Nasser Beydoun

Nasser has earned an international reputation for building cultural and economic bridges between the U.S. and the Middle East.

Lebanon-born and American-raised, Nasser rose to prominence as executive director and then chairman of the Dearborn, Mich.-based American Arab Chamber of Commerce. The area is home to the largest Arabic population outside of the Middle East, with population estimates of more than 400,000 Arabic people.

He also co-founded the American Middle East Economic Affairs Committee, parent of the U.S.- Arab Economic Forum, in 2002. He was instrumental in developing the first U.S.- Arab Economic Forum in 2003 and was also a driving force in organizing the 2006 and 2008 events.