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AHMAD CHEBBANI
Board of Trustees, American Middle-East Economic Affairs Committee (AMEAC)
Ahmad Chebbani is a founder and chairman of the American Middle East Economic Affairs Committee (AMEAC), a 501(c)3 organization that supports the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum as well as the U.S.-Arab Leadership Program, The Women’s Business Council and the Council of Mayors.

Chebbani served as chairman of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC) from 1998-2006, an organization he co-founded in 1992 in order to empower other Arab American business owners. Today AACC has a member base of over 1,200 companies ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations and executive professionals.

Chebbani co-founded the 200-member Warren Avenue Business Association in 1994, which revitalized Warren Ave. both commercially and residentially. Dearborn’s Arab International Festival was also a result of this effort, which draws 300,000 people annually.

He acts as an advisor to local corporations, governments and community-based organizations on business issues, including marketing to minority groups.

Chebbani is frequently a host to foreign national visitors from across the globe as they look to engage Detroit as an economic hub between the U.S. and the Middle East in business partnership. In May of 2002, Chebbani hosted Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and local businessmen on a delegation forging the sister-city arrangement between Detroit and Dubai as part of a grander vision—to make metro Detroit the hub of U.S. trade and commerce with the Middle East. In 2003 he signed Detroit’s first Sister City Commercial Relationship with Dubai, UAE. In 2004 under Chebbani’s leadership, the AACC signed a collaborative agreement with Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce, and in 2005 they signed an agreement with the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan.

Chebbani’s lifelong advocacy on behalf of Arab-American entrepreneurs, domestically and internationally, has been top priority in his business practice. His vision is far-reaching, and he is also dedicated to building and revitalizing his birth country of Lebanon.

Appointments and Political Accomplishments:

  • Appointed as an advisor to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s Transitional Team (2005)
  • Appointed to Governor Granholm’s Commission on Arab and Chaldean Affairs (2004)
  • Appointed to Governor Jennifer Granholm’s Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors (2003)
  • Appointed Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s Transition Team Advisor (2003)
  • Appointed, by the Department of State under Secretary Powell, to the Iraqi Private Sector Development Advisory Group (2003)
  • Was invited by the secretary general of the Arab League, Amre Moussa, to address the Arab Foreign Ministers Council - Egypt around American Arab issues and to promote dialogue between the Arab world with the United States (2002)
  • Member of the American Arab team that worked closely with Al Gore, Vice President presidential candidate, on issues around Mideast peace and American Arab civil rights (2000)

Awards Received:

  • Civic Service Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) (2003)
  • OMNEX Accounting and Tax Services was featured on PBS’s “Small Business School” program as a model of small business success, and was aired in over 200 cities around the country (2002)
  • Founder’s Award of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce (2002)
  • Extra American Dreamers Award from Crain’s Detroit Business (1999)
  • Special recognition award by Yassine Jaber, the Minister of Economy and Trade, Republic of Lebanon, for promoting economic development in Lebanon (1998)

Board Affiliations:

  • Board of Governors, Arab American Institute (2002-present)
  • Co-chaired the Boy Scouts of America/AACC alliance (2006)
  • Former Chairman & Founder, American Arab Chamber of Commerce (1998-2006)
  • Board Member, Detroit Regional Chamber (2003-2006)
  • Board Member, Oakwood Health Systems (2002)
  • Advisory Board, DTE Energy Community Relations Council (2000)
  • Advisory Board, Comerica Bank Business Roundtable (2000)
  • Member of the United Way Special Task Force (2000)
  • Advisory Board, Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan (2000)
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