United Arab Emirates
Dr. Karim El Solh is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Capital, one of the leading alternative asset management firms investing from the Gulf region to the rest of Asia in what is today one of the fastest growing investment corridor in the world. Gulf Capital invests across several asset classes including Private Equity, Private Debt and Real Estate. Under his leadership, Gulf Capital has been associated with some of the region’s most prominent private equity and mezzanine transactions and has won numerous awards including Best Private Equity Firm and Best Private Debt Firm in the Middle East, by Banker Middle East and Private Equity International. The Firm currently manages US$2.2 billion of assets across 7 funds and investment vehicles. Dr. El Solh was also the co-Managing Partner of Gulf Related, a leading real estate development company launched in partnership with the Related Companies. Dr El Solh is serving or has served as the Chairman of Metito Holdings, Maritime Industrial Services, Geida and ART Fertility and as the Director of Gulf Marine Services, Middle East Glass, Ma’arif for Education & Training, Reach Group, Depa Group, Metamed, the Galleria Mall Al Maryah Island and Antara Residential Project. Prior to founding Gulf Capital, Dr El Solh was the CEO of the leading UAE investment bank, The National Investor. Under his leadership, the Firm was involved in a number of groundbreaking private equity transactions and was ranked as the number one IPO underwriter in the Gulf. Dr El Solh was also a co-Founder of the European High Yield Capital Markets/Leveraged Buy-Outs division at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (DLJ – now part of Credit Suisse) and a senior investment banker in charge of equity offerings at Citigroup. Dr. El Solh has a B.S. in civil engineering from Cornell University, an MBA from Georgetown University and a doctorate in economics from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). He is also a Chartered Management Accountant and a Professional Civil Engineer. Dr. El Solh has been named as one of the Top 100 CEOs in the Gulf by CEO Magazine, one of the 500 Most Influential Arabs by Arabian Business Magazine and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Based in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Gulf Capital is a leading alternative asset management company focusing primarily on late-stage control buy-outs, growth capital, real estate development and credit business. Established in 2006, Gulf Capital has become the region’s largest and most successful private equity firm with a track record of industry-leading returns and performance. It today has US$2.5 billion in assets under management – prudently invested in the most commercially vibrant sectors of one of the world’s highest growth regions. This success has been built on the region’s most diversified investment platforms, spread across high-growth sectors with long-term potential. From its HQ in Abu Dhabi, its experienced management team, backed by over 250 high profile shareholders including sovereign wealth funds, global financial institutions, and leading regional family groups, capitalises on a deep-rooted knowledge of the commercial landscape to source and invest in the Gulf’s most attractive investment opportunities. With a network of offices from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo to Singapore, Gulf Capital is actively investing across this West-East Asia high growth corridor.