective immediately. Allawi and Serfaty join the Council’s Washington, D.C. office and will support the organization’s wide-ranging programs in the United States and United Arab Emirates.

Serfaty will serve as U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council chief of staff, oversee membership and program development, and represent the organization as advisor to business council President Danny Sebright. Allawi replaces Brian Principato, who recently relocated to San Francisco, and will handle a full portfolio of communications and public affairs work for the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council. For your information, new team biographies and their contact details can be found below.

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of our team.

Alexis Serfaty
Vice President
U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

Alexis Serfaty is a recognized foreign policy leader and government affairs strategist with extensive experience in U.S. trade policy, issue advocacy, and coalition building. Serfaty’s background includes private and public sector policy and messaging experience within the transportation, energy, and ICT sectors in the U.S., European Union, and China.

Before joining the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, Serfaty served as Policy Advisor for International Trade in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation. At DoT, Serfaty advised senior Departmental leadership on bilateral and interagency technical cooperation programs with China and developed recommendations for strategic initiatives with White House-led National Export Initiative (NEI) priority countries. Previously, he was Policy Director at the European-American Business Council (now the Transatlantic Business Council).

Serfaty holds the Masters in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris and received his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary.

Contact Information
Phone: +1 202 863 7290
E-Mail: aserfaty@usuaebusiness.org

Abad Allawi
Director
U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

Abad Allawi serves as a Director for the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council; joining the team in December of 2014.

At the Business Council, Abad develops the programming for trade missions and policy advocacy efforts; manages the Council’s media and public affairs; and produces content for the USUAEBC social networks, newsletter, and website.

Before joining the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, Abad worked at Kroll Advisory Solutions as a transaction intelligence and compliance analyst. As an analyst, Abad conducted a large volume of research for adverse information in order to mitigate risk and uncertainty in the private sector. His regional focus is comprised of the Americas, Middle East, and South Asia.

Abad holds a Masters in International Commerce Policy and a BA in Government International Affairs from George Mason University’s School of Public Policy. His main interests include capacity building, control risk, foreign direct investment, and history. Abad is fluent in English and Arabic.

Contact Information
Phone: +1 202 863 7288
E-Mail: aallawi@usuaebusiness.org