Launch Your Business with Confidence in Just 6 Weeks - invest in your journey!

Christine Assouad is a serial entrepreneur with over 28 years of experience, particularly in the Food & Beverage sector, where she launched renowned brands such as Dunkin’ in Lebanon and Semsom.

As a strategic advisor and board member, Christine has helped drive growth and development across multiple companies & markets, including the UAE, KSA, Europe and Lebanon.

With a passion for mentoring, she has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs and thousands of female leaders through her programs like the Empowering Tribe, the Spark Program, and recently by being a Shark on Shark Tank Lebanon with the Tribe Fund.

Christine’s extensive education graduating from AUB, McGill, ESA, Harvard Business School, her experience, her board positions, and her role on the YPO Global Retail Network, have established her as a prominent leader in retail and business strategy.

She was awarded the Middle East businesswoman of the year in 2011, became a fellow at the Culinary Institute of America in 2015 and was listed in the 100 most powerful Arab women by Arabian Business (Dubai) and Forbes Middle East for 7 years in a row.

 Lea Cremesty, a seasoned marketer with a strong track record, she has led marketing for Land Rover, Aston Martin, Honda, and Ford at Tewtel Group, and later headed marketing for City Centre Beirut at Majid Al Futtaim Properties. 

She is currently a partner at KURVE Studios, a UAE-based creative production agency serving clients across the MENA region. She also lectures MBA students at Antonine University, teaching Marketing Strategy.

In addition to her corporate work, she hosts a podcast on this is lebanonnews, spotlighting impactful local and international business stories. Her expertise spans brand strategy, creative development, media planning, PR, and new business growth.

She has been recognized with several accolades, including Marketer of the Year (Jaguar & Land Rover, 2012), and was named a Top Talent by Majid Al Futtaim in both 2015 and 2016.

 Carine Assouad, experienced executive advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the food & beverages industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Business Planning, Business Development, Turnarounds and restructuring, Financial Analysis and Venture Capital.

As a versatile leader capable of supporting high-level executive functions and transformational strategies, she specializes in guiding CEOs through pivotal transformation journeys. Her expertise spans advisory capacities, interim C-suite positions, and Chief of Staff roles, where she focuses on delivering strategic insights and operational excellence. 

Her commitment is to drive organizational change and achieve sustainable growth, ensuring leaders and their teams can navigate and succeed in complex business landscapes.

Adnan, co-founder of Upstart Bar, is currently a public policy consultant, working on high-profile 

projects in the UAE. He is a serial entrepreneur with 9+ years of startup experience. Once the co-founder and CFO of Plexo Gaming, MENA’s first e-sports startup that helps gamers monetize their passion. In the 6 years of operation, Plexo Gaming built a community of 5,000+ gamers, 

and signed players that competed in the UAE and Saudi.

Previously, Adnan served as the Programs Lead at startAD, having designed, planned, and delivered more than 12 startup programs for corporates and governments. Notably, he worked with Real Estate developers on their end-to-end corporate innovation, introducing cutting edge Prop-Tech technologies and facilitating the necessary trainings. He is certified in Disruptive Strategy from Harvard Business School, Entrepreneurial Finance from Duke, and Innovation Management

Tina, co-founder of Upstart Bar, has been in the entrepreneurial ecosystem her whole career, mainly designing and managing startup programs, delivering workshops to startups of varying stages, and coached over 100 entrepreneurs.

Currently, Tina is a startup consultant, and holds a Masters of 

Organizational Psychology from London. She is passionate about 

organizational change, people, and building efficient, mindful work cultures. Prior to Upstart, 

Tina was a Program Coordinator at startAD, having ideated, designed, and delivered more than 8 programs across several sectors, upskilling entrepreneurs of different backgrounds. Notably, Tina led on the end-to-end program delivery of a nation-wide retail SME incubator, and spearheaded corporate innovation. 

Tina is passionate about design and certified in Design Thinking and Innovation from Harvard Business School.