Narine Kotikyan is a growth, innovation, and marketing expert with over 18 years of leadership experience across global tech, FMCG, and advertising companies. She currently heads growth and operations at Spacetab, a Swedish-Armenian software firm helping European scaleups build R&D teams in Armenia.
An active force in Armenia’s startup scene, Narine supports early-stage tech ventures in going global. She launched local chapters of Startup Grind and Founder Institute, represents GITEX in Armenia and Georgia, and has led entrepreneurial programs in 35+ countries with partners like UNDP and European governments. She regularly serves as a jury member at startup events across the region.
Previously, she held senior roles at TeamViewer (Monitis) and McCann, managing campaigns for top brands like L’Oréal, Coca-Cola, Austrian Airlines, and Ferrero.

Anar Huseynov has over 20 years of experience in marketing, corporate communications, and business development.
Anar is a PR Director of NEQSOL Holding, a multinational group with operations across energy, telecommunications, hi-tech, and construction sectors in eleven countries. His career journey includes leadership roles with top organizations like Nobel Energy, PASHA Bank, and Bank Respublika, along with teaching as a visiting lecturer at the Azerbaijan State University of Economics and the Azerbaijan Bank Training Center.
Anar’s academic accomplishments include an Executive MBA, completed with distinction, from the Maastricht School of Management (Netherlands) and ADA University (Azerbaijan), alongside a Bachelor’s Degree from Azerbaijan State University of Economics.

Ahmad Fahim Didar, an Afghan entrepreneur, mentors individuals in entrepreneurship and self-determined living. As a collaborator with Startup Grind and CMX, he oversees chapters in 125 countries, gaining a unique global perspective on entrepreneurship and communities. Ahmad co-founded the impACT platform, a global initiative empowering entrepreneurs to drive positive societal change. He established Aghaez Professional Services, a consulting firm focused on entrepreneurship, workforce, and community development projects. His dedication to entrepreneurship and community building is evident through these initiatives. Throughout his career, Ahmad has partnered with governments, corporations, and development agencies to design and implement entrepreneurship programs, leaving a significant impact on communities and economies across 11 countries. Currently, Ahmad is deeply involved in global entrepreneurship, particularly in the Middle East and Central Asia. He shares his expertise to inspire innovation, foster growth, and create lasting positive change in these vibrant regions.

Salome Shelia is a Human Capital and Organizational Development expert with over 20 years of experience across sectors. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational and Social Psychology from Koç University, where she researched the psychology of leadership and why people choose to lead. She also earned an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and a Master’s in Psychology from Tbilisi State University.
She currently leads Human Capital strategy at Silk Development, part of Silk Road Group Holding. Her previous senior roles include Diplomat Georgia, Webiz International, the Georgian National Lottery Company, and the National Oil Company. As founder of Integrated Management Group, she has led consulting projects in HR, operations, and leadership development.
Her experience also spans academia and media—she has served as an Associate Professor and hosted a TV program promoting financial literacy. Her mission is to connect scientific research with business practice, applying evidence-based insights in leadership, strategy, and human development.

Tumenjargal is a business coach, consultant, and digital transformation expert with 17 years of experience in the technology and business sectors. She currently serves as a Digital Expert for the EBRD Women in Business Programme in Mongolia and is the Founder and CEO of LEAD AC – ActionCOACH Mongolia. Her work focuses on business growth, strategy, digitalization, performance improvement, and leadership development.

Merey Toktarbaikyzy is an entrepreneur and leadership and communications practitioner based in Astana. Over more than twenty years she has worked across education, business, and social change, designing and managing executive education programs for senior Kazakh civil servants, from identifying government priorities and shaping curriculum to coordinating delivery with institutions including LSE, Sciences Po, and Duke.
Through her ecosystem Umay Global, she builds transformational programs for women entrepreneurs and leaders. She has spent nearly fifteen years developing networking culture in Kazakhstan, which she considers both a professional discipline and something that changes how societies function.
She is a former EBRD business mentor, former Rotary Club president, and Senior Lecturer in Communication Ethics at Maksut Narikbayev University.

