Dr. Karim El Solh
Board Member
Middle East Glass ManufacturingCompany
Dr. Karim El Solh
Co‐Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Gulf Capital
Dr. Karim El Solh is the Co‐Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Capital, one of the leading alternative asset management firms in the Middle East, investing across several asset classes including Private Equity, Credit and Mezzanine and Real Estate.
Under his leadership, Gulf Capital has been associated with some of the region’s most prominent private equity and credit and mezzanine transactions and has won numerous awards including “Best Private Equity Firm in the Middle East” Award by Banker Middle East Magazine in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and the “Best Private Equity Firm” in the Middle East and North Africa by Private Equity International, as well as “Best SMEs Credit Fund in the Middle East” in 2015 and “Best Alternative Asset Management Firm in the Middle East” in 2016 and 2017. The Firm currently manages over US$4 billion of assets across 10 funds and investment vehicles.
Prior to founding Gulf Capital, Dr El Solh was the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Investment Bank, The National Investor. Under his leadership, the Firm was involved in a number of groundbreaking private equity transactions and was ranked the number one IPO underwriter in the Gulf.
Dr. El Solh holds a B.S. degree in civil engineering from Cornell University, an MBA from Georgetown University and a Doctorate in Economics from the Institut D’Etudes Politiques de Paris.