Hassan Al Thawadi to speak at the “Dean’s Lecture Series” at Carnegie Mellon

Press release

Published January 16th, 2012 - 08:33 GMT

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar will host a public event this Tuesday January 17 with a presentation by Mr. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. In a lecture titled "Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup:The Path to Success”, Al Thawadi will recall the journey of Qatar’s bid to host the planet’s foremost tournament and share the challenges and myths it sparked.

The event, which is part of the ‘Dean’s Lecture Series’ will take place in the university’s assembly area in Education City from 12pm to 1pm, and is open to the public. The Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar’s latest initiative is geared at enabling students to engage with prominent figures from key industries and leaders of the academic field.

Hassan Al Thawadi currently holds the position of Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee. His appointment in March 2011 follows on from his role as CEO of Qatar’s 2022 Bid Committee, where he worked closely with Bid Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, in promoting Qatar’s revolutionary and eventually successful attempt to bring the FIFA World Cup to the Middle East for the first time.

Al Thawadi is a law graduate from the Sheffield University, United Kingdom. He is a General Counsel at state-owned Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Qatar Holding (QH). Al Thawadi played a key role in the recent QIA and QH investments in Porsche, Volkswagen, Barclays Bank, the New York Stock Exchange and Harrods. Prior to joining QIA in 2007, Al Thawadi worked for Qatar Petroleum. He also holds board positions within the Hassad Food Company.

According to a ranking undertaken by Legal Business Magazine, Al Thawadi is among the top 30 international lawyers under the age of 40, while the Arabian Business Magazine ranked him the 19^th in its annual ‘Power 500’ list of the world’s most influential Arabs.

Background Information

Carnegie Mellon University Qatar

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has challenged the curious and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters. A private, top-ranked and global university, Carnegie Mellon sets its own course with programs that inspire creativity and collaboration.

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation began a partnership to deliver select programs that will contribute to the long-term development of Qatar. Today, Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science, and information systems. Nearly 400 students from 38 countries call Carnegie Mellon Qatar home.