OPEN DC Pre-Annual Event Dinner & Annual Event

Across November 8-9, 2019 OPEN Washington DC hosted its Pre-Annual Event Dinner and 2019 Annual Event. The dinner took place at 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, VA (www.2941.com). It was a vibrant and engaging evening with more than 50 attendees including Charter Members, Executive Committee, Annual Event Speakers, Sponsors and Guests. OPEN DC Chairman Hasnain Aslam and President Aakif Ahmad welcomed the group with opening remarks, followed by comments from the Honorable Asad Khan, Ambassador to the United States from Pakistan. Later in the evening, Charter Member Qaisar Shareef and guest speaker Shuja Nawaz, shared perspectives from their thought-provoking books, respectively When Tribesmen Came Calling: Building an Enduring American Business in Pakistan and The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighborhood.

OPEN Washington DC’s 2019 Annual Event took place at Tyson’s Corner Marriott, Tyson’s Corner, Virginia. It was a terrific day of networking, insightful speakers, exchange of ideas and informative workshops. The event overall was a great success. In the post event feedback survey, 98% of respondents said they would recommend participating in the OPEN DC Annual Event to a friend or colleague.

The Speakers included

Workshops

In addition, this year’s program included, for the first time, four in-depth workshops led by accomplished experts in their field:
These workshops were a tremendous success; in the post event feedback survey, 94% of respondents recommended we continue the workshop model for the 2020 OPEN DC Annual Event.

Startup Pitch

The Annual Event culminated in a Start-Up Pitch Competition with four finalists and three judges: Shahed Amanullah , Managing Partner, Frost Capital, Amber Chaudhry an Intrapreneur, CX Strategist & Diversity Advocate and Faheem Noor Ali, Entrepreneur and Climate Finance Trade Commissioner. We congratulate Rahul Kulkarni, CEO and Co-Founder of The Sukhi Project on winning the 2019 OPEN DC Annual Pitch Competition.

Team not found

We thank the OPEN Washington DC Executive Committee</span> who organized a terrific event, and, as one participant commented, “made it all look so effortless.” We thank the staff at Tysons Corner Marriott for their terrific cooperation in hosting and supporting the Annual Event. We also thank our marketing partner, Caandor Labs, and recruiting partners American Pakistan Foundation StartUps Ignite, Muppies DC , and CDRS. And, we extend our tremendous appreciation to our Individual and Corporate Sponsors who provided the important financial support that enabled the experience on November 8th and 9th to be a positive and energizing one for all participants.
Wishing Wonderful a Happy Holidays and New Year. We look forward to seeing you at OPEN DC Events across 2020!