Mahmoud Gao

Mahmoud Gao is the founder and CEO of Mr. Draper, a curated shopping service that leverages data and technology to provide a convenient and personalised shopping experience. Prior to launching Mr. Draper, Gao started his career in the US at one at Accenture, working in management and strategy consulting. Wanting a complete change of pace, he left the US for Dubai to start his career at one of the region’s leading luxury retailers, Chalhoub Group. It was at Chalhoub Group that Gao acquired a taste for fashion and luxury, which he would soon leverage to launch Mr. Draper. Born in Syria, Gao grew up in the US and holds two degrees from West Virginia University in finance and accounting. Mr. Draper is an Arabnet top 10 start up to watch, a portfolio of San-Francisco based VC 500 start-ups and winner of the Sheraa Series A programme.