This announcement follows a range of senior appointments made last year, and is in line with the firm's current growth strategy and long-term expansion plans.
Narayanan Rajagopalan, who has served at Abraaj since 2005, has been promoted to Executive Director. In this position, his responsibilities include the execution of Abraaj Capital partner companies' value-creation plans, with a primary focus on financial management and control. Ahmed Badreldin, who previously served at Barclays Capital as Senior Director in Leveraged Finance, has also been named Executive Director at the firm, joining the investment team with deal execution responsibilities.
"Despite challenging conditions globally, Abraaj Capital is extremely well positioned to capitalise on significant investment opportunities, which we believe currently exist across the MENASA region," said Arif Naqvi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Abraaj Capital. "These senior management appointments reflect the firm's confidence in our 2009 growth strategy, which remains on track and which will lead to the identification of additional leadership resources and further senior appointments in the course of this year.
"I am delighted to welcome both Narayanan and Ahmed to our team of Executive Directors. With their broad experience and proven management acumen, I am confident that they will further strengthen Abraaj's ability to create long-term, sustainable value. As we move ahead with our growth strategy, their skills, insights and experience will prove vital to the realisation of a range of new opportunities."
Rajagopalan brings with him over 18 years of experience with multinational and regional organisations in the area of financial management and planning. Prior to joining Abraaj Capital, he served as Director – Financial Planning and Analysis with Dubai Properties.
Badreldin joins the investment team at Abraaj with over 12 years of specialised experience in investment banking, finance and consulting. He has been part of a number of major financing and co-equity investment transactions with leading global private equity firms, including Carlyle Group, KKR, and Riverstone. Key transactions that he has completed include the leveraged buyouts of Northgate IS, Alliance Boots and Petroplus.
