National Holding EIIC - National Holding

Emirates International Investment Company LLC (EIIC) is National Holding’s strategic investment vehicle.

Since the early 1990s, EIIC has been a significant investor in the MENA region and globally.

The company targets opportune investments in sectors with high-growth potential. EIIC is a patient, long-term investor and scouts for sustainable growth and value creation across its investment portfolio. EIIC has made long-term strategic investments in a number of regional and international companies, such as Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank which began operations in 1998; Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, formed in 1985 and now the third largest bank in the UAE; ADIB – Egypt (formerly National Bank for Development), which was incorporated in Cairo in 1980; and Abu Dhabi National Hotels, founded almost four decades ago, which owns some of the most reputable hotels in the UAE.

EIIC has made investments in several key regional and international companies. Listed below are the principal ones:

ADIB

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) was established by Emiri Decree in 1997 and began commercial operations in late 1998. As one of the first banks to promote Islamic banking globally, ADIB is a Public Joint Stock Company and carries out all its activities – including contracts, operations and transactions – in accordance with Islamic Shariah principles, under the core guiding principle of ‘Banking as it should be’.

ADIB-EGYPT

ADIB-Egypt focuses on a broad spectrum of Shariah-compliant banking solutions, catering to the needs of corporate and retail customers. Aiming at integrating services, the bank has developed state-of-the-art infrastructure and established an investment banking arm (ADIB Capital Egypt), a leasing company (ADILease) and an asset management division (ADIB Invest).

ABU DHABI NATIONAL HOTELS

Since its inception over 30 years ago, Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) has expanded greatly, now owning and operating hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Its Al Diar Hotels division owns 10 hotels across the UAE. Complementing its hotel activities, ADNH also operates a catering division, cleaning services, taxi and chauffeur services, fleet leasing and short, medium and long-term car rental. The company has recently acquired a portfolio of Address Hotels in the UAE.

AGTHIA

Agthia, established in 2004, has over 4500 employees actively engaged in manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Agthia has become a household name, both, locally and within the region. Some of their leading brands include, Al Ain Water and Fresh Juice, Alpin Natural Spring Water, Capri-Sun, Yoplait Yogurt and Grand Mills Flour.

ENTRUST CAPITAL

Established in 2018, Entrust Capital is a boutique firm offering asset management and financial ‎advisory services to institutional clients, family offices and high net worth individuals across the ‎MENA region. Entrust Capital connects regional clients with investment opportunities around the ‎globe across sectors and asset classes, by leveraging its unique experience to cater to client’s ‎needs and investment priorities. Entrust Capital is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services ‎Authority (DFSA) and is licensed to provide financial services to Professional Clients and Market ‎Counterparties, with a goal to generate long-term, risk-adjusted returns for its clients.

EIIC manages direct investments, co-investments and investments in private equity funds around the world, though the focus is principally on the UAE and North Africa. EIIC has also invested significant capital in Europe and South East Asia and actively seeks high potential investment opportunities with quality partners around the world.

EIIC is a significant and long-term investor in the capital markets and other financial investment opportunities. While the investment focus is on the UAE and the wider MENA region, the company has also made major investments globally. The investment philosophy aims to maximize the upside potential, whilst minimizing the risk profile.

Through Entrust Capital, EIIC offers a range of asset management and financial advisory services to family offices and institutional clients across the UAE and the MENA region. The company takes a prudent approach to both managing assets and providing advice, taking into account the return objectives and risk tolerance of our clients. The ultimate goal is to generate long-term, risk-adjusted returns for clients.

Joseph Iskander

HEAD OF INVESTMENTS EIIC & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ENTRUST CAPITAL

Joseph has over two decades’ experience in the financial services industry, covering asset management, private equity, portfolio management, financial restructuring, research, banking, and audit. Prior to assuming his role as Entrust Capital CEO, Joseph joined Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) in July 2017 as Head of Investments where he is responsible for spearheading and managing EIIC’s investments.

Joseph began his career at Deloitte & Touche (Egypt) as an Auditor, before working as an Investment Advisor for Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) and then as Head of Research for Egypt’s Prime Investments. In 2004, he joined Dubai Group as an Investment Manager working on a range of M&A transactions, advisory services, asset management, and private equity transactions with a collective value in excess of USD 8 billion. He then moved on to work as Head of Research for Dubai Capital Group, until 2009 when he joined Dubai Group as their Managing Director of Asset Management.

Joseph served as Non-Executive Director on the boards of EFG Hermes in Egypt, Oasis Capital Bank in Bahrain, Sun Hung Kai & Co in Hong Kong, Qalaa Holdings in Egypt, Emirates Retakaful in UAE, Marfin Laiki Bank in Cyprus, and Marfin Investment Group in Greece. He holds a Degree in Accounting and Finance with high distinction from Helwan University, Egypt.

