Follow The Leader: Maha Al Ghunaim, Vice Chairperson And Group CEO, Global Investment House

By Kara Schoeffling | Sep 17, 2015

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Image credit: Global Investment House.

“Follow your passions and start a business that you love, and give it all you can,” advises Maha Al Ghunaim, the Vice Chairperson and Group CEO of the Kuwait-based Global Investment House (GIH). Al Ghunaim’s company was the very first Kuwaiti organization to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and today manages a formidable US$4.3 billion in assets. Back when it was launched, Global was a small startup, with only a very determined woman at the helm. Today, the company plays a key role promoting investment opportunities across the Middle East through its brokerage, asset management, and investment bank- ing divisions. In fact, GIH’s private equity funds –one of which, Global Buyout Fund, distributed $15 million to its investors in August- have distributed a total amount of more than $473 million since its inception. The company is now working on launching a Middle East-focused Secondary Fund (the first of its kind in the region), as well as a platform to invest in the healthcare market of the GCC and Turkey.

Image credit: Global Investment House.

“Follow your passions and start a business that you love, and give it all you can,” advises Maha Al Ghunaim, the Vice Chairperson and Group CEO of the Kuwait-based Global Investment House (GIH). Al Ghunaim’s company was the very first Kuwaiti organization to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and today manages a formidable US$4.3 billion in assets. Back when it was launched, Global was a small startup, with only a very determined woman at the helm. Today, the company plays a key role promoting investment opportunities across the Middle East through its brokerage, asset management, and investment bank- ing divisions. In fact, GIH’s private equity funds –one of which, Global Buyout Fund, distributed $15 million to its investors in August- have distributed a total amount of more than $473 million since its inception. The company is now working on launching a Middle East-focused Secondary Fund (the first of its kind in the region), as well as a platform to invest in the healthcare market of the GCC and Turkey.

Kara Schoeffling is a public relations executive, working with a variety of clients across the Middle East. Enthusiastic about women's entrepreneurship in the Middle East, Schoeffling's background in public policy and communications has been put to work advising startups, non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies and governments. A graduate of Georgetown University, Schoeffling is based in...

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