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Ms. Al Lawati will also serve as Chief Investment Officer for Abraaj's MENA region
Dubai, UAE, 15 April 2015: The Abraaj Group ("Abraaj" or "the Group"), a leading investor operating in global growth markets, today announced the appointment of Huda Al Lawati as a Partner and Chief Investment Officer for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Ms. Al Lawati was previously a Managing Director at Abraaj and has been leading the Group's investments across MENA in sectors such as oil and gas, healthcare, education, and food and beverage. In her new role as Partner and Chief Investment Officer, MENA, Ms. Al Lawati will be responsible for originating, executing and monitoring the Group's investments across the region, helping build a pipeline of new investments, and enhancing collaboration and value creation across the Group's partner companies to ensure consistency with Group mandates and values. MENA is one of the five regions in which the Group invests, the others being Africa, Asia, Latin America and Turkey.
Commenting on the appointment, Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive, The Abraaj Group, said: "I am delighted to announce Huda's appointment to the position of Partner and Chief Investment Officer for MENA. Huda joined our firm over a decade ago as an analyst and has performed an extraordinary role over this time, growing into a strong leadership position. She embodies the values and professional excellence that we look for in our team and we wish her every success in this new and challenging role".
Ms Al Lawati added: "Over the past decade, The Abraaj Group has pioneered private equity investment in our target growth markets. It has been a privilege to have played a contributing role to Abraaj's development and growth, and particularly in helping position the firm as a leading player in the fast growing MENA region. I greatly look forward to taking on my new responsibilities as we continue to grow our dynamic firm."
Ms Al Lawati has more than 12 years' experience in private equity and finance and joined Abraaj in 2004. Notable transactions she has worked on include the acquisition of Abraaj's stake in Turkish healthcare group Acibadem, a major food and beverage acquisition in the GCC, and Abraaj's investments in Kuwait Energy and oilfield services business, Viking International.
Prior to joining Abraaj, Ms. Al Lawati worked for Schlumberger and ABQ Zawya. Ms. Al Lawati holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from Brown University. She is a member of the Young Arab Leaders and serves on the steering committee of the MENA Private Equity Association.
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For more information please contact:
Iain Gibson
Finsbury
T: +971 (0)55 338 7748
E: iain.gibson@finsbury.com
Grace Chaoui
Finsbury
T: +971 (0)55 632 9593
E: grace.chaoui@finsbury.com
About THE ABRAAJ GROUP
The Abraaj Group ("Abraaj" or "the Group") is a leading private equity investor, purpose-built for operating in the growth markets of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Turkey.
Employing over 300 people, Abraaj has over 25 offices spread across five regions with hubs in Dubai, Istanbul, Mexico City, Nairobi and Singapore. The Group currently manages c. US$ 9 billion across regional, sector and country-specific Funds.
Abraaj has realized c. US$ 5.1 billion from over 70 full and partial exits, and Funds managed by the Group have made over 140 investments across 10 sectors including consumer, energy, financials, healthcare and utilities. The Group is committed to the highest environmental, stakeholder engagement and corporate governance standards and is a signatory to the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and the United Nations Global Compact. Abraaj's founder, Arif Naqvi, was appointed to the United Nations Global Compact Board by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012 and to the Interpol Foundation Board in 2014.
This publication is issued by Abraaj Capital Limited ("ACLD" or the "Firm"), a member of The Abraaj Group that is authorised and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority ("DFSA"). Several Group members are regulated by a number of international regulatory authorities including the DFSA under whose rules ACLD has issued this publication.
© Press Release 2015
