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

Badr Al-Olama

Vice Chairman

Nabil Ramadhan

Managing Director

Ahmed Alahmadi, CFA

Director

Hamda Eid AlMheiri

Director

Darwish Alketbi

Chairman

Badr Al-Olama

Mr.  Al-Olama is a member of the Board of Directors of SHUAA Capital since April 2021, the Vice-Chairman since June 2022 and Chairman since April 2024.

Badr Al-Olama is the Director General at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). As an entrepreneurial executive with a deep passion for transformational, impact driven investments, Badr is leading key initiatives to promote economic diversification goals.

Through strategic partnerships with international investors, Badr is fostering an environment that empowers industrial and service-based companies to develop innovative solutions for global reach and impact, propelling Abu Dhabi onto the world stage.

Prior to ADIO, Badr was handling the UAE Clusters portfolio with Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi-based global sovereign investor. He led efforts to drive economic growth and diversification across businesses that spanned aerospace, technology and healthcare. He also held several key positions during his tenure with Mubadala, including Chief Executive Officer of Strata Manufacturing and Chief Executive Officer of Hub71.

Badr is the Chairman of Emirates Post Group, United Fintech Solutions LLC, Maqta Gateway Digital Cluster, and currently serves on the board of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, YAS Holding, Emirates Drug Establishment and Etihad Credit Insurance.

Badr is the Chairman of Emirates Post Group and currently serves on the board of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) and Yas Holding.

Badr has also been leading the organising committee for the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) since its inception and has served as a member of the UAE Ministerial Council on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As a graduate of Harvard Law School, Badr began his career as a lawyer and was nominated in 2016 as ‘Young Global Leader for the Middle East and North Africa Region’ by the World Economic Forum.

Vice Chairman

Nabil Ramadhan

Mr. Ramadhan was elected as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital in April 2024 as a Director and Vice Chairman on the Board.

Nabil M. Ramadhan is the Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Dubai Holding Asset Management (DHAM), a key contributor to the growth and development of business and tourism sectors in the UAE with its leading economic districts, retail destinations and residential communities.

Nabil is responsible for overseeing DHAM’s Marketing & Communication, Business Excellence, Business & Corporate Strategy and Research & Product Development functions, while enabling synergy and innovation between the teams.

Before joining DHAM, Nabil was the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Retail, the retail management arm of Dubai Holding, where he led the strategic expansion of the company’s diverse portfolio across retail and hospitality management divisions. He was responsible for spearheading the repositioning of Sarood Hospitality as an independent leader in restaurant management and world-class concept development.

At Jumeirah Group, he served as Group Chief Real Estate and Asset Management Officer and was tasked with managing the asset portfolio of the hotel group. In his earlier position as Group Chief Human Capital Officer, he implemented a comprehensive HR strategy targeting the Group’s 14,000 employees. He also supervised operations at The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

Between 2010 and 2013, Nabil completed a successful tenure as Chief Operating Officer of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority. At the start of his career, Nabil worked as Director of Human Resources at Dubai Properties, as Head of Human Capital Services at Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone, and in the Performance Development Department at Emirates Group.

Nabil also serves on the Board of Directors of Merex Investment Group LLC. Previously Nabil served on the Board of Directors of Hospitality Research at SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell, Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Inemaj and as committee member of Emiratisation in the banking sector.

Nabil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona in the United States. In addition, he is a graduate of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development.

Managing Director

Ahmed Alahmadi, CFA

Mr. Al Ahmadi serves as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital since August 2023 and Managing Director since April 2024.

Ahmed Alahmadi is the Executive Board Member/Chief Executive Officer of Albaher Real Estate Development LLC, an asset manager overseeing a diversified portfolio of both financial and real assets. The portfolio, which includes notable regional assets and prominent landmarks, is actively managed according to a set mandate.

Ahmed’s financial experience stems from academia and extensive industry exposure, with a journey across both buy- and sell-side. Ahmed commenced his career at a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi, where he initially covered the energy industry and subsequently transitioned to a more generalist role in the centralized M&A unit. As an investment professional, his deal track- record includes notable transactions alongside reputable PE players, such as the recapitalization of a NYSE-listed Master Limited Partnership (MLP) and the acquisition of a minority stake in the leading telecommunication player in India. Ahmed subsequently served in the CEO Office of a sovereign wealth fund, where he supported government initiatives and maintained strategic relationships with senior officials.

As an investment banker, Ahmed played a role in leading projects and delivering complex M&A, strategic advisory, and debt restructuring mandates. He is proficient in financial modelling, investment analysis, risk management, and transaction structuring. Beyond project execution, he developed strong ties with diverse clients across the GCC to proactively source deals and mandates for the firm.

Ahmed serves as a Board Director on multiple publicly-listed entities in the region. He is currently a member of Dana Gas PJSC, and holds an independent role on the Audit and Risk Committee of Presight AI Holdings PLC. He previously served on the Board of GFH Financial Group BSC between 2020 and 2022, and was elected as the Chairman of the Board’s Audit, Risk and Compliance (ARC) Committee. Ahmed also served as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital psc between 2019 and 2020.

Ahmed serves as a Board Director on Dana Gas PJSC. He was a Board Director of GFH Financial Group from 2020 to 2022, where he also served as the Chairman of the Board’s Audit, Risk and Compliance (ARC) Committee. Ahmed also served as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital psc between 2019 and 2020.

