Adel Afiouni is a former Minister of state for Investments and Technology in Lebanon (2019-2020). He is currently the CEO of CME FZ. CME is a leading technology firm that provides end to end digital transformation solutions and customised technology solutions to large companies in the US, in Europe and in the GCC. CME is a global business, headquartered in Lebanon and with offices and businesses in more than 8 countries.In January 2019, Adel was appointed as the first Minister of State for Investments and Technology in Lebanon. During his tenure, he launched a detailed plan for the digital transformation of the Lebanese economy and passed several reform laws to support the growth of the knowledge economy, before the government resigned in Oct 2019. Prior to his appointment as Minister, Adel was a seasoned investment banker between London and New York. Adel spent 19 years at Credit Suisse in London where he held several senior managerial positions in the investment banking division in EMEA, including head of emerging markets group between 2014 and 2018. Throughout his investment banking career, Adel built a strong expertise in global markets, emerging markets and financial institutions, especially in the area of sovereign debt crisis and banks restructuring. Adel holds a master’s in engineering from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris. He also holds a Master’s in Telecom Engineering from Sup Telecom Paris, and he holds a Master’s in Finance from Université Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne.