Hani Wafic Alayli

Chief Administrative Officer and Board Member

Hani W. Alayli was born in Beirut in March 1962, the son of the writer and journalist Wafic El Alayli, and grew up in an environment rich in ideas and public debate that left a clear mark on a career later built on negotiation, correspondence and institution building. He was educated entirely within the French system, completing his schooling at the Mission Laique Francaise in Beirut before continuing his university studies in France, where he earned a Bachelor's and then a Master's degree in Economics from Universite Lyon II, specialising in urban management and transport, a field that combines economic analysis with a practical understanding of how cities move, grow and are organised. From France he moved to Canada, where he spent seven years in academic life, completing his graduate studies and obtaining his teaching qualification through the Universite de Montreal and the Quebec Ministry of Education, then working as a professor of economics at Cegep Edouard-Montpetit in Quebec. In November 1994 he joined Solidere, the Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District, at a pivotal moment as reconstruction began. Over 29 years he was among the principal builders of property management at Solidere, developing it from nothing into a full facilities management business unit, overseeing a team of some 22 specialists including legal advisers, contract managers and financial control staff, and taking direct responsibility for a collection portfolio of around 32 million US dollars annually, alongside third-party leasing operations, contract negotiation and the building management services he helped establish and turn into a standalone commercial service. Since 2023 he has served as Chief Administrative Officer and board member at SMS Urban Management, overseeing property management across a diverse portfolio of residential towers, mixed-use buildings and commercial facilities in Lebanon, as the company expands into Saudi Arabia and Albania. He holds Canadian and Lebanese nationality and is fluent in Arabic, English and French.