Soraya Beheshti is the Managing Director for Crimson Education, overseeing the EMEA+India region, and a member of the company’s core executive team. Soraya joined Crimson Education at 19 years old while studying full time at Columbia University. She established the company’s presence in the Middle East and quickly grew it to become one of the largest of the firm’s 25+ markets.
Soraya was the recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship at Columbia, from where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and was on the Dean’s List 7x. She was awarded Rising Star in Business - MENA at the MEED/Gulf Capital/FedEx SME awards in 2022. At university, she founded a non profit building blockchain technology to serve refugee communities, for which she was awarded the Columbia Innovation Award; and was a semi-finalist in the Hult Prize Ivy, the Columbia Venture Competition and the CTA Startup of the Year. For this work, she was also invited to be a guest lecturer at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC-Berkeley and CUNY. She was also selected for IvyG - the Ivy League’s First Generation College Student Conference, and the Columbia Students of Color Leadership Retreat. During her years researching and volunteering with refugee communities across Europe and the Middle East, she wrote a book of anthologies, stories and plant-based recipes from refugee homes - the proceeds of which she donates entirely to organizations serving refugee communities.
She was promoted to Regional Manager in 2020, overseeing Crimson Education’s operations in the EMEA region with 60+ employees.
She has been invited to be a panellist or keynote speaker at many regional and international events, including GITEX Global, SHE Congress (Baku), Green Fest, the Ras Al-Khaimah Trade and Investment Summit, Astrolabs and more.
She served on the board of the New Zealand Business Council for 2 years, often working with the NZ Consulate, NZ Trade and Enterprise and the Ambassador’s office. She also served as Vice President of the Columbia University Alumni Association of the UAE after four years.
How can entrepreneurship education create the innovators of tomorrow? Explore how it empowers students to solve problems, ignite innovation, and drive economic growth.
The session highlights the role of King Khalid Military College in shaping leadership qualities through systematic military education. It focuses on the approach the college takes to foster leadership development by integrating lifelong learning strategies with tactical military skills, strategic thinking, ethical decision-making, and personal growth.
The session highlights the role of King Khalid Military College in shaping leadership qualities through systematic military education. It focuses on the approach the college takes to foster leadership development by integrating lifelong learning strategies with tactical military skills, strategic thinking, ethical decision-making, and personal growth.
