Investcorp chairman shifts management power in company reshuffle

Bahrain-based company reveals revised leadership structure as it seeks to grow asset base to $100bn

Investcorp's executive chairman Mohammed Alardhi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Executive chairman Mohammed Alardhi has moved power from the co-CEOs to the rest of the management team under the revised leadership structure announced by Bahrain's Investcorp, that counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder.

In the reshuffle, the Manama-based alternative investment manager will hand over more control to Mr Alardhi as Hazem Ben-Gacem, the co-chief executive of the company, will be leaving after three decades.

Mr Ben-Gacem, who joined Investcorp in 1994 and was appointed co-chief executive in 2018, will be stepping down on November 1 but will continue in his role as a vice chairman of Investcorp Capital, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Rishi Kapoor, who was also co-chief executive, will be taking on a new role as vice chairman and chief investment officer, as the company aims for “greater co-ordination across investment strategies and geographies”, it said.

The changes come as Investcorp, which has $52 billion in assets under management, aims to double its asset base to $100 billion in the coming years.

“As we increase our focus on leveraging the strength of our existing investment platform, we recognise it is the right time to broaden our executive leadership to support our future growth plans,” Mr Alardhi said.

A Harvard graduate, Mr Ben-Gacem helped grow Investcorp’s assets under management from $10 billion to more than $50 billion and established the company as the largest non-sovereign asset manager originating from the GCC, with a footprint that stretches from Los Angeles to Tokyo, he said in a LinkedIn post.

He also helped Investcorp expand its push into Asia.

While he did not state the reason for his stepping down, Mr Ben-Gacem said he would be embarking “on my own odyssey in the global worlds of investing and financial markets”.

“My private equity journey will continue to be one that is full of energy, creativity, audacity, authenticity, integrity and, most importantly, relevance and returns to shareholders and investors. I will share some more details on this in the coming months,” he said on LinkedIn.

Investcorp is an active investor in mid-market companies across consumption-linked sectors. It has 14 offices across the US, Europe, GCC and Asia, including in India, China and Singapore.

Last November, the company listed its subsidiary Investcorp Capital, which offers capital financing services in the alternative investment space, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange after it raised Dh1.66 billion ($451 million) by selling 720 million ordinary shares or 32.85 per cent of its total issued share capital.

It also launched a $750 million climate-focused investment platform in December to invest in companies focused on developing innovative products and technology to reduce emissions globally.

As part of the reshuffle announced on Monday, Investcorp has also consolidated and organised its investment activities under three global business verticals – private equity and private equity like, which will be led by Dave Tayeh; real assets (comprising real estate and infrastructure), which will be led by Herb Myers and Mike O’Brien; and credit, which will be led by Jeremy Ghose.

Yusef Al-Yusef will be leading the Global Distribution Platform, the company said.