OUR PEOPLE

SHUAA’s strength is derived from our experienced and diverse workforce

We’re proud to employ a workforce from over 26 different countries. A quarter of our employees are women, and the average experience of our management team members spans 20 years.

26

Nationalities

20 years

Average experience of senior management

28%+

Female representation

Board of Directors

Chairman

Fadhel Al Ali

Vice Chairman

Badr Al-Olama

Director

Ahmed Alahmadi, CFA

Director

Hamda Eid AlMheiri

Chairman

Fadhel Al Ali

Fadhel Al Ali was appointed as a Board Member to the SHUAA Board in June 2019 and was appointed as the Chairman in July 2019.

His last position with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) was as Deputy Group CEO and Group Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining FAB in 2017, Mr. Al Ali was the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Holding, a global group with assets of USD 35 billion across 21 countries and interest in 14 economic sectors. Mr. Al Ali led the financial restructuring of Dubai Holding’s investment groups and led the new business model of Dubai Holding as a strategic investor.

A strategic leader with extensive experience in corporate governance and commercial roles in a variety of business contexts such as start-ups, rapid growth, fix-it and turnarounds. Focused on value creation to meet shareholder expectations. Breadth of experience, having worked in multiple industries including real estate, hospitality, investment and banking and having led corporate functional organizations such as Finance, HR, Legal, Business Excellence and Marketing and Communication.

Mr. Al Ali started his career at Dubai Municipality in 1987, before joining Citibank in 1989. At Citibank, Mr. Al Ali quickly rose up the ranks and was appointed as UAE Head of Distribution, before his departure to join Dubai Holding in 2004.

Mr. Al Ali is the Chairman of Dubai Financial Services Authority and is a board member with Commercial International Bank (EGYPT) and is the Vice-Chairman of WIO Bank. Apart from this, he is the Chairman of IMKAN WATERFRONT-Morocco.

Mr. Al Ali holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and System Engineering from University of Southern California and a degree in High Performance Boards, International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne.

Vice Chairman

Badr Al-Olama

Badr Al-Olama is the Director General at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). As an entrepreneurial executive with a deep passion for transformational, impact driven investments, Badr is leading key initiatives to promote economic diversification goals.

Through strategic partnerships with international investors, Badr is fostering an environment that empowers industrial and service-based companies to develop innovative solutions for global reach and impact, propelling Abu Dhabi onto the world stage.

Prior to ADIO, Badr was handling the UAE Clusters portfolio with Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi-based global sovereign investor. He led efforts to drive economic growth and diversification across businesses that spanned aerospace, technology and healthcare. He also held several key positions during his tenure with Mubadala, including Chief Executive Officer of Strata Manufacturing and Chief Executive Officer of Hub71.

Badr is the Chairman of Emirates Post Group and currently serves on the board of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) and Yas Holding.

Badr has also been leading the organising committee for the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) since its inception and has served as a member of the UAE Ministerial Council on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As a graduate of Harvard Law School, Badr began his career as a lawyer and was nominated in 2016 as ‘Young Global Leader for the Middle East and North Africa Region’ by the World Economic Forum.

Director

Ahmed Alahmadi, CFA

Ahmed Alahmadi is the Chief Executive Officer of Albaher Real Estate Development, an asset manager overseeing a diversified portfolio of both financial and real assets. The portfolio, which includes notable regional assets and prominent landmarks, is actively managed according to a set mandate.

Ahmed’s financial experience stems from academia and extensive industry exposure, with a journey across both buy- and sell-side. Ahmed commenced his career at a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi, where he initially covered the energy industry and subsequently transitioned to a more generalist role in the centralized M&A unit. As an investment professional, his deal track- record includes notable transactions

alongside reputable PE players, such as the recapitalization of a NYSE-listed Master Limited Partnership (MLP) and the acquisition of a minority stake in the leading telecommunication player in India. Ahmed subsequently served in the CEO Office of a sovereign wealth fund, where he supported government initiatives and maintained strategic relationships with senior officials.

As an investment banker, Ahmed played a role in leading projects and delivering complex M&A, strategic advisory, and debt restructuring mandates. He is proficient in financial modelling, investment analysis, risk management, and transaction structuring. Beyond project execution, he developed strong ties with diverse clients across the GCC to proactively source deals and mandates for the firm.

Ahmed serves as a Board Director on Dana Gas PJSC. He was a Board Director of GFH Financial Group from 2020 to 2022, where he also served as the Chairman of the Board’s Audit, Risk and Compliance (ARC) Committee. Ahmed also served as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital psc between 2019 and 2020.

