Leaders from private equity sector provide insights into ‘executive' mindset

Three leading executives from the world of private equity shared their secrets of success in this season’s third ‘The Executive Mindset’ workshop series hosted by Canadian University Dubai (CUD) in association with Shane Phillips Consultants.

Participating in a discussion entitled ‘The Private Equity Game’, Mr. Abdullah Shahin, Executive Director of Gulf Capital; Mr. Imad Ghandour, Managing Director of Cedarbridge Partners; and Mr. Raman Thiagarajan, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, spoke about the challenges and achievements as they climbed to the summit of their profession.

Inspired to foray the same career for very different reasons, each of the panel members took a leap of faith when they entered the industry in the UAE, where private equity investment was still a nascent field in the early 2000s.

Mr. Thiagarajan described his ‘daunting, challenging and exciting’ journey, which began with a career change when he moved from banking to private equity consulting. Revealing his own formula for success, Mr. Thiagarajan stressed the importance of having a vision and the conviction to see it through, and to be willing to take risks and not succumb to self-imposed limitations.

Having weathered the 2008 financial crisis, Mr. Shahin provided his insights into the challenge of uncertainty, and how tolerance for commercial risk is one of the most important factors in investment decisions.  Sharing his thoughts on how to succeed, Mr. Shahin cautioned that private equity is not a ‘get rich quick’ business, but requires patience, discipline and long-term commitment.

With a distinguished career in private equity, Mr. Ghandour spoke about the evolution of the private equity business in the UAE and how the sector can progress in the coming years by customizing its operations to the Middle East market. He revealed the details of his own tough times in business, and the importance of a willingness to changes course in order to achieve targets and goals.

The event was part of the 2014-15 series of leadership development workshops aimed at informing and empowering executives to take their next step on the career ladder, and introducing students and new graduates to the dynamics of the business world.  

The session was introduced by seasoned careers expert and presenter of Dubai Eye show, ‘Eye on Careers’, Mr. Shane Phillips, who gave an insight into the ‘Millionaire Mindset’, stressing the importance of self-belief, tactics, industry knowledge and professional capability in achieving career success.

The workshop series will resume in January, with more inspirational leaders sharing their professional insights across a wide range of business sectors, including healthcare, technology, media and logistics.