The Abraaj Group has appointed Huda Al Lawati as a Partner and Chief Investment Officer for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Al Lawati was previously a Managing Director at Abraaj and has been leading the Group’s investments across MENA in sectors such as oil and gas, healthcare, education, and food and beverage.

In her new role as Partner and CIO, MENA, she will be responsible for originating, executing and monitoring the Group’s investments across the region, helping build a pipeline of new investments, and enhancing collaboration and value creation across the Group’s partner companies to ensure consistency with Group mandates and values.

MENA is one of the five regions in which the Group invests, the others being Africa, Asia, Latin America and Turkey.

Commenting on the appointment, Al Lawati said: “Over the past decade, The Abraaj Group has pioneered private equity investment in our target growth markets. It has been a privilege to have played a contributing role to Abraaj’s development and growth, and particularly in helping position the firm as a leading player in the fast growing MENA region. I greatly look forward to taking on my new responsibilities as we continue to grow our dynamic firm.”

Al Lawati has more than 12 years’ experience in private equity and finance and joined Abraaj in 2004.

Notable transactions she has worked on include the acquisition of Abraaj’s stake in Turkish healthcare group Acibadem, a major food and beverage acquisition in the GCC, and Abraaj’s investments in Kuwait Energy and oilfield services business, Viking International.

Prior to joining Abraaj, Al Lawati worked for Schlumberger and ABQ Zawya.

She is a member of the Young Arab Leaders and serves on the steering committee of the MENA Private Equity Association.

Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive, The Abraaj Group, said: “I am delighted to announce Huda’s appointment to the position of Partner and Chief Investment Officer for MENA. Huda joined our firm over a decade ago as an analyst and has performed an extraordinary role over this time, growing into a strong leadership position."

"She embodies the values and professional excellence that we look for in our team and we wish her every success in this new and challenging role," he added.