EVP Strategic Planning and Business Development
First Equilease
Total years of experience :29 years, 11 Months
First Equilease offers flexible equipment leasing services in Kuwait and the GCC region focusing on the petroleum, industrial, and infrastructural sectors.
Notable Achievements:
• Played an integral role in continued growth of the company by leveraging entrepreneurial & visionary ideas.
• Key member of the firm’s Executive Leadership Team, administered financial planning and analysis, dexterously provided financial vision consistent with the strategic plan and direction of the Company.
• Superintended a dynamic team across multiple roles - business planning, strategy, business development, and structuring transactions.
Key Responsibilities:
• Providing vision, leadership and strategic advisory to deliver excellent results and achieve the company’s goals.
• Steering planning initiatives towards the accomplishment of organizational goals & vision about the overall execution of the projects.
• Delivering hands-on deal leadership of transactions.
• Managing stretched business targets and strategic roadmaps and KPIs.
Amar, registered with Central Bank of Kuwait, and listed in the Kuwait Stock Exchange is a Shari'a-compliant real estate finance company with a capital of KD 20 million. Its widely experienced team continuously works towards launching innovative and out-of-the-box investment solutions and structured products to maximize investors' wealth.
Notable Achievements:
• Bought on board for commanding proprietary investments and corporate planning initiatives for real estate finance company.
• Played a vital role in shaping many of the key strategic developments for formation of Amar, right from staff recruitment/selection to articulation of strategy.
• Successfully launched 3 investment indices for various markets that beat the benchmarks consistently.
Key Responsibilities:
• Structured several complex financial transactions, including Istisna’ transaction with second-degree mortgage assets that were syndicated to several investment companies and an innovative Sukuk issue using leasehold contracts and second-degree mortgages as underlying assets.
• Established a Consulting & Advisory Department in 2011, offering financial business intelligence & benchmarking services to SMEs. Deliverables - preparation of prospectuses & complex forecasting models
• Championed building human capital capability, strong talent pools, and transformation/business teams, thus facilitating growth, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Interactive Limited is one of the leading Web, software development & online consultancy agencies in the GCC. Its long-standing reputation has helped it secure key E-Government and large enterprise-based accounts within the region.
Notable Achievements:
• Head-hunted as CFO for an Internet-based IT company that is more than 50% owned by Deutsche Bank.
• Established complete corporate finance architecture, created a financial blueprint, and aided in achieving the company’s robust goals.
• Played a key role in designing and launching an internet-based real estate portal for Dubai.
• Facilitated acquisition of 2 small IT businesses in South Africa & Lebanon; boosted efficiency by enabling design and programming in different locales.
Key Responsibilities:
• Provided strategic insights to historic investment decisions, and delivered solutions for strategic planning, scenario modeling, board & management reporting, and budgeting & forecasting.
• Annual budgeting and planning process owner, provided expert advice to ensure that budgets are on target & 100% aligned to the strategic direction of the company.
• Led implementation of Hyperion business intelligence package (OLAP) to support customers’ effective balanced scorecard, budgeting, planning, business intelligence, and reporting functions.
• Proffered financial stewardship and business intelligence for the corporate finance and financial consulting company. Aided with: debt restructuring, valuation, private equity raising, business planning, and financial modeling.
• Secured strategic investors for a major local petroleum importer and retailer. This resulted in the successful sale of a 75% stake to a Middle Eastern concern, significantly increasing company value. Additionally, restructured $30 million in debt, improving the company's financial health.
BLC Bank SAL is a Lebanese financial institution offering banking, insurance, and asset management services.
Notable Achievements:
• Leveraged visionary thought leadership to command investment banking and financial planning activities ultimately contributing to the bank's balance sheet reaching $1 billion.
• Coordinated IPO initial public offering for a major retailer with a balance sheet size of $100 million.
• Shouldered onus for achievements of the Bank’s Growth and Profitability agenda.
• Technology savvy, created and implemented simulation software used to forecast the bank’s financials.
• Bear witness to the overwhelming progress of the Bank, orchestrated market transactions that became the first family business/bank in Beirut to list on the Beirut Stock Exchange. (Another entity later acquired the bank).
• Aided the bank in securing a license for a subsidiary investment bank, which under my leadership achieved a return on equity of 30% within a short period of six months.
Notable Achievements:
• Elected as Senior Member on various committees charged with strategic and financial planning, development, direction, and operation of the bank with a balance sheet size of $2.5 billion ($26 billion today).
• Augmented bank equity by conducting negotiation of bank valuation with Flemings (arranger), assisted in preparation of Offering Memorandum, and conducted road show presentations.
• Played a pivotal role in the formation and raising of capital funds for the new investment bank, Lebanon Invest.
• Second In Charge managed financial restructuring of one of the bank’s foreign subsidiaries with a balance sheet size of $250 million.
• Considered SME invited as guest speaker for several seminars sponsored by the Association of Arab Banks.
• Coordinated $32 million equity increase for the bank via Global Depositary Receipts; the first GDR to be issued by a Middle East entity.
• Pioneered the launch of the first long-term housing loan program in Lebanon; the program involved a 12-year loan maturity and included adaptation of accounting, marketing, and legal aspects, as well as hedging strategies.
Previous Professional Experiences:
1990-1993: Partner & Business Development in Charge, Intraco, Paris, France
Assisted French contracting companies in cultivating alliances with Middle Eastern partners in order to secure joint bids for projects in GCC countries.
1989-1990: Financial Analyst & Portfolio Manager, Royal Bank of Canada (Suisse), Geneva, Switzerland