Qatar names Mansoor al Mahmoud chief of $320bn QIA fund
Dubai, UAE - Qatar appointed Mansoor bin Ebrahim al Mahmoud as the chief executive officer of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the world’s largest sovereign funds.
He replaces Qatari royal Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al Thani, who becomes a minister of state, after nearly four years at the helm, according to a royal decree published by staterun Qatar News Agency. It didn’t provide more details.
The appointment isn’t Mahmoud’s first brush with the world’s tenth-largest wealth fund. The executive, who has led Qatar Museums since 2014, previously worked as the head of risk management at the Persian Gulf state’s wealth fund. Mahmoud served as director of investment affairs for Qatar’s former prime minister and was also the CEO of Qatar Development Bank, according to his biography on Qatar Museums.
The QIA has about US$320bn in assets, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI). It owns stakes in international companies ranging from commodities giant Glencore Plc to British lender Barclays Plc. The fund and other Qatari investors have also amassed holdings in Hollywood, New York office space, London residential property, luxury Italian fashion and even a soccer team.
It has concluded more than 60 deals since 2015 during the tenure of the outgoing CEO. The majority of these transactions were in Europe and North America, according to SWFI data. The fund has been expanding its global reach with a plan to invest US$35bn in the US by 2020. Last year, it announced it would open an office in San Francisco to focus on the technology industry. Among its most recent deals was the purchase of New York’s 111-year-old Plaza Hotel in July.
Under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah, the QIA moved away from its strategy of investments in trophy assets, instead focusing on diversifying its portfolio in the US and Asia and deploying more resources at home. The QIA, which was created in 2005 to handle the windfall from Qatar’s liquefied natural gas and oil exports, stepped in to help local banks and companies last year after Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries severed diplomatic and transport ties with the country.