PIF appoints new executive team, names Rania Nashar as advisor to fund governor

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The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced today, Dec. 22, appointments in the executive management as part of its expansion drive.

The appointments included: 

-Yazeed Bin Abdul Rahman AlHumied as new Head of the Fund’s Local Holdings Investments 

-Rashed Sharif as the Managing Director and CEO of the merged entity of NCB Capital and Samba Capital 

-Rania Nashar as senior advisor to PIF Governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan 

-Fahad Alsaif as new Head of Corporate Finance 

-Alireza Zaimi, previous Head of Corporate Finance, as Special Advisor to Yasir Al-Rumayyan   

-Saad Alkroud as acting Chief of Staff 

The new appointments aim to support and implement PIF’s ambitious strategy by enhancing its executive team expertise, both within the Fund and across its many portfolio companies.  

Rania Nashar will hold the advisor position to the fund’s Governor as a new member in the PIF. She has more than 20 years of experience in the banking sector, governance, risk management, and compliance. 

Nashar is the first Saudi woman to hold an executive position for a banking group, as she was appointed as Samba Financial Group’s CEO. She is a member of several boards of directors, including the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). 

Alsaif joined the Fund from his role as the chief executive of the National Debt Management Center and advisor to the Finance Minister. He has more than 20 years of experience in corporate and investment banking. In addition, he will become a member of PIF’s management committee. 

The PIF has a strong leadership team with extensive experience in various fields. These experiences will enhance the growth of the fund's diversified portfolio and range of business interests.

Welcoming Rania Nashar and Fahad Alsaif to the fund, PIF Governor Yasir Al Rumayyan affirmed that they will bring extensive financial and banking experience to their strategic positions, which will contribute to accelerating the fund growth. 

“These appointments further strengthen our proven leadership team and are critical to ensuring we continue to achieve our ambitious growth trajectory and important mandate on behalf of the people of Saudi Arabia,” he added. 

The PIF is one of the largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds in the world. The Fund is the main engine helping to drive Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation as part of the country’s Vision 2030.

Last week, the Fund crossed the 1,000-employee mark from about 40 in 2016. 

PIF's assets under management (AUM) have grown to more than SAR 1.3 trillion ($360 billion), with a total of SAR 311 billion ($83 billion) being invested in the Saudi economy in the past four years, leading to creation of more than 190,000 new job opportunities across the Kingdom.

According to data compiled by Argaam, Samba Financial Group’s board of directors approved on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, the resignation of Rania Mahmoud Nashar from the position of Group CEO, effective Jan. 31, 2021.