ABP Board Members

Captain Khalid Issa Al-Hamadi is a seasoned aviation leader with more than 15 years of experience in commercial aviation and executive flight operations management. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Flight Operations at Qatar Airways, where he oversees global flight operations, regulatory compliance, safety management, and crew training across one of the world’s most modern and diverse fleets.

A certified Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) holder and Synthetic Flight Instructor (SFI) on the Boeing 787, Captain Al-Hamadi has led major initiatives in flight standards, fatigue risk management, and fleet efficiency optimization. His strategic oversight ensures operational excellence and alignment with international aviation authorities including QCAA, ICAO, FAA, and EASA.

In addition to his aviation leadership, Captain Al-Hamadi plays a significant role in Qatar’s broader educational and sporting sectors. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees at the Academic Bridge Program (ABP), Qatar Foundation, contributing to strategic governance and partnerships that strengthen university readiness and student success. He also serves as an Advisory Council Member at Lusail University’s College of Commerce and Business, helping align academic programs with industry needs.

He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Massey University, New Zealand, specializing in air crash investigation and airline decision-making, and a Higher Diploma in Aviation from Qatar Aeronautical College in partnership with Nakhon Phanom University, Thailand.

Michael Trick is the dean and chief academic officer of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Appointed in 2017, Dr. Trick has led the campus through a period of significant growth and development. Under his leadership, CMU-Q has expanded its student population, application numbers, research activity, course offerings, and launched the first Bachelor of Science degree in Artificial Intelligence in Qatar.

Dr. Trick joined the Carnegie Mellon faculty in 1989 after earning his Ph.D. in industrial engineering at Georgia Tech. A distinguished researcher and educator in the field of operations research, he holds the Harry B. and James H. Higgins Professor of Operations Research chair, an appointment he received in 2012.

Dr. Trick is a prominent figure in the international operations research community. He is a fellow of both INFORMS and IFORS, and served as president of both organizations. He has authored more than fifty professional publications, edited six volumes of refereed articles, and consulted extensively with organizations such as the United States Postal Service, Major League Baseball, and various college basketball conferences.

Safwan M. Masri, Ph.D., is the Dean of Georgetown University in Qatar and a Distinguished Professor of the Practice at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Before joining Georgetown in October 2022, Professor Masri served as Executive Vice President for Global Centers and Global Development at Columbia University and was a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Before that, he held the position of Vice Dean and Professor at Columbia Business School, and previously taught engineering at Stanford University. He was also a visiting professor at INSEAD (Institut Européen d’ Administration des Affaires). Dean Masri is the author of Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly (Columbia University Press, 2017). He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association. He is the founding chairman of King’s Academy and Queen Rania T eacher Academy in Jordan. Currently, he serves as a trustee of International College in Beirut, a director of AMIDEAST and of Endeavor Jordan, and Chair of the Lusail Museum Research Institute Advisory Committee. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University.