Omar Danial Selected as Webster Geneva Commencement Speaker

Webster Geneva welcomes 2025 commencement ceremony alumni speaker, Omar Danial, an international expert in finance, commercial real estate development, entrepreneurship, education, hospitality and powerboat racing.

The commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 10 and honor graduates from Webster Geneva’s Summer 2024, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 programs.

Danial graduated from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland, where he earned a BA in 1991 and an MBA in Finance in 1996. He began his career in 1989 at Finial Holding S.A. — a privately owned investment company — as director, where he developed investment strategy across sectors, including private equity, real estate and hedge funds.

In 1996, Danial became president of the board of Manotel Holding S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finial Holding S.A. In this capacity, he oversaw commercial real estate and developed and repositioned a small hotel portfolio into several unique boutique hotels in Geneva, taking their valuation from CHF 70 million to more than CFH 350 million in fewer than 10 years. In late 1998, Danial joined Avalon Asset Management as a managing partner. The firm specialized in allocating assets and advising clients on hedge funds. In late 2000, he co-founded Segetia Wealth Management S.A., a company specializing in alternative investments. In 2008, the financial crisis reshaped Danial's investment strategy and vision, and his focus shifted solely to impact-related social investments.

In early 2010, Danial relocated from Europe to Dubai to pursue his passion of powerboat racing, a sport in which he was already a three-time world champion, having won back-to-back world champion titles in the Superboat OPT World Championship races (1992 and 1993) and placing first in the 1992 American Power Boat Association (APBA) World Championship race. He accrued two more world champion titles after his move to Dubai, winning the Superboat Stock World Championship powerboat races in both 2011 and 2012.

While in Dubai, in 2012, Danial founded the first Swiss International School in the MENA region, the Swiss International Scientific School Dubai (SISD). The school was the first in the region to offer the International Baccalaureate program. Offering a multi-lingual International Baccalaureate curriculum, SISD is currently the largest Swiss School worldwide, with a current enrollment of approximately 3,000 residential and day students. Situated on a world-class 75,000 meter campus, SISD is included in the Schools Index as one of the 150 best private schools in the world and is listed among the top 15 schools in the Middle East. In 2023, Danial sold the school to Nord Anglia Education for a record price for a single education campus.

Not only does Danial have professional expertise in finance, business and education, he is also a passionate and driven entrepreneur. Restructuring his life mid-career led him to develop numerous projects from scratch based on personal passion and commitment. He is now viewed as a social entrepreneur with expertise in both hospitality and education, both of which remain very strong Swiss sectors.

“It is rare for a university to have an alumnus whose exceptional talents are equal to his commitment to entrepreneurialism and educational development,” said Ryan Guffey, Webster University Director General for global campuses. “It is a delight for me to introduce Omar to this year’s graduates. I am confident they will be inspired by his extraordinary experience and globally fostered perspective.”

Webster Geneva Campus is fortunate to welcome Danial as a 2025 commencement ceremony alumni speaker.