Amro Diab

ACTING CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER EIIC
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF ENTRUST CAPITAL

Amro Diab brings over 25 years’ experience in investment banking and brokerage and is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Entrust Capital, as well as Acting Chief Operating Officer at EIIC. He also holds various Board and committee member positions in companies owned by National Holdings and affiliate companies.

Prior to joining EIIC, Mr. Diab started at EFG- Hermes and evolved from working on the first Egyptian privatizations projects as an analyst to leaving the Advisory in 1995 and moving on to stock brokerage where he was responsible for sales to local retail and foreign institutional clients to even participated in creating the first Egyptian stock market index known as the EFG- Hermes index.

In 1999 he set up a lower GCC sales desk for EFG-Hermes and built a team to handle relationships across the Middle East ex Saudi Arabia. That experience was much a needed help on his move to Dubai to help set up the first brokerage operation outside of Egypt. Having his client base was a major factor in getting EFG- Hermes Brokerage UAE up to speed and swiftly reaching the top ranks in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Diab was instrumental in establishing the GCC institutional client desk where he spearheaded the cross selling of different GCC market through creating a one stop shop brokerage company. Building on the client base and recognizing the need to a bigger challenge across all companies’ business lines and not only brokerage, Mr. Diab decided to move along with EFG- Hermes UAE CEO and set up a coverage department with the main aim of maintaining the client relationships along with cross selling the company’ product line. Being a part of that team helped him originate Investment banking deals, raise money for the EFG- Hermes asset management along with expanding the brokerage company’s reach and client base.

In Early 2017 Mr. Diab decided to leave EFG-Hermes and pursue his career path with Emirates International Investment company (EIIC) where he is currently the Acting COO. In 2019 EIIC set up Entrust Capital Limited, a category 3C authorized asset management company in Dubai International Financial Centre with the aim of managing EIIC and, other family offices investment.

Hawary Marshad

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Experienced in financial leadership roles, Hawary joined EIIC in February 2018 as the CFO. Under his current role, he leads the finance, accounting, and treasury functions, while working closely with the senior management of the Group to provide direction and support.

Before joining EIIC, Hawary was CFO of Deyaar Development, a fully integrated real estate development and management company. At Deyaar, he initiated a strategic five-year plan with a focus on diversification to counter the cyclical nature of real estate. After Deyaar, he migrated to Canada where he set up a consultancy company providing finance and accounting services and sourcing of investment opportunities.

Prior to Deyaar, Hawary was the Group CFO at Zabeel Investments, a company which had significant investments in real estate, private equity, and capital markets. He led the financial restructuring of the group and oversaw the completion of several key projects. Hawary was the Head of Finance for a Saudi FMGC conglomerate, where he was a key member of senior management, including the acting COO for the last 18 months.

Hawary began his career in auditing at a public accounting firm in Dubai and earned his CPA in 1994. He worked at Ernst & Young for 11 years moving up to Executive Director during his last three years there. His main areas of focus were audit, accounting, valuation and due diligence, consulting, and internal audit services. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with a major in Finance from the University of Houston in 1990.

Vanessa Abernethy

GENERAL COUNSEL

Vanessa has over 20 years of legal experience and she joined Emirates International Investment Company in 2015, where she heads the legal and governance functions for the group, covering legal and regulatory risk and sits on legal and compliance board committees across the National Holding group.

Vanessa’s previous experience includes corporate transactional and advisory work, advising on M&A transactions, joint ventures, securities offerings, IPOs, stock exchange listings, and private equity transactions. She has advised listed companies and investment banks in relation to a range of equity and debt security issues and frequently works with financial services regulators. Vanessa has also regularly advised on corporate law and governance issues and on employment law and contractual matters. On the funds side, she has assisted fund managers to create funds and advised on the regulation of funds in the most significant funds jurisdictions in the world. On the regulatory side she assists with FATCA and anti-money laundering disclosures and questions related to sanctions and UK and US bribery and corruption legislation.

Vanessa began her extensive career in the UAE in early 2005. Prior to this, she spent two and a half years working for the New Zealand Stock Exchange and several years at New Zealand’s largest commercial law firm. She has been practicing law since 1996 and has been recognized as a key individual in the United Arab Emirates by various legal directories & recently featured on the list of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Finance in the Middle East.

Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree and a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

Saket Narula

HEAD OF IT

Saket has over 20 years of global work experience serving IT Leadership roles in Asia & Middle East Region. He is currently is our Group Head of IT & leads Digital Transformation Strategy across our different business verticals. His previous experience includes maneuvering IT at Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE; Head IT Operations at PriceWaterHouseCoopers, India & Asia Pacific IT Leader for Fair Isaac Corporation.

To his credits, he was a member of PwC- Global Technology Strategy Board & National IT Leadership Team. He specializes in areas of IT Governance, Cyber Security & Business transformation initiatives.

Saket has a completed his Executive Management from IIM, Kolkata ( India) & has Master’s Degree in Computer Science. Besides numerous technical certifications, he has completed his Leadership and Management Trainings from University of St. Thomas, USA & Gallup University, USA.

EIIC