In this episode, Tano Santos speaks with Samer Sarraf, Founding Partner and COO of Amwal Capital Partners, about his journey from engineering and construction to Lehman Brothers and ultimately founding a public equities firm focused on the GCC. Samer reflects on lessons from the 2008 financial crisis, why private equity struggled in the region, and how his team applies a private equity mindset to public markets. The conversation examines regulatory change, market structure in Saudi and the UAE, concentrated investing, and a deep dive into Abu Dhabi Ports and much more!
Key Topics:
●Samer's upbringing in Jordan and the role of education and entrepreneurship in his family (3:35) ● Studying civil engineering at McGill and early career in construction in Paris and Tahiti (9:46) ● Transition to Columbia Business School and pivot toward finance (16:16) ● Joining Lehman Brothers' real estate group and structuring CMBS transactions (17:57) ● Early signs of stress in credit markets ahead of the financial crisis (23:28) ● Moving from investment banking to private equity in the GCC (26:48) ● Why the private equity model struggled in the region (35:02) ● Founding Amwal Capital Partners and testing the strategy with personal capital (31:15) ● The structure and liquidity of GCC public markets, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE (37:24) ● Applying a "private equity DNA" approach to public equities (43:23) ● Using regulatory insight and on-the-ground research as a competitive edge (49:45) ● Portfolio construction and concentrated positioning in regional markets (55:18) ● Case study: Abu Dhabi Ports and the long-term logistics and industrialization thesis (56:27) ● And much more!
Mentioned in this Episode:
● Amwal Capital Partners
● Lehman Brothers
● Abu Dhabi Ports
● Dubai Ports World
● McGill University
● Columbia Business School
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