A strong team of over 190 employees serving clients from offices across the Middle East, the US, and India is Markaz’s biggest asset

Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Mr. Alghanim’s career spans the financial services industry, asset management, insurance, and various commercial and professional enterprises in the Middle East and internationally. Founding Chairman of the Union of Investment Companies (UIC) from 2004-2009 and active member of various NGOs in Kuwait and abroad.

Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and member of the Board Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Partner and Manager at Al-Baseet Trading Co. and at Al-Jallal Real Estate Co. Holds a university degree from Alexandria University.

Member of the Board Nomination & Remuneration Committee. Member of the Board of Directors of the Alshaya group of businesses, a family company founded in Kuwait in 1890, and General Manager since 2016. Chairman of Al Ahleia Insurance Company, and director at Mabanee Company KPSC. Holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kuwait University.

Chairman of the Board Risk Management Committee and member of the Board Audit Committee. Managing Partner of Kuwait Projects Group Company. Board member of Al-Dorra Petroleum Services. Holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Washington University.

Member of the Board Risk Management Committee and the Board Nomination & Remuneration Committee. Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Manager of Kapico Group Holding Co. since 2003 and holds managerial positions in several of its subsidiaries such as Abdulaziz Ahmad Alghannam & Bros Co., SAMA Medical Service (Royale Hayat Hospital), Kuwait Auto Parts Imports Co., and The National Spare Parts Co. Member of the Board of Directors Al Ahleia Insurance Company since 2005. Holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the U.S.A.

Member of the Board Risk Management Committee. Managing Partner of Al-Mehan Holding Company WLL., and member of the Board of Directors of Almutawir Regional Real Estate Developers (S.A.K) and Chairman of Dar SSH International Consultants (B.S.C). Member of the Industrial Advisory Board to the Australian College of Kuwait, the Real Estate Academic Initiative (REAI) at Harvard University and the Kuwait Society of Engineers. Holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in project management and finance from Northeastern University, Boston. Completed the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate– Office of Executive Education from Harvard University.

Non-executive board member. Member of the Board Audit Committee and member of the Board Risk Management Committee. Mr. Mohammed Saad Al Saad has more than 20 years of extensive experience in the financial and commercial sectors. He is currently the CEO of Keifan Holding and a Board Member at Gulf Cables & Electrical Industries and Kuwait Pillars Holding (KSC Closed). He holds a degree in Finance and Financial Institutions from Kuwait University.

Ali H. Khalil is the Chief Executive Officer of Markaz. He has been working with the Markaz Group of Companies in Kuwait and the United States for more than 33 years. Since 2010, he has been the Chief Operating Officer of Markaz, overseeing both the Asset Management and the Investment Banking aspects, with all their underlying activities including Mutual Funds, Portfolio Management, and Real Estate & Private Equity, in addition to the Advisory, Corporate Finance, and Capital Markets functions. He joined the Markaz group of companies in 1989 as the President of Mar-Gulf Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Markaz located in Los Angeles, California, which manages its real estate investment activities in the USA. Under his tutelage, the real estate investments activity was expanded to include the MENA region, with a special focus on GCC, and later, Europe. Mr. Khalil holds an MBA degree from INSEAD, France, as well as M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University, USA.

Abdullatif W. Al-Nusif is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Markaz. He joined Markaz in 2004 and has over 20 years of experience in the asset management and investment banking industry. Earlier, he handled various roles in corporate finance and international and MENA real estate at Markaz, before joining the Wealth Management & Business Development in 2013 as its head. Al-Nusif has served as a board member of many companies. Mr. Al-Nusif holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Denver. Completed the Stanford Executive Program (SEP) at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Ahmed AlFalah has joined Markaz in 2024 as part of the Investment Banking department focusing on advisory, capital markets and direct investments at Markaz. AlFalah has over 20 years of experience across corporate finance, M&A, and private equity across various industries. AlFalah holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College, USA and completed executive programs from Harvard Business School in Leadership and M&A.

Alexander Salamoun joined Markaz in 2015 as part of the Post Acquisition department working very closely with the relevant revenue departments to ensure that the investment products are managed optimally. As of 2020, Alexander heads the Strategic Planning & Transformation Department, working very closely with the CEO to define the strategic objectives of Markaz and ensure that they are efficiently implemented. He is also head of Custody Service at Markaz. Alexander holds an MBA from Insead, a BBA from the Lebanese American University, and is currently a CFA and CAIA charter holder.

Ghazi Al-Osaimi joined Markaz in 2007 as a trader in charge of client portfolios and options trading in the Kuwait stock exchange. He currently manages local equity funds: Markaz Investment & Development Fund (Midaf), Markaz Excellent Yield Fund (Mumtaz), and Markaz Islamic Fund. He also supervises Forsa Financial fund and is the Head of the Securities Broker department. Ghazi holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Finance) from Gulf University for Science and Technology – June 2006.

