Muhannad is an accomplished investment professional with over 25 years of experience in private equity, direct investments, and operations across the GCC and international markets. He has a proven track record of leadership, having led one of the largest private equity teams in the GCC.
Prior to the establishment of Olive Rock Partners in 2020, Muhannad served as Senior Managing Director of Private Equity at Gulf Capital, where he led the Private Equity team and played a pivotal role in building and managing the division and its c.USD 1.4 billion of AUM, overseeing every facet of the investment process—from deal sourcing and negotiations to global fundraising and post-acquisition strategy. He was also a founding shareholder and a member of the Investment Committee. Over his distinguished 14-year tenure, His strategic vision and leadership were instrumental in shaping the firm's growth and expanding its regional and international footprint.
Earlier in his career, Muhannad held senior positions as Senior Principal at Investcorp and Senior Investment Advisor at Morgan Stanley in London. These roles allowed him to gain deep expertise in international markets, high-level advisory work, and complex investment strategies.
Muhannad holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with concentrations in Creative Writing and Economics.
Abdullah enjoys over 20 years of experience in private equity, direct investments and operations across the GCC and regionally and has worked on transactions worth over $4 billion.
Prior to the establishment of Olive Rock Partners in 2020, Abdullah was a Managing Director at Gulf Capital (7 years total), where he was fully responsible for execution of transactions, as well as implementation of post-acquisition strategies and exits of portfolio companies. Abdullah was the deal leader on portfolio companies valued at over $500M during that time.
Prior to joining Gulf Capital, Abdullah was a partner at The Abraaj Group where he spent 10 years.He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from Concordia University.
Ahmed is a founding member of Olive Rock Partners and has over 15 years of private equity and M&A experience across the MENA region. He is a key member of the Private Equity investment team with extensive experience and involvement in all stages of the Private Equity deal life cycle.
Prior to Olive Rock, Ahmed spent 5 years as a Private Equity investment professional within Gulf Capital’s Private Equity team, working alongside Muhannad and Abdullah since 2015.
Prior to joining Gulf Capital, Ahmed spent 5 years at Deloitte’s Financial Advisory team, advising on M&A transactions across the MENA region.
Ahmed is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Ottawa University.
Luis joined Olive Rock in October 2020. Prior to that, Luis spent 3 years at Brookfield Private Equity London and 3 years at JP Morgan Investment Banking London.
Luis holds a M.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Business from ICADE Madrid.
Talal was previously a Manager in PwC where he had worked for over 5 years in the Deals Advisory Line of Service. Talal was involved in over 30 international and regional buy-side and sell-side transactions across 10+ industries while working in PwC.
Talal is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut.
