Our People

Magdi Kassabgui founded Reliance in 1998. He started the business with a cement trading activity & his entrepreneurial acumen enabled him to turn Reliance into an elaborate fully integrated trading & logistics services provider to the cement industry. Throughout the first 20 years, Magdi believed in growing through vertical integration & kept building businesses that serve the cement industry further including: trucking, ready mix, aggregates & alternative fuels.

Today, Magdi’s entrepreneurial ambitions have been directed to diversifying the group’s activities to cater to Egypt’s dynamism & build the appropriate environment for future generations.

Prior to founding Reliance, Magdi held the position of Marketing Manager for 6 years in a French multinational company.

Magdi graduated from the American University in Cairo with a major in Economics & a minor in Business Administration.

Karim ElSabee joined Reliance in 2002 and serves as Reliance’s vice-chairman. He has been a cornerstone of the diversification strategy of the group since its inception. Driven by his passion in Quality of Management and a strong belief in the powers of synergies, Karim has been instrumental in the establishment of each of Reliance’s businesses throughout the years.

Since 2006, he has been serving as the CEO of Reliance’s Mining & Minerals activity making it the dominant player it has become today. He has always sought to diversify the company’s portfolio of industrial minerals moving from quartz & aggregates to phosphate & basalt.

In 2015, Karim co-founded the Waste Management & Alternative Fuels platform. Karim has been a passionate leader in the fight to decarbonize heavy industry notably the cement industry ever since. He has been driven by the environmental & social potential this activity has on the community and inspired his teams to always reach new heights. Throughout his years in Reliance, Karim has invested a lot in the people that helped make each business thrive through his positive mentorship & leadership style. His vast experience in operations management has facilitated Reliance’s swift expansion into each new business line.

Karim holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering & Masters in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. 

Sherif Shenouda joined Reliance Egypt in September 2001 and since then, he has been exposed to Reliance’s vast number of industries: Fleet Management, Port Operations & Stevedoring, Trading, Mineral Handling & Processing, Waste Management & Processing, Maintenance as well as technology-related fields such as ERP Implementation, ISO Implementation & Auditing, and Software Development & Data Analytics.

Sherif has been contributing immensely to Reliance’s technical milestones & ongoing technological developments. He is extremely passionate about passing on the knowledge acquired through the years to his fellow team members & is considered the technical guru in Reliance.

Sherif holds a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo with a concentration in Design & Industrial Engineering and a Minor in Electronic. Sherif also holds a Masters of Science in Manufacturing Modelling from the University of Bath.

Ahmed Helmi is the Group chief financial officer & a Board Member of Reliance. In this role, he leads the company’s Finance organization and represents the company with multiple stakeholders. He oversees Accounting & Controls, Treasury, M&A, Reporting & Analysis, Strategic Planning & Risk Management.

Prior to joining Reliance Egypt in 2015, he held several executive senior positions with CEMEX Egypt & UAE in the areas of Finance & Treasury, Strategic Planning, Business Development and Post Merger Integration. 

Ahmed holds a Financial Management degree from the Arab Academy for Science & Technology, as well as, a MBA in International Finance & Business from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Amira Hamdy is the Internal Audit, Compliance, & Controls Director. She is a transformational leader that steers the Corporate Governance change while establishing the Internal Audit vision & reinforcing the Internal Control Systems. She is responsible for maintaining a culture of compliance & for developing advanced risk management programs. Prior to joining Reliance, Amira held the position of General Manager for Imerys Ceramics Egypt, the world leader in mineral-based products, and prior to that, she was the head of Finance for the Retail division in Total Energies Egypt.

She knows how to best lead a corporate transformation by applying process optimization techniques, through team building & complex projects management.   

She led a management transformation with her former employer Imerys Ceramics Egypt, and was part of the Total/Shell acquisition team.

She graduated with a Financial Bachelor from the French University in Egypt & holds a Management degree from Poitiers University, France.

She also holds a MBA in Internal Audit & Management Control from Sorbonne University, France.  

