Board of Directors

MR. ARIF MASOOD NAQVI
Chairman

Mr. Naqvi has 23 years of experience in banking, finance, and investment in the Middle East and Sub-Continent. He is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Cupola Group, which he founded in 1994. Mr. Naqvi's track record in private equity is well recognized and he has participated in some landmark private equity deals done in the region to date, including the leveraged buyout of the Inchcape Group's Middle East businesses. Mr. Naqvi led the successful leveraged buyout of Aramex International Limited, the region's largest courier and logistics company, and the first company from the Arab world to list on the NASDAQ. Mr. Naqvi is also the Chairman of Aramex Holdings Limited and is the Chief Executive Officer of Abraaj. From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Naqvi was Vice President of business development for the Olayan Group, Saudi Arabia 's largest private trading company, where he was involved in numerous industrial projects and franchise development activities. Prior to this, he worked for American Express Bank in Pakistan where he helped establish one of the country's first investment banks. His career began with Arthur Andersen & Company in London, UK in 1982 after graduating from the London School of Economics. Mr. Naqvi is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, where he was the Emirates Chapter Chairman in 2002 - 2003 and has been designated a New Asian Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2003 - 2004.

Mr. Naqvi did his schooling at the Karachi Grammar School and his higher education at the London School of Economics (LSE), University of London where he obtained honors in a BSc (Economics) Degree, specializing in Economic Institutions and Planning. He was awarded the Vera Anstey Prize in 1982.

MR. MUDDASSAR MALIK
Chief Executive Officer

Muddassar is a Founding Partner and Managing Director of BMA Capital. He is Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of BMA Funds, a wholly owned asset management subsidiary of BMA Capital and is a member of the Executive Management Committee responsible for the overall strategy for the Group. As CEO, his responsibilities include rolling out and managing the asset management business for BMA Funds

Prior to this, Muddassar built and managed the equities business for the firm including domestic and international sales and research and has been involved in landmark capital markets transactions helping BMA hold the No. 1 position in privatization advisory.

Muddassar holds an MBA in Finance and Corporate Strategy from the MIT Sloan School of Management (1991). He also holds Bachelors degree in Economics (1986) and a Masters degree in Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1987).

MR. WAQAR HASSAN SIDDIQUE
Director

Mr. Waqar Siddique joined Abraaj in September 2005 with over 22 years of experience in business strategy, management, corporate governance and financial consultancy in the Middle East and South Asia. From 1995 to 2005, Mr. Siddique was employed by the Cupola Group, a regionally focused operating group based in Dubai with diverse business interests in consumer, retail, information and engineering sectors in the Middle East and South Asia. At Cupola, he served as an Executive Director responsible for Finance, Risk Management and various other functions before becoming the Chief Executive of the Group in 2002.

Between 1992 and 1994, Mr. Siddique served as the Development Manager in the Group Treasury of Mawarid Holding Company, a leading business conglomerate based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In this role, he was involved in developing risk management strategies and developed a new integrated Risk and Treasury Management System to enhance controls, management and decision support. Before moving to the Middle East, from 1989 to 1992, Mr. Siddique was a Senior Consultant with Price Waterhouse, Pakistan. He started his career in 1982 with Herald Publications, a leading printing and publishing house in Pakistan.

Mr. Waqar Siddique holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration Karachi.

MR. MUSTAFA ABDEL-WADOOD
Director

Mr. Mustafa Abdel-Wadood has over 15 years of significant hands-on experience in mergers & acquisitions, turnarounds and successful development of new business ventures.  Prior to joining Abraaj, Mr. Abdel-Wadood was with EFG-Hermes, the leading investment bank in the Arab World, most recently as CEO of EFG-Hermes (UAE) based out of Dubai where he held overall responsibility for the firm's successful regional expansion into the lower-GCC and earlier as Managing Director of EFG-Hermes Investment Banking.