Mr. Abrar is the Chief Financial Officer at Markaz. Having joined Markaz in 2014 to assist in leading the Financial Management Department, he deployed Oracle Financials and is currently implementing SAP BPC and Analytics to improve efficiency through automation, realigning people, procedures, and practices. Prior to joining Markaz, he handled senior roles in Noor Financial Investment Company and Burhan Holding Company in Kuwait, gaining substantial professional experience in the Investment Banking, Construction, Contracting, and Audit and Assurance Services industries. He began his career in Pakistan with A.F. Ferguson & Co (PricewaterhouseCoopers), where he worked in Global Risk Management Solutions, Business Advisory, and Assurance Services. Mr. Abrar holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Punjab University, Pakistan, and is a Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan

Maha A. Imad joined Markaz in 1997 in the Private Equity Funds Investments Department, managing the portfolio of investments in international private equity funds in a well-diversified strategy and markets based on the company’s strategy. In 2005, she set up the Fund Administration Department to manage the regulatory and legal affairs of Markaz managed funds and entities, across different jurisdictions; and in the process set-up the inhouse legal team. From 2014 and currently, Maha is the appointed Board Secretary of Markaz. Maha holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the Lebanese American University.

Rasha A. Othman is the Executive Vice President of Investment Banking (Fixed Income & Capital Markets) at Markaz. She has 22 years of Investment Banking Experience during which she executed numerous mandates covering advisory services such as, restructuring, listing, credit rating advisory, and debt structuring, in addition to several capital market transactions such as equity placements, Sukuk, and bonds structuring and placement. In 2009, she spearheaded and co-managed the Markaz Fixed Income Program that invested over USD120 million in GCC discounted bonds and Sukuk, and in 2011, she played a leading role in launching the Markaz Fixed Income Fund that invests in MENA bonds and Sukuk. Ms. Othman holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the American University of Cairo, and a master’s degree in economics from the University of London.

Deena AlRefai is the Executive Vice President and Head of Wealth Management at Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”, with over 20 years of experience in wealth management, institutional relationships, and advising HNWI and UHNW clients across Kuwait and the GCC. Since joining Markaz in 2005, she has played a key role in strengthening client relationships, driving strategic growth initiatives, and expanding the firm’s wealth management platform. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for building long-term client partnerships, enhancing the client experience, and leading high-performing teams within the financial services industry. Deena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems (MIS) from California State University.

Milad Elia joined Markaz in 2006 where he leads the operations team managing MENA real estate funds and investments. Prior to Joining Markaz, Milad worked over 4 years in Project management in various countries in the Middle East at Consolidated Contractors Company CCC and MID contracting. At Markaz, Milad work encompasses investment product development, structuring, placing, investing, managing and divesting real estate investments across the MENA region. Milad holds an MBA from INSEAD, France and a degree in Civil Engineering from ESIB Université Saint Joseph Lebanon.

Pradeep Rajagopalan joined Markaz in July 2022 and is responsible for overseeing the control functions to identify and mitigate risks inherent to the business and drive digital transformation and related technology initiatives towards enhancing organizational effectiveness. He chairs the governance, risk, and compliance committee. MBA holder from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Ali Al-Shamali joined Markaz in 2008 and has over 15 years of experience in the investment banking industry starting with Corporate Finance, Fixed Income, Treasury and Operations. Since joining Markaz, he has worked in the Corporate Finance, Fixed Income Department where he participated in the launch of the Markaz Fixed Income Program and various research reports pertinent to the sector. Later on, he was part of the Treasury Department where he managed the assets and liabilities of the Company and its subsidiaries moving on to serve as Treasurer for more than 6 years. During 2022, he was mandated to look over the Operations Department alongside the Treasury Function and finally consolidating Fund Administration as part of the oversight. Holds a Bachelors of Finance and Financial Institutions from the College of Business Administration, Kuwait University. Holds an ACI DC from the ACI Financial Markets Association.

Mr. Shabshab has been active in the real estate and construction field for over 35 years. His experience ranges from engineering, general contracting and construction management, to real estate acquisition and development. Mr. Shabshab began his career in real estate when he found his consulting firm, Shabcon, in 1987. While at Shabcon, he provided services such as market analysis and research for real estate appraisers and investors. In 1993, Mr. Shabshab joined Mar-Gulf Management, Inc. and was initially responsible for operations, with special focus on turnaround situations and under-performing assets. He later became President and spearheaded Mar-Gulf’s acquisition, development, and distressed debt activities which, over his 25 plus years at the firm, has exceeded $2 billion of industrial, office, multi-family and retail properties across the U.S. Mr. Shabshab graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1984, where he majored in civil and structural engineering. In addition to his general contracting license and designation as a professional engineer (PE), Mr. Shabshab also holds a California real estate broker license

M. R. Raghu joined Markaz in September 2006 as Senior Vice President - Research from Wealth Management Group where he served as Director of Investment Management. Prior to that, he worked for CCFI, Saudi Arabia in the area of investment research and advisory. He has over 25 years of experience with specialization in investment analysis and research. CFA Charterholder - CFA Institute, USA and Past President of CFA Kuwait Society CMA - The Institute of Cost Accountants of India FRM - Global Association for Risk Professionals, USA Bachelor of Commerce - Loyola College, Chennai, India