Nagi Seifelnasr

Chief Financial Officer - Gas Power Systems for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia  General Electric

Finance Graduate turned CFO

When Nagi Seifelnasr joined the College of Business and Economics at the United Arab Emirates University to study Finance & Banking in 2005, he never imagined that one day he will be the CFO of $1Bn+ business.

Throughout his university years, Mr. Seifelnasr had the dream of becoming an investment banker. He was eager to graduate and go into the world. Finishing his bachelors at UAEU in 3.5 years, Mr. Seifelnasr went on to further his studies in France at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business where he earned his Masters of Science in Finance.

He attended one of the career fairs held in GGSB not knowing that he was about to learn about the Corporate world where he will go on to spend the next 9 years of his life in. Mr. Seifelnasr joined GE in 2010 as a Finance Intern in the legacy GE Oil & Gas business in Le Creusot, France where he spent 1 year learning the financial dynamics of executing long term projects and reporting of financials.

Mr. Seifelnasr then joined the 2-year GE Financial management program where he did four rotations spanning the different GE businesses and four countries. This program was a stepping stone for him to join the GE Corporate Audit Staff. An intense 5-year program to develop executives, and only 2% finish it. The five-year training program immerses entry-level GE workers in real-world audit, technology, and operations jobs. The program's participants on average will spend 100 to 120 hours a week working on their assignments. What kept me going through the intense working hours was the vast global experience and the intellectual smart people I got to work with every day he said. He spent four years in the Corporate Audit Staff, and graduated as a Senior Audit Manager. Through his four years on CAS, he held several assignments and lead teams globally across Power, BHGE, Renewables, Transportation and GE Capital with a focus on Financial Audits, Compliance and M&A integrations.

More than a year ago, Mr. Seifelnasr was appointed the Chief Financial Officer for the GE Gas Power Systems for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, and is thriving for more challenging growth in his impressive career. My advice for the students still figuring out what they want to be or do in life, keep working hard, be persistent and resilient, you will get out of it what you put in .