As a former graduate from the school, Ahmed is honored to serve as a Trustee on the Board of the American Community School of Abu Dhabi. He also serves as an independent member on the Audit and Risk Committee of Presight AI Holdings PLC.

Ahmed is a CFA charter holder. He holds a First-Class Honours degree in Chemical Engineering (BEng) from University College London, and a Master’s degree with Merit in Risk Management and Financial Engineering (MSc) from Imperial College London.

Director

Hamda Eid AlMheiri

Hamda Eid AlMheiri heads the Government Affairs function for ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company.

In her role, Hamda is responsible for the organization’s interactions with senior government stakeholders on the local, state, and federal level, ensuring that there is a robust strategic framework in place to guide all initiatives and engagements. She also holds authority over ADQ’s collaboration with industry advocates, aiming to leverage areas of joint interest, and oversees the continuous monitoring of relevant government activities globally. In a prior position at ADQ, Hamda led the Corporate Planning and Performance Department which forms part of the Strategy function.

Hamda is currently a member of Board of Directors of Presight, her professional track record includes roles with the Abu Dhabi Executive Office as a Project Manager in charge of financial policy and efficiency and the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi as a Financial Policy and Efficiency Specialist. Previously, Hamda served as Manager Commercial Analyst for Strategy and Planning at Etihad Airways.

Hamda is a holder of Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School and a Georgetown Leadership Seminar alumni.

Management Team

Acting Chief Executive Officer

Wafik Ben Mansour

Group Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

Bachir Nawar

MD, Head of Private Markets

Ajit Vijay Joshi

Head of Public Markets

Aarthi Chandrasekaran

Head of Real Estate Development

Otto Dreyer

Acting Chief Executive Officer

Wafik Ben Mansour

Wafik is the Acting Chief Executive Officer at SHUAA Capital psc.

He joined the Group in May 2023 from Credit Suisse, where he was a Managing Director in charge of Investment Banking and Capital Markets across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Wafik advised on high-profile transactions in the region across M&A and ECM, including Omantel’s USD 2.2 billion acquisition of a stake in Zain Group, ADQ’s USD 740 million acquisition of Amoun Pharmaceutical, Noon’s USD 335 million acquisition of Namshi, Careem’s USD 500 million private placement, Aramco USD 29.4 billion IPO, etc.

Wafik holds a Master’s Degree in Finance from ESCP Europe, Paris.

Group Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

Bachir Nawar

Bachir is the Group Chief Legal & Compliance Officer of the Group and manages the multijurisdictional legal and compliance requirements of the business.

With over 18 years of experience, Bachir focuses on transactional cross border work, strategic distressed opportunities and contentious matters. He is known for his expertise in the area of shareholder activism, he specializes in governance improvement while implementing portfolio turn-around strategies.

Bachir holds an LLB from Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.

MD, Head of Private Markets

Ajit Vijay Joshi

Ajit Joshi is the MD, Head of Private Markets at SHUAA Capital psc. Ajit is also the SEO of SHUAA GMC Limited, which is the investment manager of Goldilocks Investment Company Limited and various other market funds.

Ajit serves on the board of Dana Gas, Islamic Arab Insurance Company (Salama), and other private companies.

Ajit has over 19 years of experience in technology consulting, equity research, investment banking and investment management.

Prior to joining the Group, Ajit worked with Bank Muscat’s investment banking team, where he advised and executed equity and debt advisory transactions across GCC’s petrochemicals, contracting, oil gas services, marine and hospitality sectors.

Ajit holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Engineering and holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow.

Head of Public Markets

Aarthi Chandrasekaran

Aarthi is the Head of Public Markets at SHUAA Capital psc. Aarthi is also the Director of Investments at SHUAA GMC Ltd.

Aarthi has over 10 years of regional expertise in banks/financial sector and macroeconomics.

Aarthi has a strong background in portfolio management on both regional Fixed income and Equities.

Aarthi holds an MBA in Finance and Financial Management with a specialization in Econometrics.

Head of Real Estate Development

Otto Dreyer

Otto is the Head of Real Estate Development. He hosts a wealth of experience in managing and leading development projects internationally throughout their entire lifecycle.

Otto has a range of leadership skills, placing trust as a key value by which to lead and aiming to bring about the best in people and the communities within which we operate. He built a career in real estate investment and development across asset classes and multiple jurisdictions.

With a Real Estate and Finance background, Otto achieved an MBA from the Graduate School of Business in Cape Town.