Arif Naqvi is the Founder and Group Chief  Executive Officer of Dubai-based Abraaj Capital, the largest private equity  group in the Middle East and North Africa.

Educated at the  London School of Economics, Mr Naqvi then worked with Arthur Andersen & Co,  American Express Bank, Saudi    Arabia’s Olayan Group and The Cupola Group,  which he founded in 1994.

Mr Naqvi is a  member of the Young Presidents Organization, where he was the Emirates Chapter  Chairman from 2002 to 2003. He was designated a New Asian Leader by the World  Economic Forum (WEF) from 2003 to 2004. He is a member of numerous think-tanks  and policy groups, such as the WEF Arab Business Council. He is also a Board  Member of the Pakistan Human Development Fund, the King Abdullah II Award for  Youth Innovation & Achievement in Jordan  and the Dubai Government Education Endowment Fund in the United Arab Emirates. Most recently  he was invited to become a member of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on Capital  Flows. He is a member of the Washington-based Emerging Markets Private Equity Association  (EMPEA) Advisory Council.

Mr Naqvi was  recognized as one of the 50-most influential people in the private equity  industry by Private Equity International (PEI) magazine in 2007 and 2008. In  2006, he was awarded the highest civilian honour in Pakistan, the  Sitari-e-Imtiaz, by the republic’s President.