Lara Shapiro was born and raised in the USSR. Until the age of 3, she lived in Russia, until the age of 11 she lived in Kazakhstan, then until the age of 23 she lived in Russia, in the Urals. In 1988 she moved to Yekaterinburg, in 1994 she moved to Dubai for permanent residence. Holds an MS in Business Management and a PhD Business Technology. Successfully led companies in the oil and gas sector, the UAE Navy, construction and architecture (UAE), media, banking & finance, IT (IBM).