amwal announces new appointments to its investment banking team
Rafik Nayed, Pierre-Henri François, Sami Al Khairi and Louis Blanchard bring to Amwal extensive experience in international equity and capital markets
Amwal, Qatar’s leading investment banking and asset management firm recently strengthened its investment banking arm by appointing new highly experienced investment experts. The announcement comes alongside the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Laurent Lavigne du Cadet and demonstrates the company’s well-measured steps towards solidifying its presence and performance in the country.
The unprecedented growth of the investment banking team is the direct result of the growing interest the company is seeing for innovative and bespoke investment banking services and investment opportunities due to the exponential increase in individual and corporate investors in Qatar.
Sheikha Hanadi Nasser Bin Khaled Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and Managing Director of Amwal commented on the new appointments saying: “Amwal is committed to being the trusted adviser to the country’s most sophisticated clients by providing best-in-class corporate and investment banking services. This new addition reinforces our growing team’s leadership talent, deal experience, and stature to continue our growth momentum in investment banking".
Dr. Laurent Lavigne du Cadet, Amwal CEO said: “appointing professionals of such caliber in Doha clearly accentuates our drive towards bringing investment banking excellence closer to our clients. The Amwal team’s commitment and experience in providing innovative investment banking solutions will ensure that our growth is built on a solid foundation”.
Dr. Du Cadet added: “This is a very significant period for the entire team at Amwal. The considerable growth we are achieving will continue to be reflected across all of the business lines. There are also a number of other new developments that will be announced over the next few months”.
As Director Head of Utilities and Infrastructure, Rafik Nayed will lead Amwal’s initiatives in the oil, gas and power sectors. He will also spearhead Amwal’s entry into the North African market as a response to client demand to diversify investment opportunities across the whole of the MENA region.
Rafik brings to the team fourteen years of regional and international experience in M&A, financial restructuring, private equity and corporate finance in the energy sector, specializing in power generation and downstream Oil & Gas across diverse geographies. Prior to joining Amwal, Rafik was Senior Vice President at BTU Ventures, a US private equity firm where he headed regional operations out of Dubai focusing on direct investments, project development, and asset management in the Middle East, North Africa and China. Prior to this, Rafik held several senior finance positions with Tamoil and Oilinvest where he was involved in the acquisition, financing, restructuring and management of projects and operating companies in Europe, the middle east, sub-Saharan and North Africa. His mandates covered both equity and debt structuring of oil refining projects and acquisitions of operating subsidiaries of industry majors such as Agip, BP, Shell, and Total.
Rafik has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and a Master degree in Finance with an emphasis on Islamic finance from Webster University and a Master of Business Administration degree from London Business School.
With a seven-year investment banking experience in Equity Capital Markets Pierre- Henri Francois was appointed Director, in charge of Equity Capital Markets. He willfocus on developing Amwal’s franchise in the field of equity transactions such as IPOs and rights issues and will also reinforce the company’s capabilities in structured equity solutions. Pierre-Henri brings to Amwal an extensive experience, having worked on landmark transactions for both GCC, North African and European clients. He has advised recently companies such as Etisalat, DP World, Maroc Telecom, Mobily, RAK Petroleum, Glencore and Swiss Re.
Prior to joining Amwal, Pierre-Henri worked for BNP Paribas in London and for the Dubai Islamic Bank, where he co-headed the Equity Capital Markets activity. He has a Master Degree in Finance from Sciences Po Paris.
As Assistant Vice President at Amwal, Sami Al Khairi brings to the team immense knowledge and expertise in consultancy and auditing across the real estate, hospitality, brokerage, and telecom sectors. His eight years of experience cover senior positions in leading institutions. Al Khairi was a Consultant at Deloitte & Touche in Qatar where he conducted the feasibility studies of many prestigious high-rise developments in Doha West Bay area including premium hotels, hospitals, and Dlala Holding brokerage firm. Prior to this, Al Khairi provided financial advisory to MobileCom and Jordan Telecom where he set up the business, marketing and product pricing plans. Al Khairi’s audit experience covers a diversified group of companies in the financial and manufacturing sectors. Al Khairi holds a Bachelor Degree in Finance from Arizona State University.
With a five-year investment banking experience in emerging markets, Louis Blanchard was appointed Senior Associate in Amwal, leading the Transaction Management Group. Previously, Louis Blanchard was in charge of executing M&A and equity capital market transactions with Dubai Islamic Bank acting as financial advisor in the context of cross-border acquisitions and equity–linked financial instrument with a particular emphasis on the energy and telecom sectors.
Additionally, Louis Blanchard worked in Europe for Alternative Finance Partners, a merchant bank specializing in oil and gas project development and financing. Louis Blanchard holds a Master Degree in finance and a postgraduate Degree in finance with a special emphasis on banking from Paris X University and a Specialized Master degree from HEC Paris.
Amwal’s investment banking division had been reinforced by a new Execution team led by expert financial analysts who would perform research and other support tasks.
