Arif Naqvi founded Abraaj Capital in 2002, creating what is today the Middle East’s largest private equity group. After graduating from the London School of Economics, Mr. Naqvi began his career at Arthur Andersen and later American Express Bank. He moved to Saudi Arabia to work for the Olayan Group before founding an investment company called Cupola in 1994. Cupola’s purchase of Inchcape Middle East in 1999 was the region’s first leveraged buyout. In 2008, Institutional Investor described Mr. Naqvi as the Gulf’s ‘buyout king’. He sits on numerous boards including Swiss business school IMD, the Pakistan Human Development Fund, the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation & Achievement in Jordan and the Dubai Government Education Endowment Fund. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Arab Business Council and the Advisory Council of the Washington-based Emerging Markets Private Equity Association. Mr. Naqvi is married with two children.

Abraaj Capital

Abraaj Capital is the largest private equity group in the Middle East, and invests in the growing Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. Since inception in 2002, the Dubai-based group has raised about US$ 7 billion and distributed almost US$ 3 billion to its investors. It has made more than 35 investments in 11 countries and exited 20. The group operates offices in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. About 155 people work at Abraaj, including some 75 world-class investment professionals. Abraaj has holdings in 25 companies, including some of the most prominent in the region. Abraaj has won several international awards, including ‘Middle Eastern Private Equity Firm of the Year’ from London-based Private Equity International four years in a row. Abraaj Capital Ltd., a member of the Abraaj Capital group, is licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The group is also an associate member of the European Venture Capital Association.