As a former graduate from the school, Ahmed is honored to serve as a Trustee on the Board of the American Community School of Abu Dhabi. He also serves as an independent member on the Audit and Risk Committee of Presight AI Holdings PLC.

Ahmed is a CFA charter holder. He holds a First-Class Honours degree in Chemical Engineering (BEng) from University College London, and a Master’s degree with Merit in Risk Management and Financial Engineering (MSc) from Imperial College London.

 

Director

Hamda Eid AlMheiri

Mrs. AlMheiri serves as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital since December 2023.

Hamda Eid Al Mheiri is the Director of Government and Sovereign Relations at ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company. In her role, Hamda oversees the organization’s interactions with senior government stakeholders across local, state, and federal jurisdictions. Her responsibilities include the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive strategic framework to govern all organizational initiatives and engagements.

She also exercises authority over ADQ’s collaboration with industry advocates, aiming to leverage areas of mutual interest, while ensuring the continuous monitoring of relevant government activities globally. In a previous role at ADQ, Hamda led the Corporate Planning and Performance Department, which is an integral component of the Strategy function.

Hamda currently serves as a board member of Presight as well as several of ADQ’s international pharmaceutical assets, such as Acino International in Switzerland, Birgi Mefar Group in Turkey, and Amoun in Egypt.

Her professional career encompasses roles with the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, where she served as a Project Manager responsible for financial policy and efficiency, and the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, where she worked as a Financial Policy and Efficiency Specialist. Prior to these, Hamda held the position of Manager of Commercial Analysis for the Strategy and Planning department at Etihad Airways.

She holds a Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School and is an alumna of the Georgetown Leadership Seminar

Director

Darwish Alketbi

Mr. Alketbi was elected as a Director on the Board of SHUAA Capital in April 2024.

Mr. Darwish Abdulla Alketbi is the Group Head of Investment of the family business Darwish Bin Ahmed & Sons Group. He drives the overall investment strategy and ensures that it aligns with the investment goal and policies of the group companies by developing an efficient and goal-oriented investment plan, developing a growth strategy for new investments, implementing investment strategies, analyzing market trends, and identifying new opportunities to invest in. He has built up expertise and in-depth knowledge of the stock market, alternative investment, structured products, private equity, investment diversification, and portfolio optimization.

As a young Finance professional equipped with skills in risk assessment and risk mitigation, global market research, problem-solving, critical thinking, and investment decision-making, Darwish has taken up the challenge of managing the group’s financial assets and investments to optimize and maintain a well-balanced portfolio, devising strategies that deliver strong returns and a steady stream of cash, and drive and optimize value creation.

During the global market downturn as a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis and geopolitics, Darwish played a pivotal role in mitigating the serious effect on the Company’s short-term and long-term investment goals through rebalanced portfolio and maintained perspectives, turning the crisis into an opportunity for investing on high-grade assets at discounted prices, coupled with continuous monitoring of market landscape post-pandemic and on-going recovery period.

Currently, he sits on the board of GFH Financial Group BSC (GFH) as an independent director and member of the Board of Investment Committee and on the board of Union Properties, also as an independent director and member of the Audit Committee and Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He was also elected as independent board member in the recently concluded annual general meeting of Waha Capital.

Management Team

Chief Executive Officer

Wafik Ben Mansour

Chief Operating Officer

Ziad Mansour

Chief Compliance Officer

Islam Mahrous

Head of Real Estate Development

Otto Dreyer

Head of Asset Management

Aarthi Chandrasekaran

Head of Capital Markets

Mazen Farah

Chief Executive Officer

Wafik Ben Mansour

Wafik is the Chief Executive Officer at SHUAA Capital psc.

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 and ECM, 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.

Chief Operating Officer

Ziad Mansour

Ziad is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at SHUAA Capital PSC.

In 2007, following a successful three-year tenure as a Back Office Section Head at Blominvest Bank, he joined SHUAA Capital PSC where he became an integral part of the operations team in both the Capital Market and Asset Management divisions.

In 2012 he was promoted to Head of Operations, and subsequently to Head of Operations and IT in 2017.

With nearly two decades of professional experience, Ziad has occupied various roles within SHUAA, consistently showcasing efficacy in executing strategic plans, identifying as well as implementing enhancement opportunities across multiple lines of business.

Ziad holds an MBA from KEDGE Business School – Bordeaux France.

Chief Compliance Officer

Islam Mahrous

Islam is the Chief Compliance Officer at SHUAA Capital psc.

He joined the Group in July 2016 after transitioning from his role as a Manager in the Markets division at the Financial Regulatory Authority.

Islam is an accomplished compliance professional with over 14 years of experience in regulatory compliance and AML across the MENA region. He is renowned for his strategic oversight in compliance protocols, his adept management of complex interactions with regulators, and ensuring robust compliance cultures within financial institutions.

Beginning his career in audit, Islam has advanced through significant roles in regulatory authorities and private firms before assuming his current leadership position.

Islam holds a BCom degree in Audit and Accounting, as well as an International Diploma in Governance, Risk, and Compliance. He is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

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.

Head of Asset Management

Aarthi Chandrasekaran

Head of Capital Markets

Mazen Farah

Mazen is the Head of Capital Markets at SHUAA Capital PSC.

He joined the Group in May 2024, bringing over two decades of professional experience through a variety of distinguished roles across the industry, regionally at HSBC and ADCB and internationally, offering a wealth of expertise to our clients.

Mazen holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Finance from Imperial College London.