Aline Daoud is the Founder and Managing Director of Konnect & Co, one of the first all-female-led construction engineering and procurement companies operating across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Oman, and Lebanon. As a trailblazing entrepreneur in the male-dominated construction sector, she delivers value-engineered solutions in interior design, furnishings, and owner representation for high-end clients including palaces and VIP projects like Galerie Lafayette in Qatar.
Background
Aline began her career as a procurement engineer in Qatar after moving there in 2013, working on construction sites in a field she was drawn to from childhood visits with her engineer father. Growing up in a family of engineers, she was fascinated by how technical ideas become lasting structures like buildings and roads, graduating with hands-on experience in a male-dominated industry.
In 2017, at nearly 28 years old, Aline founded Konnect & Co amid Qatar’s embargo before FIFA, spotting an opportunity to provide timely, quality procurement of materials like furnishings, carpets, curtains, and decorative lights. She secured her first major client, a friend in the industry, leading to the Galerie Lafayette project within a year. To build trust, she visited over 300 factories in Lebanon, China, and Europe, selecting reliable suppliers and creating bi-monthly Excel progress reports with photos that gave clients visibility, earning praise and repeat business.
The company expanded to offer interior design advisory, supply, and owner representation services, focusing on end-to-end delivery for luxury projects while keeping a lean team of 10 all-female members who oversee on-site installation. During crises like COVID, Aline adapted by listening to client needs, simplifying solutions, and maintaining personal concierge-like support, proving resilience and growing to multiple countries without massive scaling.
During COVID, Aline self-studied blockchain, partnering with Dr. Don Tapscott to become Managing Partner at the Blockchain Research Institute Middle East, leading education, white papers, events like the 2022 Blockchain Revolution Summit in Qatar and a larger one in Saudi Arabia, and project management implementations across KSA, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, and Oman. She balances both ventures by splitting her day, recently restructuring for efficiency post-Oxford, focusing on high-impact VIP clients and government collaborations.
Across her career, Aline has led women-led teams across five continents, disrupted construction procurement, bridged traditional industries with tech, and earned recognition as Women Entrepreneur of the Year at the 5th Edition Middle East awards, building trusted brands through competence over stereotypes.
Core Expertise
Aline specializes in supply chain management, value engineering, and owner representation in construction and hospitality across the GCC and MENA regions, pioneering all-female teams that excel in detail-oriented luxury interiors. She is known for turning chaos into simplicity through clear communication, on-ground presence, and client-centric systems in male-dominated fields.
Her approach emphasizes building trust via bi-weekly progress reports, limiting options to three per meeting, and leading by example with weekly team huddles for idea-sharing and accountability. In blockchain, she drives adoption through education in Arabic, government-private collaborations, and events, while applying Gemba Walks to verify factories and developer workflows firsthand, saving costs and preventing errors.
Academia
Aline holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the American University of Beirut (2011), providing the technical foundation for her procurement and construction expertise.
She completed an Executive MBA at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, pursuing it alongside running two companies to gain finance, strategy, and global networks, describing it as life-changing for frameworks like Gemba Walks and post-grad restructuring.
Aline is a lifelong learner, earning certificates in Blockchain Revolution from INSEAD and the Blockchain Research Institute (2020), Entrepreneurial Mindset from Babson University (2020), and Supply Chain Finance and Blockchain from the New York Institute of Finance (2020). She currently pursues a diploma in diplomacy in Geneva to advocate for women in construction with policymakers, viewing education as a luxury essential for impact.
Key Perspectives that Aline Daoud Shares on the Podcast
Aline shares that entrepreneurship demands shifting from problem-solving employee to systems-building founder, emphasizing over-communication, on-site verification like Gemba Walks, and viewing crises as opportunities by listening to clients, as seen in navigating Qatar’s embargo and COVID while scaling Konnect & Co.
She highlights building high-performing all-female teams through emotional intelligence, listening over speaking, and leading by example without micromanaging, while unlearning perfectionism for timely action. In blockchain, personal curiosity during COVID led to regional leadership, and she advises experimenting to find passion, prioritizing fulfillment in achievement and client happiness over scale.
A Quote from this Conversation with Aline Daoud
“No one has it figured out because from the outside, it always looked like everyone is moving confidently and with certainty. But eventually what I discovered is that everyone is trying just like me.”
