Interview with Arif Naqvi

Arif Naqvi

Founder and Group Chief Executive
The Abraaj Group
 

Biography

Arif Naqvi is the Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Abraaj Group which he established in 2002. Under his leadership, The Abraaj Group has emerged as a leading investor in growth markets with US$ 7.5 billion in assets under management and returning c. US$ 4.3 billion to investors. Employing over 300 people, the Group has 25 country offices spread across six regional hubs in Dubai, Istanbul, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi and Singapore.

With over 25 years’ experience of investing in public and private companies, Mr. Naqvi has led the Group’s involvement in some of the most notable private equity transactions in growth markets over the last decade.

Mr. Naqvi is a Board Member of the United Nations Global Compact, Chairman of the British Asian Trust Advisory Committee - Pakistan, and the Middle East Centre Advisory Board of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Naqvi also serves on the Board of the IMD Foundation, Endeavor Global, Pakistan Human Development Fund and the Advisory Board of Columbia University’s Middle East Research Center.

Mr. Naqvi has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Oslo Business for Peace Award, the highest form of recognition given to individual business leaders for fostering peace and stability through creating shared value between business and society, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, a prominent civilian honor awarded by the Government of Pakistan. In 2011, he was named as one of the 50 most influential people in the global private equity industry by Private Equity International.

In 2008, Mr. Naqvi and his family established the Aman Foundation, the largest private social sector enterprise in Pakistan, which supports sustainable development in healthcare, nutrition and education.

Mr. Naqvi is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.