HH Sheikh Sultan Bin
Tahnoon Al Nahyan
Chairman
HH Sheikh Sultan is member of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi Emirate and is Undersecretary at the Court of the Ruler’s Representative for Abu Dhabi’s Eastern Province. He is the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company and Managing Director of the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development. He has been awarded the American Federation of Arts’ “Cultural Leadership Award” for his role in spearheading the development of Saadiyat’s Cultural District, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum. He is qualified as an architectural engineer from the UAE University and holds an MA in Economic Studies, with a major in International Relations from Tufts University, USA
Ibrahim Assem
Board Member
Representing Ashmore
Mr. Assem is the Head of Private Equity, MENA, for the Ashmore Group. He joined Ashmore in 2008 from Weather Investments/Orascom Telecom in Paris where he was a Senior Manager in Corporate Finance. Prior to this, he had M&A roles at Deutsche Bank in London, Orascom Telecom in Cairo and with Merrill Lynch in London. Mr. Assem holds an MBA degree from New York University and, a BSc in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.
Mohammad Al Fares
Board Member
Representing GIC
Mr. Mohammad Al Fares is Head of Diversified Projects Division at Gulf Investment Corporation. He
is a seasoned investment professional with 20+ years’ experience in investment banking and private
investment. He has served as Chairman and Board Members of the companies in the multiple
sectors that includes healthcare, education, building materials, manufacturing, construction and
F&B. He holds BSC in Mechanical Engineering from Gannon University, MBA from Tennessee State
University and Executive Leadership Diploma from London Business School.
Badar Al Shanfari
Board Member
Representing Jabreen Capital
Mr. Badar Al Shanfari, currently serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at OMINVEST. He has over
17 years of experience in the field of Investments and Financial Services. Throughout his career
Badar has held various leadership positions including the CEO of Uzbek-Oman Investment Company,
which is the leading private equity firm based in Tashkent. He then took on a role as EVP of
International Strategic Business at OMINVEST and Deputy CEO of EastBridge Partners based out of
Singapore to lead OMINVEST’s Southeast Asian initiatives. Badar has served and is currently on
multiple Boards of various companies, in different sectors and geographies.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Duquesne University and his MBA
from Strathclyde University. In addition, Badar is a Certified Public Accountant from the United
States of America – state of Delaware.
Kartik Patel
Board Member
Representing Ashmore
Mr. Kartik Patel is Head of Alternatives at Ashmore Investments in Saudi Arabia. He joined Ashmore in April 2016 having eight years of experience in the MENA market. The Alternatives theme encompasses asset classes related to private equity, infrastructure, real estate and special situations. Prior to joining Ashmore, he worked with HSBC for 10 years in the Investment Banking Advisory team, working predominantly on corporate finance transactions with an aggregate value exceeding USD 10 billion.
Anis Saif
Board Member
Representing GIC
Mr. Anis Saif is a Senior Director in the Principal Investment Group at Gulf Investment Corporation with a focus on private equity investments in the Education, Healthcare, Food and Agriculture sectors. He has 25+ years of experience in North America and the Middle East region in Corporate
and Business Development, Investment Banking and Private Equity investments. He has engineering degrees from IIT Bombay and Purdue University and an MBA from the Wharton School (University of
Pennsylvania).