Profiled: Fahad Al Rajaan

Fahad al rajaanuk

Born in Kuwait in 1948, Fahad Al Rajaan studied at the American University of Washington DC, graduating in 1974 with a Business Administration bachelor’s degree.

Early in his career, Mr Al Rajaan was employed by the Kuwait Investment Company as Issues Manager, a role he held for the next six years. He served as the Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium’s Managing Director and Chairman between 1981 and 1984.

The Kuwaiti Government later appointed him Director General of the PIFSS (Public Institution for Social Security for Kuwait). In this role, Mr Al Rajaan was responsible for managing assets valued at around $30 billion. The PIFSS is largely funded by oil revenues and supports the Kuwaiti people.

In addition to his role as Director General of PIFSS, Mr Al Rajaan has a long and established career in the finance industry. He served as Chairman of the Ahli United Bank (previously known as the United Bank of Kuwait until 2002). Since 1971, Ahli United Bank has been owned by the State of Kuwait. The Bank is Bahrain’s largest lender by market, providing treasury, offshore, wealth management, retail, corporate, and private banking services. Fahad Al Rajaan proved particularly successful in this role.

In 1985, Fahad Al Rajaan co-founded Wafra Investment Advisory Group, a New York-based organisation established to manage and invest monies from the PIFSS. Mr Al Rajaan presided over the Wafra Investment Advisory Group as Chairman. Over the years, the organisation expanded its operations. Today, PIFSS funds equate to just 30% of Wafra’s $10 billion portfolio of assets.

Throughout his career, Mr Al Rajaan has served as Chairman or board member of a number of notable financial institutions, including the Egyptian Gulf Bank in Cairo, the Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium, Pargesa Holdings, and the Industrial Bank of Kuwait.

A keen amateur golfer, Mr Al Rajaan enjoyed great success at the 21st edition of the Dubai Duty Free Golf Cup, staged at the prestigious Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. At the event, Fahad Al Rajaan beat over 100 golfers, including previous champions Marino Chiarentin, Craig McBride, Francisco Giles, and Khalid Al Halyan, to win the champion title with an impressive 42 stableford points followed up with a one-shot victory.

Fahad Al Rajaan is married with four children. His impressive career in the investment and financial services industry has earned him a place amongst the top 500 most influential Arabs in the world today.