Board of Directors
Boundless Expertise
Hisham Al Rayes
Chairman
Hisham Al Rayes is leading the Group forward towards its vision of becoming the region’s most prominent, diversified financial Group, and one that provides a remarkable platform for delivering superior Wealth Management, Commercial Banking and Asset Management services. With over 23 years of experience, Hisham brings extensive expertise and banking knowledge to the Group and was instrumental in driving the development and execution of the Group’s regional and international investment strategy. Hisham currently chairs and holds a number of directorships in financial, Industrial and real estate companies including Esterad Investment Company, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, GFH Capital and Infracorp.
Hisham holds a Master’s degree with honors in Business Administration from the University of DePaul, Chicago (USA), and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with honors from the University of Bahrain.
Nael Mustafa
Board Member
Nael is the Chief Executive Officer of GFH Partners Ltd., where he is responsible for developing and executing the firm’s global real estate investment strategy. With over 30 years of experience in investment banking, Nael has covered the areas of capital markets, corporate finance as well as Shari’ah compliant alternative investments in North America and the Middle East.Nael is a CFA charter holder and holds an MBA from the University of Edinburgh.
Talal Al-Mahroos
Board Member
Talal is the Chief Operating Officer of GFH Partners Ltd., bringing more than 18 years of experience in Banking, Strategic Investments and Financial experience to his role.
Prior to his current role, Talal served as the Acting Chief Executive of Infracorp, and was the Assistant General Manager of Investments in Khaleeji Commercial Bank(“KHCB”) where he was responsible for managing investment transactions and restructurings of corporate banking assets.
Talal holds a Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance from the University of Bahrain.
Walid El Hindi
MD and Board Member
A Senior Executive with over 26 years of experience. As a founding partner in OUTLIVE, Walid leads the Real Estate consultancy and advisory business. Prior to OUTLIVE, he held the position of Group CEO for Northacre and CEO of Real Estate at Shuaa Capital, where he managed USD 14 Billion of Real Estate Assets in the UK, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
In his past experience, Walid established IMKAN Properties from inception to one of the leading developers in the region, with a portfolio of 30 million sqm of land, which spans 26 projects globally, valued at over AED 100 billion, with offices in the UAE, Egypt and Morocco.
In addition to his roles as CEO, Walid held the positions of board member with Northacre London, Astrea Asset management, IMKAN Misr, and HHRM, an international hotel management company. In his previous role with Emaar Misr as the Chief Development Officer, Walid led an international large-scale portfolio of developments valued at more than $15 billion, where he led its IPO process until its listing in 2015. His previous experience included working for AECOM, and Ellness Swenson Graham Architects. Walid also taught Architecture for 6 years as an Adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree.
Karim El Guanaini
CCO and Board Member
With more than 22 years of experience in the fields of hospitality, marketing and Business Development. As a founding partner in BLUEGATE, Karim leads the creation and execution of Sales, marketing and communication strategies, as well as brand strategies and activations.
Prior to founding OUTLIVE, Karim led the Business Development and commercialization vertical for Miral Asset Management, where he led the development and execution of the strategic plans for Destination Yas Island’s local and global sponsorships and local/international partnership programs. Karim’s experience also included working for Aldar, one of the leading real estate companies in the UAE and the region, where he was responsible for overlooking Marketing activities for Yas Island, Aldar Academies, Aldar Marinas, and Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi.
His past experience included working in the hospitality industry, leading the Food and beverage verticals for reputable hospitality hotels such as the Four Seasons, Hilton and Le Meridien to name a few. Karim attended the University of Les Roches, Switzerland where he studied Hotel Management and holds an MBA degree in International Hospitality, specializing in Marketing and Innovation from Glion Institute of Higher Education. He speaks three languages, English, French, and Arabic.