Waha Capital appoints Alain Dib as Chief Operating Officer

Abu Dhabi, 9 October 2016 – Waha Capital PJSC (ADX: WAHA), a leading investment company based in Abu Dhabi, has appointed Alain Dib as Chief Operating Officer, a role that involves leading the company’s investment businesses.

Mr. Dib joins Waha Capital after a 20-year career at BNP Paribas, where he held senior investment banking positions, including in leveraged finance, acquisition finance, high yield debt and convertible bond origination. His last position was as Head of Equity Capital Markets for Europe, Middle East and Africa at the French bank.

“Alain has senior international investment banking experience in all the major asset classes, and is therefore a perfect fit for Waha Capital,” said Salem Al Noaimi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Waha Capital.

“The company has achieved above-market return on equity in recent years as we have pursued a strategy of diversifying our asset base and income streams. We are confident that Alain will achieve further success leading our talented investment teams.”

Waha Capital’s investment business is structured into two divisions. Its Principal Investments division invests directly in several companies, including New York-listed AerCap Holdings NV, UAE-based Dunia Group, and National Petroleum Services, while its Asset Management division offers equity and credit funds to third-party investors.

“I am excited by the opportunity at Waha Capital, because the company has established excellent multi-year track records in both direct investments and in capital markets,” Mr. Dib said. “We are therefore in a very strong position to attract third-party investors, while our strong financial position allows us to deploy further capital in both sides of the business.”

Previously based in London, Mr. Dib was Managing Director, Head of Equity Capital Markets EMEA, for BNP Paribas and a Member of the Corporate Finance Management UK and CIB Management Committees. He had also headed the bank’s Restructuring and Advisory Group, the Distressed Finance Group, and was joint-head for the European High Yield Group.

Mr. Dib previously also worked at Deutsche Bank as a Managing Director in its European Leverage Finance Group.