MANAMA, Bahrain - PineBridge Investments, a leading global, independent asset manager, today strengthened its growing Middle East, North Africa and Turkey team with the appointment of Wael Aburida as chief investment officer (CIO).
Mr. Aburida will lead PineBridge’s MENA private equity and real estate team covering the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, with responsibility for deal origination, negotiations, execution, portfolio management, and exits. Based in Bahrain, Mr. Aburida will report to Talal Al Zain, Chief Executive Officer at PineBridge Investments Middle East.
Talal Al Zain said, “I am pleased that Wael has joined our expanding regional team of exceptional investment professionals. Wael is an ideal fit for PineBridge, bringing a broad range of global and regional expertise that will help us meet growing client demand for private equity and real estate solutions. We will continue to strengthen our team in order to capitalize on the region’s demand for investment opportunities.”
Mr. Aburida joins from UAE-based Waha Capital where he was Director of Mergers & Acquisitions, and was previously Director of the Global M&A Group for Intel Corporation, based in the California global headquarters. In addition, he was also Managing Director of Nollenberger Capital Partners and DCA Partners, both located in Northern California. During his career Mr. Aburida has amassed approximately 20 years of deal-oriented private equity and investment banking experience. He has led private equity and real estate investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Wael Aburida said: “I am very excited to be joining PineBridge at such a key juncture. While private equity is slowing in some developed markets, there is significant regional demand for proprietary private equity and real estate deals. We will be capitalizing on this demand for high quality direct investment opportunities, rigorous due diligence and active portfolio management of investments.”
Giving more detail on PineBridge’s regional investment approach, Mr. Aburida said: “With our flexible platform, we can partner with our investee companies to provide them one source of capital to fund their growth needs as well as unlock value in their real estate holdings. Our real estate investment strategy is centered around income-generating assets in the GCC markets. From a private equity perspective, we are focused on growth investments into business services, social infrastructure and industrial and manufacturing companies serving the growth-oriented demographics of the region.
In addition, from a global demand perspective, we are targeting oil and gas services as well as downstream opportunities in the oil and gas value chain. With our international network, strong commercial and governmental links in the region and global platform, we will be a value-added partner to our portfolio companies by funding their growth needs, helping them expand and grow their footprint both organically and inorganically and providing advice on both strategic and operational matters.”
