Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund hires senior executives to expand investment team

Former head of Goldman Sachs' investment banking business in the kingdom will lead investment advisory within PIF's Mena Investment division

The Public Investment Fund, which is behind mega projects such as the Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia, on Sunday said it has hired three senior executives to help expand investments. Courtesy Saudi TourismShow less

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund hired three senior executives, including Goldman Sachs’ former head of investment banking in the kingdom, as it continues to expand its investment team.

Eyas AlDossari, who has been with Goldman Sachs since 2017, will lead the Public Investment Fund's investment advisory team within its Mena Investments division, supporting deal-making and capital recycling, PIF said in a statement on Sunday.

Omar AlMadhi, who previously worked at Saudi Aramco and Volkswagen Group, will join Mr AlDossari as co-head of direct investments within the Mena division. Abdullah Shaker has also been appointed by the fund as senior director of its Global Capital Finance division.

“The latest appointments bolster PIF’s leadership team as it implements its ambitious plans as one of the world’s largest and most impactful investors,” the fund said.

Last week, the $430 billion fund restructured its local holdings arm to become the Mena Investments division and expanded its corporate finance businesses into Global Capital Finance division. It also strengthened its chain of command by appointing international investments head Turqi Alnowaiser and Mena investments chief Yazeed Alhumied as deputy governors of the fund.

The sovereign wealth fund lies at the centre of the kingdom's Vision 2030 plan that seeks to diversify the Arab world's largest economy and reduce its reliance on oil. Under a five-year strategy that was announced in January, the fund aims to more than double the value of its assets under management to $1.07 trillion and commit $40bn a year to develop the domestic economy until 2025.
The fund has created 10 new sectors, launched over 30 new companies, created 331,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia, and more than tripled its assets under management over past four years. It has invested about $90bn in the Saudi economy since 2016.

The PIF has been on a hiring spree as it invests in 13 strategic sectors as part of its core domestic strategy. It is also behind giga projects including the futuristic city known as Neom, the Red Sea Development Company and Qiddiya, among others.