Dr. Hefni received a Doctorate degree in Business Administration in strategic management, business economics, and public administration, and a Master of Business Administration in Industrial Management from the University of Southern California; and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of Alexandria, Egypt.

His experience with government and industry included Hughes Aircraft Company (a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation) where he held the positions of Chief Economist and Director of Business Research; Manager, Financial Planning and Systems; Manager, Corporate Economic Forecasting; and Head, Management and Operational Audits. Prior to joining Hughes, he held financial management positions with the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (a public agency involved in urban renewal), and Shell Oil.

In academia, he is the President of University of Dubai since April 2001. He served as the Dean of the College of Business and Economics at the United Arab Emirates University. This service resulted in the accreditation of the college (the first in the Middle East) by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

Also, he served on the faculty of the School of Business Administration and Economics at California State University, Fullerton and the University of California at Los Angeles. He taught graduate and undergraduate courses in management policy, strategic planning, management and organization behavior, management theory, leadership and motivation, business & society, integrated decision making, international business policies & strategies, planning and control systems, organization design, organization development, and the management of organization change. He developed and conducted management development seminars for middle managers in companies including Bechtel, Hughes Aircraft, Litton, Lockheed, Mattel Toys, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop, and TRW. Dr. Hefni also served on the Business Advisory Council of the College of Business Administration, California State University, Long Beach from 1982 to 1996.

Dr. Hefni was a former member of the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, the Planning Executives Institute, the Southern California Corporate Planners Association, the National Association of Business Economists, the American Economic Association, the American Compensation Association, the Institute of Cost Analysis, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the National Contracts Management Association. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified Cost Analyst.