AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners, the JV with Siraj Holdings, appoints Mehdi Sethom as CEO and Walid Ayad as MD
AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners, the JV with Siraj Holdings, appoints Mehdi Sethom as CEO and Walid Ayad as MD
AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners, a new joint venture established between AWR Lloyd, the Asia-based strategic advisory firm, and Siraj Holding LLC, a private investment firm chaired by Mr. Ahmed Khalaf Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba, today announces the appointment of Mehdi Sethom as its CEO.
AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners will build on AWR Lloyd’s 25-year strategy consulting and M&A advisory legacy in the Asia-Pacific region by bringing the same innovative and bespoke service approach to clients in the Middle East and Africa (‘MEA’).
Mr. Mehdi Sethom is a veteran MEA investment banker with three decades of experience at BNP Paribas, Swicorp and Mediterranean Corporate Finance (‘MCF’). AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners also announces the appointment of Mr. Walid Ayad as its Managing Director. These appointments come also with the announcement of a combination of MCF’s regional business with AWR Lloyd. The MCF group of companies was established over a decade ago by Mehdi Sethom and Walid Ayad. MCF has a strong reputation for advising on complex cross-border corporate finance transactions in the MEA region. MCF Tunisie and MCF’s private equity ventures, both focused on the Tunisian market will remain independent.
Mr. Mohamed Rusan Fyroze, Group CEO of Siraj Holding and incoming Director of AWR Gulf Partners, added: “We welcome Mehdi and Walid to the leadership of our new joint venture with AWR Lloyd. They have an impressive trackrecord. All at Siraj Holding very much look forward to working with them”.
Alexander Wood, CEO and co-founder of AWR Lloyd commented: “It’s a wonderful and unexpected privilege to join forces with an old friend with whom I shared formative years at Banque Paribas in the 1990s. He and Walid have developed a highly respected practice. Their expertise in high-stakes complex deals in these markets complements our reputation for managing special projects and strategic assignments for Gulf clients in Asia, and for Asian clients in the Gulf.”
“The combination with AWR Lloyd creates a powerful bridge between Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” said Mehdi Sethom. “I very much look forward to working again with an esteemed former colleague and friend, and the rest of the AWR Lloyd family, to deliver innovative solutions for our clients as regional economies diversify and global investment linkages deepen.”
About AWR Lloyd
AWR Lloyd is a specialist strategic advisory firm, ranked last year by the Financial Times as the 9th fastest-growing consulting firm in Asia-Pacific. AWR Lloyd has a 25-year track record advising blue-chip corporates, family businesses, private equity funds and public sector clients, with a primary focus on the energy, infrastructure, real estate and technology sectors.
AWR Lloyd is a member of Globalscope, a leading network of independent M&A advisory firms (www.globalscopepartners.com), where Alexander Wood is Director for APAC-MEA. AWR Lloyd was first established in Paris in 2000 by former Banque Paribas investment bankers and re-established in Hong Kong in 2002. AWR Lloyd has offices and teams in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and the UAE. www.awrlloyd.com. For more information please contact Nadda@awrlloyd.com.
About Siraj Holding
The private investment firm Siraj Holding was established in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2019. Founded by Ahmed Khalaf Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba, it operates as a holding company and is a preferred partner for institutional investors, governments and multinational corporations. Key areas of interest for Siraj Holding include financial services, technology, hospitality, energy, real estate, telecommunications, and investments. The firm’s mission is to contribute to the sustainable development of economies in the GCC by creating market-leading businesses.