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

Mr. Alghanim is Chairman of Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C. “Markaz”. His Career spans the financial services industry, asset management, insurance, and various commercial and professional enterprises in the Middle East and internationally. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) since 2001 and had chaired and participated in a number of committees. He was also the Founding Chairman of the Union of Investment Companies (UIC) from 2004 until 2009 and is an active member of various NGOs in Kuwait and abroad.

Mr. Al-Jallal is the Chairman of Markaz’s Board Audit Committee and a member of the Board Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He is the Managing Director of Al-Baseet Trading Co. and Partner in Al-Jallal Real Estate Co. He holds a University Degree from Alexandria University.

Mr. Alshaya is a member of the Board Nomination & Remuneration Committee at Markaz. He is board member of the Alshaya group of businesses, a family company founded in Kuwait in 1890. He is the General Manager since 2016. Mr. Alshaya is Chairman of Al Ahleia Insurance Company, and director at Mabanee Company KPSC and at Injazat Real Estate Development Co. Mr. Alshaya holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kuwait University.

Mr. Al-Jouan is Chairman of the Board Risk Management Committee and a member of the Board Audit Committee. He is also Managing Partner of Kuwait Projects Group and Board Member of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), National Petroleum Services Co. (NAPESCO) and Al-Dorra Petroleum Services. Mr. Al-Jouan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Washington University.

Mr. Alghannam is a member of the Board Risk Management Committee and the Board Nomination & Remuneration Committee at Markaz. He has been a Board Member and the Executive Manager of Kapico Group Holding Co. since 2003 and holds managerial positions in several of its subsidiaries such as Royale Hayat Hospital, Kuwait Auto Parts Imports Co, The National Spare Parts Co., and many others. He is also a Board Member of Al Ahleia Insurance Company since 2005. Mr. Alghannam holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the U.S.A.

Mr. Hayat is a member of the Board Risk Management Committee at Markaz. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Al-Mehan Holding Company WLL and has been the Chairman of National Petroleum Services Co. (NAPESCO) since 2006. He is currently a board member of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and the Industry and the Vice Chairman of Almutawir Regional Real Estate Developers (S.A.K) and Chairman of Dar SSH International Consultants (B.S.C). He is also a member at the Industrial Advisory Board to the Australian College of Kuwait and the Real Estate Academic Initiative (REAI) at Harvard University and the Kuwait Society of Engineers. He 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. He has also completed the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate– Office of Executive Education from Harvard University.

Mr. Aldalali is a member of the Board Audit Committee at Markaz and a Partner in Cornerstone Consulting. He has served in several positions at Halliburton Overseas Limited, Kuwait, since 2003. He also served as a Vice President of Moelis & Company at the Dubai International Financial Center and is a board member of Al Mulla International Finance. He has over 15 years of experience in the financial, advisory and oil sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of Pennsylvania

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 Managing Director of Wealth Management and Business Development at Markaz. He joined Markaz in 2004 and has over 16 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.

Bassam N. Al-Othman is the Managing Director of MENA Real Estate at Markaz. He has over 24 years of experience in the MENA region, in real estate development and investments, as well as project management. Since joining Markaz in 2005 as Senior Vice President, he has led the MENA real estate team in launching and managing several funds and portfolios spanning the whole spectrum of real estate investment themes, from income generation and land trading to full development of residential and commercial real estate projects. Before joining Markaz, he served the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in executive positions and oversaw projects’ appraisal and execution in Lebanon and Egypt. Mr. Al-Othman holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA from the American University of Beirut.

Amani I. Al-Omani is the Managing Director of the MENA Equities Department of Markaz. She joined Markaz as Assistant Vice President - Local & GCC Investments in September 2006. During her early years at Markaz, she served as the Fund Manager of Mumtaz and Co-Fund Manager of MIDAF, Islamic, Forsa, and Arabian funds. Before joining Markaz, she spent seven years with the Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East, as a Foreign Exchange and Money Market Dealer in the Treasury Department.

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 Imad is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairsat Markaz. Having joined Markaz’s Private Equity Funds Investments Department in October 1997, she became the head of the department in 2000. Ms. Imad managed the portfolio of investments in international private equity funds until 2009 when the board of Markaz decided to cease the program. During that period, she built up a portfolio of 54 funds very well diversified in terms of strategy and markets based on the company’s strategy. In January 2005, Ms. Imad set up the Fund Administration Department to manage the regulatory and legal affairs of Markaz-managed funds and entities across different jurisdictions, setting up the in-house legal team in the process. Currently, the department manages the regulatory and legal affairs of entities comprising funds and investment vehicles. She was appointed as the Board Secretary of Markaz in February 2014. Before joining Markaz, Ms. Imad spent seven years at Banque de la Méditerranée in Lebanon where she worked in the Credit Department. Ms. Imad holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the Lebanese American University, Beirut.

Rasha A. Othman is the Executive Vice President of Investment Banking (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.

Peter Kelly is the Executive Vice President – HR at Markaz since 2018. He has over 30 years’ experience in the Middle East, UK, the US, Europe, and several APAC countries. He has worked as a leader and as a consultant in Oil & Gas, Engineering, Procurement & Construction, Retail, Telecoms, Family-Owned Conglomerates, and Banking & Financial Services, including the Kuwait oil sector, as well as high-profile businesses in Kuwait and the GCC. His consistent focus has been on structuring organizations to deliver business results through their people and people systems. Mr. Kelly holds a master’s degree in HR from the University of Westminster and is a Fellow of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Deena Y. AlRefai is the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at Markaz. She joined Markaz in 2005 and has over 15 years of experience in institutional and HNWI clients relationship, private banking, and investor relations. Ms. AlRefai holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration specializing in MIS, from California State University.

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 Department, working very closely with the CEO to define the strategic objectives of Markaz and ensure that they are efficiently implemented. Alexander holds an MBA from Insead, a BBA from the Lebanese American University, and is currently a CFA and CAIA charter holder.

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.

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. Ghazi holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Finance) from Gulf University for Science and Technology – June 2006.

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