INVEST QATAR - Key Persons
Aymen leads the Strategic Planning and Incentives Management department at the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar. He has extensive experience in investment across a breadth of sectors worldwide.
Aymen previously led the strategy and economic policy efforts at the Qatar Financial Centre and subsequently served as an economic adviser at the Minister of Finance Office in Qatar. Before that, he worked at The Boston Consulting Group in the Middle East region where he mainly advised sovereign wealth funds and financial institutions on investment strategies and the public sector on national development plans.
Aymen has spent half of his career in investment banking. He started his career with Natixis where he executed project finance and public private partnership deals within the energy, transportation, and infrastructure sectors as part of his tenure in both France and North America. He was a Vice President at Deutsche Bank, where he was part of the Project Finance Advisory division in the Middle East and the M&A division in Brazil. Additionally, he has worked with BTG Pactual's M&A team in Hong Kong.
Aymen achieved his Doctorate of Business Administration, in the field of nation branding and foreign direct investment, from Ecole des Ponts Business School, his MBA in Finance & Strategy from the Wharton School and MPA in International & Global Affairs from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He received his dual MS degrees in financial management and entrepreneurship from the Grenoble Graduate School of Business. Aymen speaks fluent English, French, Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer at Qatar Free Zones Authority
Sheikh Mohammed is involved in all day-to-day operations within the Qatar Free Zones. In addition, Sheikh Mohammed is also responsible for the wider strategy and direction for the Authority.
Sheikh Mohammed previously worked within the Investments Team at Qatar Foundation Endowment, as one of its founding members. Early on in his career Sheikh Mohammed was seconded to Goldman Sachs working for the Asset Management team. Subsequently, appointed to the Qatar Foundation Endowment's Strategy Committee in partnership with Goldman Sachs.
Within his tenure at Qatar Foundation Endowment Sheikh Mohammed led several notable international investments, was appointed as a Board Director of several portfolio companies and oversaw the management of external investment fund managers.
Sheikh Mohammed holds an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from George Washington University. He is also an Alumni of the Qatar Leadership Centre.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Media City
- Chief Executive Officer, Media City Qatar
His Excellency Sheikh Ali bin Abdulla bin Khalifa Al-Thani is the Chief Executive Officer of Media City (Qatar) and plays a key role of managing the overall operations, planning and development of the strategic direction for Media City (Qatar). Sheikh Ali's focus is to drive the long-term success by securing high-quality investment opportunities with major regional and international players in the media industry.
Previously, Sheikh Ali served in The Amir's Advisory Office for Economic Affairs, in the Amiri Diwan. His extensive media experience includes serving as an Advisor and Deputy Director for Media Affairs at the Government Communications Office (GCO), where he earlier was Head of Media Relations & Communications. In addition, Sheikh Ali was a commercial advisor with Qatar Shell Service Company and has worked in technical and financial areas with Qatar Energy, formerly Qatar Petroleum (QP).
Sheikh Ali serves as an Advisory Board Member of Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPAQ), In addition, he served as Committee Member at different Media Boards including Qatar Media Corporation (QMC), and Crisis Management Team at the National Command Center (NCC).
Sheikh Ali's academic background includes a Master of Science in Finance from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from American University in Washington.
Job Titles:
- Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Board
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry in October 2021. He was Deputy Governor and Vice-Chairman of the Qatar Central Bank from March 2018 to October 2021. In April 2018, Sheikh Mohammed was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and later that year, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the QFC Regulatory Authority until October 2021. He has served as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qatar Development Bank from 2019 to 2021. Prior to his March 2018 Qatar Central Bank appointment, Sheikh Mohammed held a range of senior roles there, including Director of the Risk Management Department until 2012. Following that, for five years, he held the role of Secretary of the Personal Representative of His Highness the Amir for follow-up affairs.
Job Titles:
- Head of the Executive Office of H.E. the Prime Minister
Abdulla Hamad Al-Misnad is currently occupying the position, Head of the Executive Office of H.E. The Prime Minister. He has previously worked as the Deputy CEO of Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), where he led and oversaw QFZA's business development, this is in addition to being a member of the Board of Directors of Doha Venture Capital (DVC), the global venture capital arm of Qatar Free Zones. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a member of the Board of Directors of Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council, Advisory Board member of Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPAQ). He also served as a Board member of the Qatari DIAR, a real estate company that manages projects including Lusail City, the 38 sq. km. smart city development.
Before joining QFZA, Abdulla served as the Director of the Ministry of Finance's Public Projects Department, overseeing the State of Qatar's $200bn infrastructure budget. Prior to this, he worked for Shell leading carbon and energy efficiency projects.
