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Innovation Starts Here

The future belongs to those who can see it coming—and act.

The GW Catalyst Program is an immersive innovation experience designed for future leaders, founders, change makers, and policy-makers. Participants explore emerging global trends and learn how to capture opportunity through our exclusive 3S Model, designed by award-winning scholar and Program Director Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy:

Dr. ElTarabishy curated five key themes he considers the core body of knowledge every modern leader must master. These five pillars form the intellectual backbone of the inaugural Catalyst program:

  • Energy & Precious Metals
  • Medical Innovation
  • High-Performing Teams
  • Strategic Innovation
  • Artificial Intelligence
Learn About Catalyst Pillars

Why Catalyst?

  • Because the future belongs to leaders who can see the whole system.
  • Because ideas only matter when they are executed.
  • Because artificial intelligence must be integrated into strategy, not treated as a side project.
  • Because no strategy succeeds without a high-performing team to carry it forward.

The Integration of Theory with Practice

What truly sets this experience apart is the seamless weaving of ideas with action, where theory steps out of the classroom and into the world. Anchored in GW’s unrivaled proximity to global power and possibility, and amplified by its vast international network, participants engage directly with the institutions that shape markets, policy, and opportunity. From the halls of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the United States Congress, to the voices of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Small Business Administration, they gain rare insight into how policy is forged, entrepreneurship is championed, and capital flows—emerging with a deeper understanding of how ideas become impact.

The Catalyst 3S Model

SYSTEM
Understanding complex global ecosystems — markets, technologies, institutions, geopolitics, and industries.

SKILLS
Mastering the tools of leadership — strategy, finance, innovation, AI, teamwork, and execution.

SELF
Cultivating the leader within — purpose, ethics, resilience, emotional intelligence, and growth.

3 S Model

Dedicated Leadership

Sevin Yeltekin

Şevin Yeltekin

Dean;
Professor of Finance

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Şevin Yeltekin is Dean of the GW University School of Business and a professor of finance. Previously, she led the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and held senior academic leadership roles at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business; she is a macroeconomist whose research focuses on fiscal policy, social insurance, and the macro-finance implications of economic policy.
Ayman El Tarabishy

Ayman El Tarabishy

Founder of Catalyst and Teaching Professor of Management, GW School of Business; President & CEO, ICSB

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Dr. El Tarabishy is Founder of Catalyst and Teaching Professor of Management at The George Washington University School of Business. He is President & CEO of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Small Business Management and founded the United Nations MSMEs Day (June 27).

Catalyst Team

Joseph Miranda

Joseph Miranda

Assistant Dean, Operations

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Joseph Miranda is the Assistant Dean of Operations and Interim Executive Director of the F. David Fowler Career Center at The George Washington University School of Business. He joined GW after a 28-year career at Accenture, where he held senior leadership roles and retired as global director of operations for corporate development and mergers & acquisitions. His experience spans commercial and federal work with expertise in operations, finance, M&A, pricing, and project management, along with university lecturing and career counseling. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and an M.S. in Engineering Management from The Catholic University of America.
George M. Jabbour

George M. Jabbour

Vice Dean for Executive Education; Program Director, Master of Science in Finance; Professor of Finance

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George M. Jabbour is a professor of finance at the GW School of Business.
Herman Aquinis

Herman Aguinis

Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar & Professor of Management

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Herman Aguinis is the Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Management at the George Washington University School of Business, where he has also held several leadership roles. Since 2018, he has been named annually to the Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers list as one of the world’s most impactful scholars in Economics and Business. A past president of the Academy of Management and inductee into The PhD Project Hall of Fame, his interdisciplinary research focuses on talent, performance, leadership, and organizational research methods, with recent work spanning corporate responsibility, diversity, innovation, and the future of work. He has published and presented widely around the world and has served in major editorial and professional leadership positions. He earned his Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University at Albany, SUNY.

Catalyst Interest Form

Download the Brochure

Having co-written the most downloaded article in 2015-2016, Dr. El Tarabishy’s article on Entrepreneurial Leadership was published in the Journal for Small Business Management. More recently, he has been quoted promoting small business and entrepreneurship through the means of Humane Entrepreneurship for the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Labour Organization, and the United Nations.

Dr. El Tarabishy previously worked for the World Bank’s Corporate Strategy Group. There, he assisted in developing and managing their technological strategy for the Developmental Marketplace Program. This program set out to identify and support the creation of cutting-edge solutions to the world’s most pressing social and economic concerns. To date, the Global Development Marketplace competition has successfully granted over the US $125 million in awards to 650 winning proposals.

While assisting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Dr. El Tarabishy aided in the development of effective methods to engage in business in Egypt. His created program, aimed to promote social development and business, was adopted by the largest U.S. delegation mission to Egypt.

Continuing to consult and conduct executive training for several national and international organizations, Dr. El Tarabishy’s clients include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

Professional Associations

  • International Council for Small Business 
  • SME World Forum
  • USASBE
  • Academy of Management
  • Member, Entrepreneurship Division

Professional Specialties

  • Designing and Conducting Organizational Research Focused on Leadership and Entrepreneurship
  • Design and Implementation of Leadership Development Programs
  • Designing Humane Entrepreneurship Development Sessions
  • Assisting Executives and Managers in the Design and Implementation of Major Cultural Change Efforts in Organizations

Clients

  • Among Dr. El Tarabishy’s clients have been the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the National Federation of Small Business (NFIB), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the United States Association for Small Business (USASBE).

Credentials

Professional Associations
  • International Council for Small Business 
  • SME World Forum
  • USASBE
  • Academy of Management
  • Member, Entrepreneurship Division

Among Dr. El Tarabishy’s clients have been the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the National Federation of Small Business (NFIB), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the United States Association for Small Business (USASBE).

  • Co-author of the most-downloaded JSBM article in 2015–2016 on Entrepreneurial Leadership.
  • Quoted on Humane Entrepreneurship by the World Bank, OECD, ILO, and the United Nations.
  • World Bank – Corporate Strategy Group: Helped develop and manage technology strategy for the Development Marketplace Program, supporting cutting-edge solutions to global social and economic challenges. To date, the Global Development Marketplace has awarded US$125M to 650 winning proposals.
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Designed a program to advance business engagement and social development in Egypt; adopted by the largest U.S. delegation mission to Egypt.
Professional Specialties
  • Designing and Conducting Organizational Research Focused on Leadership and Entrepreneurship
  • Design and Implementation of Leadership Development Programs
  • Designing Humane Entrepreneurship Development Sessions
  • Assisting Executives and Managers in the Design and Implementation of Major Cultural Change Efforts in Organizations
  • Renko, M., El Tarabishy, A., Carsrud, A. L., & Brännback, M. (2012). Entrepreneurial leadership and the family business. In A. Carsrud & M. Brännback (Eds.), Understanding family businesses—Undiscovered approaches, unique perspectives, and neglected topics (International Studies in Entrepreneurship series, Vol. 15, pp. 169–184). Springer.
  • Iandoli, L., Parente, R., & El Tarabishy, A. (2011). TechnoModel—Creative destruction in the Italian high fashion industry. In T. M. Cooney (Ed.), Cases in European entrepreneurship. Brussels: European Entrepreneurship Case Study Resource Centre.
  • Monsen, E., Urbig, D., Renko, M., El Tarabishy, A. E., & Schoedt, L. (2010). Explaining entrepreneurial intent and behavior: Moderating effects of efficacy and control beliefs. Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 30. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.