Ahmed El Afifi is the Managing Director of Reliance Ready Mix since 2022. Ahmed has held various senior leadership roles within Egypt & the Middle East. He started his career in Sika Egypt in 1997, moved to CEMEX in 2000, where he held various roles in Egypt & the UAE, where he held the positions of Abu Dhabi Regional Director & UAE Production Director until 2007. 

Ahmed then moved to Reem Ready Mix in Abu Dhabi as a General Manager until 2013, moved to Egypt to hold different C level roles in ASEC Ready Mix, DAR Ready Mix & Lafarge Ready Mix & Aggregates. 

From 2019 until 2022 Ahmed was the Managing Director of Better Pack for Paper Products prior to joining Reliance.

Ahmed holds a bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Hesham El Sawy joined Reliance in 2015, after representing and working for first class Shipowners in the dry bulk shipping segment.

He has an extensive experience in dry bulk chartering, shipping operations and port operations since 2010, and is an expert in the field of dry bulk shipping, freight hedging and international commodity trading.

Hesham strives for excellence, and has successfully and efficiently applied his experience, dedication, and remarkable leadership skills to establish, manage, and grow a reliable and trusted shipping arm serving Reliance’s business partners, and various counterparts.

His professional background, and well-established global network of Shipowners, Ship-Operators, Shipbrokers and Charterers allows the company to offer and deliver a top-quality worldwide sea transport / shipping services at competitive prices.

Hesham holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo, and Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Maritime Law from City, University of London.

Farah Ibrahim brings over 10 years of trading experience in the industry. She has a proven track record of success in managing complex trading operations and delivering exceptional results.

Her expertise lies in developing and executing trading strategies, risk management, identifying new business opportunities and building strong relationships with suppliers & customers. She has a deep understanding of market trends and uses this knowledge to make informed decisions that maximize profits & minimize risk.

Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her ability to lead and motivate teams to achieve their goals. She is a strategic thinker who is always looking for ways to improve processes and increase efficiency. Her strong communication skills allow her to effectively

collaborate with colleagues, clients and stakeholders at all levels.

She joined Reliance in 2013 and had the opportunity to engage in a wide range of activities within the group, which allowed her to gain a comprehensive understanding of the company’s operations and equipped her with the necessary skills to excel in her current role.

She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University in Cairo with a Concentration in Finance & a minor in ​Economics. She also holds CFA I.

Omar Ragheb is a highly experienced senior executive who has been in the logistics & supply chain industry in Egypt & the Middle East since 2006. Driven by the belief that people development is the key to success, he is an effective team builder with exceptional leadership & communication skills.

His passion for turning visions into realities has moved him to put in place effective structures, actions and processes to turn the company into a leader in the industry. He has proven to be capable in terms of constituting the company vision, implementing strategic goals and creating a road map for the company, which has contributed to his ability to deliver profitable growth.

Recognised for his capability in accomplishing goals & achieving results, as well as his diversified portfolio of experience, he has been assigned the responsibility of providing training to employees, helping the company to reach greater heights with a more skilled workforce.

Omar holds Bachelor’s & Master’s degrees in Management of Trade, Logistics & International Transportation from the Arab Academy of Science & Maritime Transport. He also holds a Supply Chain diploma from the American University in Cairo as well as a MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University.

Moheb Kassabgui joined Reliance Egypt in 2022, where he leads the Business Development department.

Prior to joining Reliance, Moheb worked at Compass Capital for Financial Investments, where he worked on several buy-side and sell-side advisory transactions in the sectors of education, healthcare, real-estate and others. In his time at Compass Capital, Moheb was heavily involved in the early stages, day-to-day leasing operations of the Walk of Cairo, an outdoor mixed-use development in West Cairo.

Moheb holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, with a major in Strategic Management & a minor in Finance.

Yasmine Kassabgui started her career at Reliance in 2017, where she has been working as a Strategic Planning professional. She has been involved in transactions aligned with the group's growth plans. She is driven to institutionalize the business into a sizable corporation that would put Reliance on a thriving path. She is now working closely with the board on Reliance’s development ambitions & strategic goals.
She is now in charge of diversifying the commodity trading portfolio into different markets & different commodities.

Yasmine holds a Commodity Trading Diploma from the University of Geneva & a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill university with majors in Operations Management & International Business.