Abdulla began his career as an engineer at ExxonMobil and a fellow with Qatar Science and Technology Park, and subsequently ran several successful startups in the energy and healthcare sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Economics from Stanford University, and a Master of Science degree in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Board Member of Qatar Postal Services Company
- Deputy Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
Saud Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah is the Deputy Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance. He previously held the position of Director of Economic Policies and Research Department at the Ministry of Finance and was also in charge of managing the Public and Private Partnership Department from 2014.
Mr. Al Attiyah is a Board Member of Qatar Postal Services Company (Q-Post), Chairman of the Economic Diversification and Private Sector Development Strategy within the National Development Strategy 2018 - 2022, Vice Chairman of the Executive Technical Committee for improving the business environment at H.E. the Prime Minister's office, Vice Chairman of Aspire Sport Accelerator, and has served as Chairman of Lusail Circuit Sports Club since 2015.
Previously, Mr. Al Attiyah served as Director of Legacy Department at the Supreme Committee for Legacy & Delivery from 2011 to 2014, and also as a member of various advisory and executive committees at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Aspire Zone, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Ministry of Education.
Mr. Al Attiyah holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from HEC Paris (Winner of best Capstone project) and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Qatar University. He is currently a Doctorate of Business Administration candidate at the Swiss Business School in Zurich, Switzerland.
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing and Communications at the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar
Jassim Al-Naama was appointed the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar in 2021. Prior to joining IPA Qatar, Jassim was a Public Relations Manager at Nakilat, a shipping and maritime company based in the State of Qatar. In his capacity, he led Nakilat and its Joint Ventures communications initiatives, both internally and externally, in addition to creating the company's branding strategy.
Jassim served as well in many positions across different organisations, including Head of Public Relations and Events of Muntajat, and an Events Officer at Msheireb Properties. Through his career journey, Jassim has acquired vast experience, which spans Public Relations, Events Management, Crisis Communication, Public Speaking and Digital Marketing.
Jassim holds a bachelor's degree in marketing, from Qatar University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Investor Relations
Jeroen leads the Investor Relations and Stakeholder Management department at the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar. Jeroen has longstanding experience in developing, executing, and managing international public sector policies aimed at the business sector.
Prior to joining IPA Qatar, Jeroen was heading the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, an Agency dedicated to attracting foreign investors to the Netherlands. In addition, he was responsible for coordinating the Invest in Holland network, comprising of all the relevant investment promotion platforms of the country, and acted as the first Chair of the network of Investment Promotion Agencies of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.
Jeroen received his Master's degrees in Political Science and Economics, and in Public Administration from the Radboud University in the Netherlands, both summa cum laude.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Financial Centre Authority
Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) in June 2015. He previously held the role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Strategic Business Development Officer at QFC where he was responsible for leading the overall strategy and business development functions of the organisation.
Prior to joining QFC, he was Head of Indirect Investment at the Qatar General Retirement and Pension Authority, which included overseeing the management of hedge fund, private equity, real estate, fixed income, and equity portfolio investments. He has also worked for Qatar Petroleum and Dolphin Energy early in his career.
Yousuf serves as board member in leading local and international organisations including the World Alliance of International Financial Centers, Qatar Finance and Business Academy, College of Islamic Studies Advisory Board Meeting, Qatar Free Zones Authority and Qatar Stock Exchange.
He is also a board member of the Investment Promotion Agency of Qatar and Qatar Business Events Corporation. Yousuf also sits on the Advisory Council of Qatar University's College of Business and Economics and serves as a member in the Financial Markets Development Committee.
Previously, Yousuf was on the boards of Nakilat QSC and the $1 billion strategic investment fund of Unicorn Investment Bank, as well as serving as Vice Chairman of Mayadeen Real Estate Company KSCC. He graduated from the University of Arizona, USA, with a bachelor's in electrical engineering.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Investment Promotion Agency Qatar
Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani is the Chief Executive Officer of Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar). He is also a board member of Katara Hospitality, Media City (Qatar), Qatari Diar and the Qatar Free Zones Authority.
Previously, Sheikh Ali was appointed as Coordinator for Economic Affairs at the Prime Minister's office overseeing a broad range of activities related to Qatar's economic and investment agenda.
He has also served as Director of the State of Qatar's Office to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he oversaw negotiations and standing committees in the WTO related to market access, agriculture, trade and investment, subsidies and other key areas. Moreover, he was elected by consensus as Chairman of the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) Committee in 2017, which is responsible for one of the principal legal agreements of the WTO. In his role as Chairman, he oversaw the regular functioning of the committee and was involved in the ongoing investment facilitation working group discussions.
Sheikh Ali also served as the Commercial Attaché to Qatar's permanent mission to the United Nations, covering negotiations and standing committees in the UNCTAD and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, as well as an Executive Master's in International Negotiation & Policymaking from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Financial Centre