Executive Insight – Booz & Co

by Ahmed Youssef, Chady Zein & Raymond Soueid October 24, 2010

written by Ahmed Youssef, Chady Zein & Raymond Soueid October 24, 2010

Over the last decade, the state of private equity (PE) in the Middle East has gone from virtually nonexistent, to a booming prospect, to an industry facing a shakeup. In 2004, the region was home to just 26 funds, with a total of $3 billion under management; in 2010, 142 funds manage $34.5 billion. The sector’s breakneck evolution has made it difficult for investors to get a clear picture of the industry’s underlying fundamentals, and they therefore have been understandably cautious about directing their funds to regional PE firms. In fact, it is now becoming clear that the region’s heady growth over the last decade worked to cover up some critical weaknesses in the PE industry. Some issues are structural: Significant gaps remain in the region’s legal and regulatory frameworks and corporate governance requires development, as the influence of family-owned businesses may hinder corporate disclosure and limit transparency. Another challenge

Ahmed Youssef

Ahmed Youssef, based in United Arab Emirates, is currently a Partner & Head of MENA at BDT & MSD Partners International, LLP, bringing experience from previous roles at McKinsey & Company, Booz & Company and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Ahmed Youssef holds a 2002 - 2003 Master of Business Administration

Chady Zein

Chady Zein is a Partner at Strategy& in the Family Business, Investments, and Real Estate practice. With nearly 20 years of experience, he specializes in investment strategy, value creation, business models, and digital agendas across various sectors. Chady holds an MBA from INSEAD, a master's from Cornell University, and a bachelor's from the American University of Beirut. He rejoined Strategy& in 2020

Raymond Soueid

Being an entrepreneur, consultant and investor, Raymond honed his professional experience around in-depth knowledge of financial, valuation and operational modeling for Private Equity and Family Businesses. A hands-on executive known for strategic and focused approach with a keen eye for details, extensive accolades for deal making and tactics, creating lean teams, and establishing creative strategies for optimizing internal operations and financial returns; skilled in enlisting the support of all team members in aligning with project and organizational goals with proven strong negotiation skills. His main working experience revolves around the GCC with a special focus on KSA. Currently, He is MD at CedarBridge, a private equity firm established in 2011.

Executive Insight – Booz & Co

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