Jarkyn Samanchina (CELA'13) has 20 years of experience in wildlife conservation, leading projects for a British NGO Fauna & Flora in Kyrgyzstan. Her work focuses on protecting endangered species like snow leopard, saker falcon, steppe tortoise and Menzbier’s marmot, as well as wild plants, including wild tulips, apples and pears, through surveys, capacity building, management plans, community support, and combating illegal wildlife trade across Central Asia. Jarkyn holds degrees in International Relations and Political Science from institutions in the USA, Turkey, Italy, and Kyrgyzstan. She has also taught at the International University of Kyrgyzstan and AUCA, and is involved in educational, charity, and art projects.

Nodira Alizoda is the Managing Director of Siyoma Mall, part of the Avesto Group in Tajikistan. She has led several major retail and hospitality projects in recent years, including Siyoma Mall, now one of Dushanbe’s key shopping and entertainment destinations.

Beyond her professional work, Nodira is passionate about mentoring young women and fostering leadership among the next generation. She believes in continuous personal growth and finding a meaningful balance between career and personal life. Travel, family, and community engagement are central to her daily motivation. She is also a proud mother of two daughters.

Aziz Akhundjanov is an Uzbek entrepreneur and telecommunications executive with 17 years of experience in IT, telecommunications, the Internet industry, and business development. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of a family-owned telecommunications business, which will celebrate its 33rd anniversary in 2027.

Throughout his career, Aziz has been actively involved in advancing Uzbekistan’s telecommunications and digital infrastructure, fostering international cooperation, and promoting the exchange of global expertise. He works closely with government institutions, international corporations, and development organizations to support industry development, introduce international best practices, and drive meaningful, sustainable change.

Aziz has built an extensive international network within the global telecommunications community, establishing professional partnerships across 10 countries. He has also served as a lead representative of the Internet Providers Expert Council and is currently a member of the Program Committees of the Central Asia Peering and Interconnection Forum, an annual regional platform bringing together industry stakeholders to strengthen Internet connectivity and cooperation across Central Asia.

Passionate about innovation, sustainable development, and international collaboration, Aziz is committed to contributing to the advancement of Uzbekistan’s digital ecosystem, strengthening regional connectivity, and creating opportunities for long-term positive impact.

Muzaffar Atamirzaev is a Partner/CEO of the International Lending Center based in Moscow. Mr. Atamirzaev was a core CELA staff member from 2008 to 2013. For the previous years, he worked in the microfinance field of Uzbekistan. Earlier, Mr. Atamirzaev worked at the Social Complex division of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan for several years.
Mr. Atamirzaev holds an MA in Economics from Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics in Moscow and BA in Economics & Management from the Tashkent Transport Engineering Institute, coupled with research at the WBI in Washington DC. In 2005, he studied lending to SMEs in Arizona State University on a Cochran Fellowship.

Meade Sutterfield is an angel investor in tech enabled services with 32 investments over three decades. After graduation from Georgia Tech (BEE) and Harvard (MBA) he began a career in technology companies. In 1985 and 1991 he founded two regional wireless carriers which merged into the rollup creating Nextel Communications.
He is active in volunteer leadership at Georgia Tech and is a past Chair of the SIBF and the Global Network Foundation (GNF). In 2002, he was one of the founders of CELA and has participated in the MELA and SEALA programs as well.
He is married to Susan and they have four married children and nine grandchildren.

Steven Raab is the Chairman of The InSource Group, which provides a variety of Information Technology services and highly qualified Information Technology professionals to its commercial clients on a contract basis. The Insource Group was a three-time qualifier in the SMU Cox Business School of Business Dallas 100, has received numerous other awards, and previously was recognized as one Texas’ fastest growing Women Owned Businesses.
Mr. Raab began his technical career at IBM, where he held various line and staff management positions in sales and vertical industry markets over a period of 17 years. He also has been the founder and President of his own custom home building company, Executive Vice President of Real Estate and Real Estate Lending for Champion Savings & Loan, and EVP of Real Time Financial Systems, Inc.
He is the past President and member of the board of The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, past Board Chair and Board member of Social Venture Partners Dallas, board member of Social Venture Partners International. Steven served as a facilitator at MELA, CELA and SEALA programs.
Steven is keenly interested in geopolitics, international security, and foreign affairs and in that pursuit, he is a member of The Tower Center Forum at SMU, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth and Dallas Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Raab is a Fox Hunter and is also interested in social innovation, travel, hand and shot gun sports (particularly skeet/sporting clays) and reading.
Steven is currently pursuing a Bachelors in International Relations and Political Science at Southern Methodist University.