User:Lmw2605/Tarek Haffar

Tarek Haffar is a prolific, highly successful, 35-year-old businessman of Syrian-Chechen descent, living between Beirut, Lebanon to be close to his family and Dubai, UAE for work. Mr. Haffar holds the distinguished position of Managing Director for Middle East Investments at Credit Suisse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Education
He holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Financial Economics from the American University of Beirut, and has attended several Executive Education seminars at world-renowned Business Schools, including Wharton and Harvard.

Career
Mr. Haffar is a senior private banker with Credit Suisse, assigned as Key Account Manager, with responsibilities that include managing client-relationships, and addressing the complex investment needs of some of the largest and most well-known sovereign wealth funds and institutions in the Middle East region.

A primary element of his work is to synergize the relationship between the Credit Suisse Private Banking and Investment Banking verticals, helping to identify and deliver “One Bank” solutions to clients, while improving divisional relationships.

To this effort, Mr. Haffar is an important ambassador of the “One Bank” philosophy at Credit Suisse, and works closely with Private Banking peers at the bank to identify investment and institutional needs of clients, while deploying unique solutions across the bank.

Achievements
As part of this effort, Mr. Haffar has recently been involved in several enormous trades of securities and stock, including successfully placing equity and debt of Barclays on behalf of the International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi (IPIC). This complex transaction was the result of collaboration and integration across the bank, drawing on the relationships and expertise of Credit Suisse’s country, division and product bankers across the region. Mr. Haffar was instrumental in initiations, closing as well as negotiations throughout the different steps of the deal.

He is currently completing his Ph.D. thesis on a timely topic for the Levant and Middle East region at the American University of Beirut, as well as conducting a seminar at the well-known educational institution.

He was a pioneer in the late 1990’s in engaging High Net Worth individuals across the Middle East to invest in large-scale investments, including “Sharia Compliant” investment products, ultimately rising to the position of First Vice President of Investments at Merrill Lynch International Bank, with coverage areas including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Lebanon. By his early 30’s, he was personally responsible for US $ Billions in investment products, enriching both his clients and his investment firm, all the while navigating the turbulent and heady waters of the Middle Eastern markets over the past decade and a half.

In an interview with Bespoke Magazine in early 2008, Mr. Haffar is described as a “rising star in the investment banking industry… within a space of ten years, he has grown from being an investment advisor at Merrill Lynch for 13 years serving in Beirut and then in London to becoming the powerhouse’s first Vice-President for Global Investments”, before moving to Credit Suisse after “almost two years of negotiations.” In that article, Mr. Haffar confides that his success comes from his innate belief in “win-win situations”.

Memberships
He has achieved membership in both the Chairman and Eagle’s Clubs every year, and is a member of several financial leadership associations including:

Member of the Board of Advisors of Credit Suisse Permal Fund Member of the Board of Directors of the EFG-Hermes Saudi Arabia Equity Fund Member of the British Syrian Society Member of the Board of Directors of the Carbon Holdings Ltd Member of the Palmira Development Group (to be updated?)

A man of intense personal discipline, derived from both his athletic and professional career, Mr. Haffar shared his experience as a Producer and Host of “Portfolio” on the Al-Arabiya TV Network, an Arabic-language financials-oriented talk show that ran for thirteen episodes. The show featured Mr. Haffar interviewing Senior Executives in the finance industry discussing various financial products.

“Change is something constant, but I personally don’t like to change from a professional point of view. Yes the markets can swing, but I seek equilibrium, and I find solutions. I have only a few goals professionally, and they don’t change. And if you look at my career, you’ll see no reason to argue with that philosophy.” A practicing advocate of the Thai Boxing sport, “Muay Thai,” Mr. Haffar prizes a unique personal balance between sport and business, sponsoring championships at the Shogun Club kickboxing club in Beirut.