Aladdin Saba

Position: Vice-chairman and CEO, Beltone Financial

Biography: Aladdin Saba has a history of establishing investment banks in Egypt. In 2002, he co-founded Beltone Financial, which in addition to Egypt, has operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UK. He made the move after serving as managing director of asset management at EFG-Hermes for six years. Saba co-founded Hermes Financial, which merged with Egyptian Financial Group in 1996 to establish EFG-Hermes, where he also had a seat on the board. He has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania and worked for Kidder, Peabody & Co in New York before returning to Cairo in 1991 to set up the firm’s Middle East office. While there, he was involved in mainly corporate finance transactions including privatisations. Saba is a member of the Egyptian Capital Market Association and The Egyptian Investment Management Association.

Contact: Tel (+2022) 792 6610

Hassan Heikal

Position: Co-chairman and CEO, EFG-Hermes

Biography: Under Hassan Heikal’s leadership, EFG-Hermes, the largest Egyptian investment bank by market capitalisation, has gained regional prominence. The bank has expanded out of its home base in Cairo and set up investment banking and brokerage businesses in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In 1995, Heikal joined what was to become EFG-Hermes following the merger of Egyptian Financial Group and Hermes Financial a year later. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs. Since joining EFG, he has overseen several large telecommunications transactions, including advising Telecom Egypt on its bid for Egypt’s third mobile licence and its acquisition of a stake in Vodafone Egypt, the sale of Jordan’s Fastlink to Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company and the initial public offering (IPO) of Orascom Telecom shares, which in 2000 was the largest Egyptian IPO to date.

Contact: Tel (+2023) 338 3626

Maha Khaled al-Ghunaim

Position: Chairwoman and managing director, Global Investment House

Biography: Maha Khaled al-Ghunaim is managing director of Kuwait-based Global Investment House, which she founded in 1998. Her involvement with the bank has made her one of the most prominent business women in the region. On the back of a regional stock market boom and growth in initial public offerings, Global has expanded aggressively. It has operations, affiliates, investments and funds in the region including Sudan, Jordan, the GCC, Egypt and the Palestinian Territories, as well as Pakistan and the US. Al-Ghunaim is a director of the Dubai International Financial Exchange and Kuwait’s National Industries Group Holding. She started her career at Kuwait Foreign Trading Contracting & Investment Company, where she became head of portfolio management. Later she was assistant general manager of asset management at Kuwait Investment Company.

Contact: Tel (+965) 804 242

Salah al-Fulaij

Position: CEO, NBK Capital

Biography: In January, Salah al-Fulaij took over from George Nasra as chief executive officer (CEO) of NBK Capital, the investment banking unit of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK). Al-Fulaij was previously group general manager of investment services and treasury at NBK, and his appointment marked the consolidation of the subsidiary and brought investment services, including merchant banking and asset and wealth management, into the unit. NBK Capital is now expanding and planning to establish an office in Cairo to add to its offices in Kuwait, Dubai and Istanbul. Al-Fulaij continues to supervise the NBK’s treasury department, in addition to NBK’s private banking subsidiary in Switzerland and its London-based investment management joint venture with Morgan Stanley. He joined NBK in 1985, working in Kuwait and New York for its international banking and treasury divisions.

Contact: Tel (+965) 224 6900

Iyad Duwaji

Position: CEO, Shuaa Capital

Biography: Syrian-born Iyad Duwaji has worked at Dubai-based Shuaa Capital for 20 years, of which the past seven have been as CEO. When he joined in 1988, the firm was known as the Arabian General Investment Corporation. He has led Shuaa’s diversification away from an investment company to providing a range of financial services to investors and companies in the region, where Shuaa is one of the largest brokerage companies. In 2004, Duwaji oversaw the establishment of a separate private equity arm, Shuaa Partners, which has since launched two funds. Shuaa operates in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and has offices in Beirut, Cairo, Doha and Istanbul, and funds that invest in equities across the region. Duwaji is on the boards of Port Egypt for Packaging Materials, Oman National Investment Corporation Holding, Qatar’s Amwal and Hospitality Europe of the Netherlands.

Contact: Tel (+9714) 365 1872

Esam Janahi

Position: Chairman, Gulf Finance House

Biography: Esam Janahi is one of the founding members of Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) and was previously its CEO. The bank was established in 1999 and has taken advantage of the growing demand for sharia-compliant investments, focusing on private equity and real estate investment opportunities in the region. The bank aims to expand its client base beyond the region and listed global depository receipts on the London Stock Exchange in 2007. Janahi is chairman of several projects in which GFH has invested, including the Bahrain Financial Harbour, Jordan Gate and energy city developments in Doha, Mumbai, Libya and Algiers. He has held senior posts in several Bahrain-based banks including First Islamic Investment Bank, now private equity firm Arcapita, Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf and Taib Bank. Janahi is a member of the Shura Council in Bahrain.

Contact: (+973) 1753 8538