Prior to joining EFG-Hermes, Mr. Abdel-Wadood was Co-founder and Managing Director of Sigma Capital and earlier spent 8 years at the Orascom Group where he last held the position of Director of Development and Investments at Orascom and Board Member of Orascom Telecom. At Orascom he was responsible for corporate investments and acquisitions in the fields of technology, telecommunications, leisure and media (including a secondment to MobiNil)

Mr. Abdel-Wadood is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker at events and is also an active member of a number of professional organizations. Mr. Abdel-Wadood served as Co-Chair of the Investment & Capital Market Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt over the period 2002 - 2004 and was selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow for the Year 2002. Subsequently, the World Economic Forum named Mr. Abdel Wadood as the Young Global Leader for the year 2007. He is also a co-founder and member of the Dubai-based 'Young Arab Leaders' organization.

Mr. Abdel-Wadood has done his MBA from Georgetown University and BBA from American University - Cairo.

MR. THOMAS JAMES SPEECHLEY
Director

Mr. Thomas Speechley has worked in the private equity sector for over 12 years principally as an acquisition finance lawyer with firms in London and New York.  Prior to joining Abraaj, Mr. Speechley was a partner at Macfarlanes, one of the leading private equity law firms in London. During his time in the private equity sector Mr. Speechley has completed in excess of 50 buyouts and other acquisition financings, many of which have been multi-jurisdictional and a significant number have been of public targets. Prior to joining Macfarlanes he was a partner with the Norton Rose acquisition finance group where he advised on a number of high profile buyouts including the take-private of Aramex Holdings from NASDAQ, one of the signature deals of The Abraaj Buyout Fund L.P.

Mr. Thomas Speechley holds a Law Degree from Sheffield University, UK.

MR. FARRUKH HUSSAIN KHAN
Director

Before becoming one of the founding partners and Chief Executive of BMA Capital in 1992, Mr. Khan was the Director of Treasury and Investment Banking at American Express Bank. In this position he was responsible for rapidly expanding the Treasury unit into new lines of business.  Mr. Khan has extensive experience in Pakistan 's capital markets and has been closely involved in guiding and growing all the business areas of BMA. 

Mr. Farrukh Khan has worked on many of the landmark transactions of Pakistan, helping BMA become the leader in privatization advisory in the country. Mr. Khan's transactional experience includes advising the Privatization Commission on the recent US$813 million GDR offering of OGDCL, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and successfully advising Etisalat on their $2.6 billion acquisition of PTCL. Other transactions include the privatization of Kot Addu Power Company, ICP Mutual Funds, the US$898 million GDR issue for PTCL, and the privatization of Bankers Equity Limited.

Mr. Khan qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers in their London office in 1986.  He received a Bachelors degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Manchester, UK, in 1982.

MR. MOAZZAM MALIK
Director

Mr. Moazzam Malik is the sponsor Director of BMA Capital Management Limited and is located in Islamabad, He is currently handling Retail Brokerage and assists in Privatization and Equity investment decisions. Previously, he was heading the Investment Banking Group. He was the team leader in the successful privatization of the 1600 MW Kot Addu power plant. He was also a team member of the execution team for the second tranche of PTC US$ 898 million placement; the privatization of Bankers Equity Limited and the privatization study of PNSC and NTC with Mercer Management Consulting Inc., Washington. He was also involved in the pre feasibility study on fibre optic backbone in Pakistan for Malaysia Telecom. He has had over 14 years experience in capital markets in Pakistan.

Mr. Malik received his Masters in Management from MIT Sloan School of Management 1992 and has done courses on Privatisation in developing countries at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He also holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering from Sussex University.

Mr. Muhammad Iqbal
Director 

Muhammad Iqbal is one of the founding partners of BMA Capital Management Limited and in the past, he has represented the company on the Board of Directors of the Karachi Stock Exchange. Previously, he had a successful tax and accountancy practice. He has vast experience in the stock market, both as an investor and adviser to stockbrokers and financial institutions. In addition, he has considerable experience in underwriting of public issues, company flotation, stock valuation and financial consultancy. He is also the Director in Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited and was the Chief Executive of Security Stock Fund Limited. He has had over 40 years of experience in Pakistan 's capital markets.

Mr. Iqbal is a Chartered Accountant.