The Referee, Not Either Player.

The Inner Workings of PartnerAZ

Technology vendors deserve attention. But not by creating pressure or guesswork for organizations. PartnerAZ is going where no technology discovery platform has gone before: Helping vendors earn attention by answering questions directly from the organizations themselves.

WHY PARTNERAZ EXISTS

Before we built, we asked.

The year was 2025. We spoke directly with CIOs and CTOs about one of the biggest frustrations keeping them awake at night (and on edge by day). And they all said the same thing. “We don’t want just another vendor discovery platform. We need a better way to see the market, collect real vendor answers, and analyze fit before meetings, shortlists, or formal buying processes.”

We heard, we listened, and we created the solution they wished they had.

Website & socialsPosted on your channels

Direct linkVendors answer here

FOUNDERS & ADVISORS

Leadership

Founding team

Mohamed Neklawy

Founder & CEO

Mohamed Neklawy is the founder and CEO of PartnerAZ. A top performer in sales across real estate, insurance, and technology for governments and enterprises, he sold millions of dollars through outreach, pitches, and persistence.

He experienced firsthand how AI made that playbook unbearable: municipal teams were overwhelmed and replying less, while vendors struggled to get in front of the right teams. Realized everything had changed since the birth of the internet, except how organizations discover technology. Built PartnerAZ as the long overdue reset: answers before introductions, fit before meetings, and vendors in front of the whole buying team, not one inbox. All without pressure.

He holds a BA in Law with a minor in Psychology. Outside work, Mohamed is a martial arts and chess hobbyist who hits the gym and loves time by the water with loved ones.

Khaled Magued

Founding Engineer

Khaled Magued is one of PartnerAZ’s Founding Engineers. He has shipped software across web, mobile, and cloud, and works on enterprise infrastructure and data center operations at Schneider Electric, in collaboration with Equinix.

He also built The Clash, a platform that grew from a simple scheduling tool into a full tournament system with brackets, referees, live scoring, and rankings, now used in large international competitions.

Outside work, Khaled played professional volleyball for twelve years and now plays squash, padel, and football with friends.

Ask us about the rest of the founding team.

Advisors

Ahmed Gaber

Co-founder & CTO, Diligent AI (Y Combinator S23)

Ahmed Gaber is the co-founder and CTO of Diligent AI (Y Combinator S23), whose agents automate financial crime and compliance operations for major financial institutions across Europe, the Middle East, the US, and Japan.

He spent fifteen years in fintech before that, as an early engineer at Funding Circle and then VP of Engineering at Billie, where he scaled teams in fraud, credit, and AML risk. He advises PartnerAZ on engineering and scale.

Outside work, his time goes to his wife and two young children, and the occasional attempt to get back into triathlon.

Robert Minotti

President, Romin International

Robert Minotti is an entrepreneur and business leader with decades of experience in management, coaching, sales, and business development. He is the President and Founder of Romin International, a consulting and project management firm working with major telecommunications providers across Eastern Canada.

He advises PartnerAZ the way he operates: build relationships, get the right people in the room, ask the right questions, and find solutions as partners.

Outside work, Robert enjoys boating, staying active, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Ashwin Kannoth, MEng

Sr. Security, Risk & Compliance Engineer, AWS

Ashwin Kannoth is a Senior Security, Risk, and Compliance Engineer at AWS. For over six years there, he has helped organizations meet standards such as ITSG-33, the Canadian government’s security framework, as well as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOC 2.

Earlier in his career, as an Alternate Company Security Officer, he developed deep expertise in security clearances and government stakeholder engagement. At PartnerAZ, he advises on all of it.

He holds a Master of Engineering with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence. Outside work, Ashwin skis, fishes, cooks for friends, and is an avid Dungeons and Dragons player.

IMPARTIAL BY DESIGN

We don’t crown the winner.

Our thumb isn’t on the scale. With our vendor evaluation software:

Organizations set the rules.

Vendors make their case.

We keep the scorecard honest.

Sure, money can put a vendor on the marketplace. But what money can’t buy them is a higher match score. It also can’t soften your criteria or strengthen a weak answer.

And at the end of it all, we don’t take a slice of any deal.

ENOUGH ABOUT US…

Let’s see what the market has to say.

Bring your live technology need to PartnerAZ. We’ll show you how it can gather direct vendor answers, apply your standards, and let the evidence do the talking.

BOOK A WALKTHROUGH