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

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 and MIRA BANK-Serbia.

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 an entrepreneurial executive with a deep passion for transformational impact-driven investments. During his tenure with Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), Badr was responsible for the UAE Clusters portfolio which included a diverse set of businesses that span across aerospace, technology, and healthcare; forging strategic partnerships with global organizations and establishing a startup ecosystem to further contribute towards economic growth and diversification.

Badr is the Chairman at Emirates Post Group and currently serves on the board of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), SHUAA Capital, Yas Holding, and various automotive joint ventures. Badr has been leading the organizing committee for the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) since its inception, prior to which he was the former Chief Executive Officer of Strata Manufacturing, the former President of the UAE Harvard Club, and previously served as a member of the UAE Ministerial Council on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Badr was nominated as a ‘Young Global Leader for the Middle East and North Africa Region’ by the World Economic Forum in 2016. He began his career as a lawyer and holds an LL.M from Harvard Law School.

Director

Maha AlQattan

Director

André Sayegh

Director

Ahmed Alahmadi, CFA

Director

Maha AlQattan

Maha AlQattan is the Group Chief People & Sustainability Officer at DP World, she is focused on empowering DP World’s 100,000 employees across 71 countries and ensuring the business operates responsibly and sustainably.

Maha is passionate about driving measurable business value through culture, performance management and talent development – the People function is key to fostering smarter thinking, innovation and stronger outcomes. Since joining DP World, Maha has transformed the HR function from one of traditional practices to far more innovative and agile ways of working.

As Chief Sustainability Officer, Maha leads DP World’s sustainability strategy: Our World, Our Future, ensuring measurable impact is achieved across the Education, Women, and Water pillars.

Maha represents DP World at the World Economic Forum and in a number of UN compacts.

Maha serves as Non-Executive Director for several organizations, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Ms. AlQattan has a master’s degree in Industrial and Labour Relations, from Cornell University (USA) and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a graduate of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development Promising Leader’s programme run by Duke University and INSEAD.

Director

André Sayegh

André Sayegh is a seasoned C-suite executive with over three decades of experience in banking and financial services. He served as Board Member of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) from 2021 to 2023, having served as FAB Group Chief Executive Officer until January 2021. He was also a member of FAB Board audit committee and FAB Board Risk and ESG committee.

Moreover, he has been appointed Chairman of Multiply Group since December 2021 (Multiply is listed on Abu Dhabi Stock exchange with a market cap in excess of $10B).

As CEO of FGB, André was a key figure in the merger of FGB and NBAD to form First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) in 2017 to become the largest and most profitable bank in the UAE.  From 2017 to 2019, he served as FAB’s Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer to HE AbdulHamid Saeed and Head of Corporate and Investment Banking, responsible for driving the bank’s international business expansion.

André served FAB and its predecessor bank, First Gulf Bank (FGB), with distinction for over 20 years, assuming several senior executive positions, including Chief Executive Officer of FGB from 2006 to 2017. During his tenure at the bank, and jointly with HE AbdulHamid Saeed MD of FAB, André led FGB transformation from being the smallest of the 24 banks in the UAE to become one of the largest financial institutions by net profit in the UAE and the region.

His previous experience includes serving on the Board of Mubadala Infrastructure Partners (MIP) and holding senior positions with Citibank for 18 years, within Corporate Banking, Consumer Banking and Private Banking in various international locations, including London, New York, Geneva , Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

André is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and conversational Spanish. He holds a BBA in Finance and an MBA in Corporate Finance and Banking from the American University of Beirut and completed a project at Columbia University majoring in the evolution of financial institutions.

Director

Ahmed Alahmadi, CFA

Ahmed Alahmadi is the CEO of Albaher Real Estate. He is a Board Member and independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee for ADX-listed Presight AI Holdings. He is also a Trustee for the American Community School of Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Alahmadi’s professional career has spanned time at Mubadala, Rothschild & Co, and most recently in the CEO Office of ADQ, where he supported government initiatives and maintained strategic partnerships.

Mr. Alahmadi is a CFA charter holder. He holds a First-Class Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from University College London and a Master’s degree in Risk Management and Financial Engineering from Imperial College London.

Management Team

Group Chief Executive Officer

Fawad Tariq Khan

Bechara Raad
Group Chief Operating Officer

Bechara Raad

Group Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

Bachir Nawar

MD, Head of Public & Private Markets

Ajit Vijay Joshi

MD, Head of Investment Banking

Wafik Ben Mansour

Head of Debt

Natasha Hannoun

Head of Real Estate Development

Otto Dreyer

Finance Director

Gunshyam Kripa

Group Chief Executive Officer

Fawad Tariq Khan

Fawad is the Group Chief Executive Officer at SHUAA Capital psc, the DFM-listed entity and a leading asset management and investment banking platform.

Fawad also serves on the Board of Directors of Northacre-London and NCM a global FX and commodities platform.

Fawad started his career with Deloitte based out of London before joining the Dubai office where he helped set up its Middle East debt advisory practice.

He holds an MSc in Business Studies from UCD Smurfit Business School and a BSc in Computer Science from University College Cork. Fawad also served with the Irish Reserve Defence Forces in the military police.

Bechara Raad

Group Chief Operating Officer

Bechara Raad

Bechara is the Group Chief Operating Officer responsible for overseeing the Group’s support and operational functions and ensuring timely provision and allocation of human, financial and physical resources. Bechara has over 30 years of professional experience, having held several senior positions in the financial services industry, including Chief Operating Officer at Credit Suisse for the Middle East and Africa and Chief Operating Officer at Audi Capital in Saudi Arabia. He also has extensive experience in hi-tech firms and entrepreneurial ventures.

Bechara holds an MBA from INSEAD (MBA ’95D), an MSc in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech (MS ’91), and a BEng from the American University of Beirut (BE ’89).

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 Public & Private Markets

Ajit Vijay Joshi

Ajit is the MD, Head of Public & Private Markets. He is also the investment manager of Goldilocks Investment Company Limited, an investment fund launched in 2015. Goldilocks has a mandate to invest in listed equities by taking a constructive activist role and unlock value.

Ajit joined the Group in August 2014 and has over 16 years of professional 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 Indian Institute of Management Lucknow.

MD, Head of Investment Banking

Wafik Ben Mansour

Wafik is the MD, Head of Investment Banking. 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, ECM and Financing, 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.

Head of Debt

Natasha Hannoun

Natasha is the Head of Debt.

Natasha has broad experience in advisory, origination, structuring and execution across multiple asset classes including Private Equity and Debt Investments, Real Estate and Fixed Income.

Over the last five years, in her previous role as a Director with the Private Debt platform of the Group, she has structured over USD 7 bn in financing, including last mile and mezzanine financing.

Prior to joining the Group in 2014, Natasha was part of the Corporate Finance and Debt Advisory team at Deloitte Corporate Finance Advisory in Dubai.

Natasha holds an MSc in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Bristol in the UK with a year at University of Bologna, Italy.

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.

Finance Director

Gunshyam Kripa

Gunshyam is the Finance Director of the Group and also serves on the Audit Committee of SHUAA Capital Saudi Arabia.

Gunshyam joined the Group in October 2016 and has over 17 years of professional experience in financial reporting and audit.

Prior to joining the Group, Gunshyam worked with Deloitte and mainly focused on financial services clients, including banks and private equity firms.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with Finance from University of Mauritius and is a fellow member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (“ACCA”).