Saudi wealth fund makes senior hires, including Goldman banker

Saudi Arabia’s $430bn sovereign wealth fund made three senior hires, including Goldman Sachs Group’s head of investment banking in the kingdom, as it expands deal-making.

Goldman banker Eyas AlDossari will head investment advisory within the MENA Investments Division of the fund, according to a statement. Omar AlMadhi, who previously worked with Saudi Aramco and Volkswagen, will join him at the division as co-head of direct investments.

The fund also appointed Abdullah Shaker, who previously worked for Saudi AlBaraka Banking Group and HSBC Holdings, as the head of capital finance advisory and planning department at its Global Capital Finance Division.

The PIF has been on an aggressive hiring spree over the past six years as it looks to transform from a domestically focused holding company, into the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. Last week, the fund appointed Turqi Alnowaiser and Yazeed Alhumied as deputy governors.

The wealth fund is a key lever for the kingdom’s efforts to revive growth after a recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and lower oil prices. Chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the fund has outlined a plan to grow its assets under management to over $1.1 trillion by 2025, while investing $40 billion annually into Saudi Arabia’s economy.

Since 2015, the PIF has grown assets under management to $430bn from about $150bn. It has taken stakes in Uber Technologies, put $45bn into SoftBank’s Vision Fund, and backed electric vehicle maker Lucid. It’s also increased headcount to more than 1,100 from about 40.