He’s the founder and chairman of a company that is well respected in the financial industry. He’s also the managing director of another business specialising in equity markets, construction and properties. He has lectured at the Dubai Men’s College and is a non-resident fellow at the Dubai School of Government. Is that all? Not even close.
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi doesn’t seem to ever switch off. Besides taking care of two businesses, he is a prolific columnist and writes for numerous international publications. He co-hosts Business Tonight, a weekly radio show analysing business across the region and aboard. He has been described as being instrumental in raising awareness on the Arab Spring through his Twitter feed (@SultanAlQassemi) and is seen as an ambassador for social media.
Frequently commenting on Arab affairs, Al Qassemi’s columns have been published in Gulf News, The New York Times, The Financial Times, Foreign Policy, Open Democracy and The Guardian. Oh, and those columns are in English by the way — he speaks English, Arabic and French. His areas of interest centre on political, social and economic themes related to the Middle East region.
You may expect the man to have a solid academic background. Well, you’d be very right, too. Al Qassemi attended the European Business School, where he completed his master’s degree in global banking and finance. As if post-graduate studies weren’t enough, he graduated cum laude, no less. Having studied at the American University of Paris as well, Al Qassemi obtained his BSc in international business administration.
His engagement with tertiary-level institutions didn’t end there, though. Al Qassemi lectured at the Dubai Men’s College, teaching Middle Eastern history and entrepreneurship. Playing a role in shaping the minds of youths at an academic level seems apt — he does something similar at a social level. Al Qassemi is viewed as a highly influential professional leveraging his background in order to try and bring about social and political reforms in the Arab world.
Al Qassemi is the founder and chairman of Barjeel Securities, a company offering financial products. He is also the managing director of Al-Saud Co, a specialist firm covering equity markets, construction and real estate.
What’s next on the man’s portfolio? We’ll have to watch and see. The world is Al Qassemi’s oyster it seems.
