AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners appoints Mehdi Sethom as CEO and Walid Ayad as MD in strategic expansion

AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners, a new joint venture established between AWR Lloyd, the Asia-based strategic advisory firm, and Siraj Holding LLC, a private investment firm chaired by Mr Ahmed Bin Khalaf Al Otaiba, today announces the appointment of Mehdi Sethom as its CEO.

AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners will build on AWR Lloyd’s 25-year strategy consulting and M&A advisory legacy in the Asia-Pacific region by bringing the same innovative and bespoke service approach to clients in the Middle East and Africa (‘MEA’).

Mr Mehdi Sethom is a veteran MEA investment banker with three decades of experience at BNP Paribas, Swicorp and Mediterranean Corporate Finance (‘MCF’). AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners also announces the appointment of Mr Walid Ayad as its Managing Director. These appointments come also with the announcement of a combination of MCF’s regional business with AWR Lloyd. The MCF group of companies was established over a decade ago by Mehdi Sethom and Walid Ayad. MCF has a strong reputation for advising on complex cross-border corporate finance transactions in the MEA region. MCF Tunisie and MCF’s private equity ventures, both focused on the Tunisian market will remain independent.

Mr Mohamed Rusan Fyroze, Group CEO of Siraj Holding and incoming Director of AWR Gulf Partners, added: "We welcome Mehdi and Walid to the leadership of our new joint venture with AWR Lloyd. They have an impressive trackrecord. All at Siraj Holding very much look forward to working with them”.

Alexander Wood, CEO and co-founder of AWR Lloyd commented: “It’s a wonderful and unexpected privilege to join forces with an old friend with whom I shared formative years at Banque Paribas in the 1990s. He and Walid have developed a highly respected practice. Their expertise in high-stakes complex deals in these markets complements our reputation for managing special projects and strategic assignments for Gulf clients in Asia, and for Asian clients in the Gulf.”

“The combination with AWR Lloyd creates a powerful bridge between Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” said Sethom. “I very much look forward to working again with an esteemed former colleague and friend, and the rest of the AWR Lloyd family, and Siraj Holding, to deliver innovative solutions for our clients as regional economies diversify and global investment linkages deepen.”