Ziad Makkawi

Founder & CEO at EQUIAM

Panellist

Ziad Makkawi is the Founder and CEO of EQUIAM, where he also chairs the Investment Committee. With over three decades of experience as an investor, founder, and financial services executive, Ziad’s expertise spans Private Equity; Venture Capital; and Capital Markets.

Ziad started his career at JP Morgan in New York in 1986 as a currency and derivatives trader where, he spearheaded the banks systematic arbitrage activity in currency and interest rate derivatives markets.

He later founded, Algebra Capital an emerging markets manager where he served as CEO and CIO, and successfully sold in in 2011 to global asset manager Franklin Templeton in the US.

Ziad led Istithmar World a global $5bio Private Equity portfolio with assets in the US; Europe; Middle East; Asia; and Africa.

Ziad served on the boards of more than a dozen firms on four continents, as chairman, executive and investment committee member, director, and observer at companies such as Cirque du Soleil (entertainment – Canada), Barneys (retail – New York), IHI (hospitality – Malta), ISS (marine solutions – UK), Pension Corporation Group (insurance – UK), Istithmar P&O (real estate – UK), Dubai World Africa (hospitality – Dubai), Capital Management House (asset management – Bahrain), Algebra Capital (asset management – Dubai), Memorial Hospitals (healthcare – Turkey), David Morris (luxury retail – UK), as well as numerous other companies and funds.

Currently Ziad sits on the Investment Committee and serves as an advisor the board of the Dubai Future District Fund, a $200MM Dubai Government Venture Capital initiative focused on growing the VC ecosystem in the UAE and GCC, as well as an Advisor to Playbook a $200MM Growth Equity Fund focused on India.

Previously he served as CEO for both private and publicly listed financial institutions including Dubai Bank, and Qatar First Bank which he took public; He previously co-founded two emerging market focused investment bank and asset management firms MECG and SHUAA Capital.

Ziad holds a B.A. in Economics from Rice University, an MBA in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business, and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University. He also participated in several executive development programs including the Harvard YPO President University. He is a member and served as Chairman of both YPO Emirates Chapter as well as the YPO’s global Art Network.