Amr M. Khashogi ’77: Saudi Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Alumnus of Menlo College

Amr M. Khashogi ’77: Saudi Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Alumnus of Menlo College

By Mouwafac Sidaoui, Ph.D., Dean of the Business School, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer

Now in its second year, the Academic Global Immersion (AGI) program embeds students in international companies for a couple of weeks so they can see how economic leaders face current global business challenges, and how portfolio management and resources allocation can be affected by geopolitical issues. Our three-week Summer 2022 Academic Global Immersion to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was made exceptional through the guidance of a Menlo College alumnus, Mr. Amr M. Khashoggi ’77. When I started the conversation with Amr in January 2022, he suggested bringing the students to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Full speed ahead. Countless meetings later, Khashoggi, President Steven Weiner, and I had designed a program of high-level highimpact, academic, economic and cultural experiences. We focused on the drivers and enablers behind Saudi Arabia’s transformation to a modern nation and an important player in the regional and global economy.

Recent global geopolitical issues have increased the need for cultural and academic exchanges and understanding. Such exchanges as Menlo’s Academic Global Immersion help students and business executives to work effectively together, share knowledge, and empower each other. Friendships built over time and through common interests are invaluable. At Menlo College we are dedicated to the advancement of living and learning opportunities that foster cross-cultural competency development and provide an indepth understanding of U.S. culture.

Amr Khashoggi brought tangible benefits to our AGI, organizing company visits, providing career guidance to our students, hosting us at his company, and devoting his executive assistant for the duration of the immersion trip. He helped re-kindle relationships with Menlo alumni from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, creating a lifetime network with local and global leaders in Jeddah. We felt at home.

When people hear of Saudi Arabia, many think of the magnificent architecture of Riyadh, the commerce of Jeddah, the history of Makkah (Mecca) or the ancient cities where time stood still. But possibly the most important feature of Saudi Arabia is the hospitality of its people rooted in its ancient Arab traditions of sharing with and welcoming of strangers. I can humbly say that Saudi Arabia hosts some of the world’s most generous people! We felt the kindness of our alums as we visited their homes, and the open-handedness of new friends we met along the way.

My deepest thanks to our good friend, who made our immersion exceptional, Mr. Amr M. Khashoggi. He has promised to visit his beautiful alma mater as soon as it is possible. He has kindly offered to continue mentoring his new young friends and looks forward to having them show him around Silicon Valley and the milestones achieved by Menlo College.

Mr. Amr Khashoggi received his BA from Menlo College in 1977, and MBA from Yale University in 1979. He is the Chairman of Amkest Group (founded 1983), Founder and Chairman of Qaderoon, a non-profit organization (2014), which helps the inclusion and employment of people with disability, and has previously served as a board member for 5 years of AMIDEAST, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. that works to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa and to offer opportunities for learning and training.