Suneel Gokhale

Co-Founder and General Partner

Previously, Suneel was Senior Legal Counsel to Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), a large sovereign wealth fund based in the UAE, advising on global M&A, investment fund (VC, PE and hedge funds) and capital markets transactions. Prior to this, Suneel practiced in the Corporate group of Allen & Overy's Abu Dhabi office and at Blake, Cassels & Graydon in Toronto in the firm's Corporate Finance & Securities group. Suneel obtained a JD (with a concentration in business law) from the University of British Columbia, an MSc from the London School of Economics and a B.A. (Honours) from McMaster University (summa cum laude).

Sonia Weymuller

Co-Founder and General Partner

Previously, she was an Investment Consultant for Acumen’s KawiSafi Fund, worked in Commercial Development at Turner Broadcasting in Dubai, with Viacom’s Emerging Markets Strategy Group and with Microsoft’s Strategy and M&A team in London. Sonia is on the Board of Advisors of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) and is a Jury member and Capital Mentor for the Cartier Women’s Initiative. She also serves as the UAE Director for the Yale Alumni Schools Committee and on the Yale President’s Council on International Activities. Sonia holds a B.A. from Yale University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and is a Kauffman Fellow.

Sonia Gokhale

Co-Founder and General Partner

Previously, Sonia was an Investment Professional in the Global Special Situations Group of Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), a large sovereign wealth fund based in the UAE, focusing on venture capital and tech deals. Prior to this role, Sonia was an Actuarial Consultant at Mercer Human Resource Consulting in its Dubai and Toronto offices. Sonia is a qualified Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries (USA). Sonia obtained a BSc from the University of Toronto (with distinction) and majored in Actuarial Science and Statistics.

Tammer Qaddumi

Co-Founder and General Partner

Previously, Tammer was Vice President of Private Equity at Waha Capital, a diversified investment company based in Abu Dhabi with assets of c.$3 billion. Prior to joining Waha, Tammer worked with UBS and HSBC in New York and Dubai, respectively. He served as a Fulbright Scholar in Damascus, Syria and worked with the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House in Washington, D.C. Tammer holds a B.A. from Yale University and serves on the Board of Directors of Addax Bank in Bahrain and of the Yale Arab Alumni Association.

Maan Eshgi

General Partner

Previously, he was a Director with Coutts & Co, the wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS). Based in Geneva he was responsible for servicing key MENA clients and expanding bank operations across the region. Prior to Coutts & Co, Maan spent time with Citi Private Bank in Dubai and Geneva, managed a large family investment office in Jeddah, and traded equities & derivatives for SABB (HSBC Saudi Arabia Ltd). He has had several board positions and acted as the chairman of an investment committee for a publicly traded company. Maan holds a BS in Business Administration and is currently reading for his executive MBA at Geneva Business School.

Musaab Hakami

Venture Partner

Previously, Musaab was the Group CFO of Sary. He is a 3x entrepreneur and an experienced angel investor. Prior to Sary, Musaab was the Executive Director of Marketing Strategy at SAGIA and the Director of Global Competitiveness Forum. Musaab brings a wealth of operational experience to the investment team at VentureSouq, along with technical skills. Musaab holds a BSc from King Saud University and majored in Computer Engineering.  Musaab holds several board positions.

Tala Eavis

Chief Operating Officer

Previously, Tala worked as the Chief Operating Officer of Brand Ripplr and as a banking and finance lawyer for over 13 years in London, Dubai and Hong Kong. She was a senior associate for leading international law firms including Walkers, DLA Piper and Eversheds and completed a secondment at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong. She has expertise in English, UAE (including laws of the free zones), Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands and Cayman legal systems. Tala holds an LLB form the University of Essex and completed her legal practice course at BPP Law School.

Maria Dolores Fernandez Flores

Principal

Previously she was an Associate and an Analyst at the firm. Prior to VentureSouq, Maria was an intern at ING Bank N.V. with the High Yield Debt Capital Markets team and with KPMG UAE’s Business Performance Services division. Maria holds a B.A. from New York University Abu Dhabi where she is now a guest lecturer on climate and impact investing and is a Terra.do Fellow.

Roba Olana

Data and Investments

Joelle Khawand

Senior Operations Manager

Previously, Joelle worked for 9 years as an Executive Assistant to the CIO of Global Special Situations at The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), an investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. Prior to ADIC, Joelle worked as a Personal Assistant to the Compliance Officer in Daman Investments.