Ex-US Army General David Petraeus to head investment giant KKR's Middle East operations

Dubai: The retired US General, David Petraeus, has been confirmed as the Middle East chief of KKR, the global investment firm with assets under management of $638 billion.

General Petraeus had been in the US Army for 37 years and had a stint as CIA director after his retirement. He was at the command of operations during the ‘Surge in Iraq’, and also at the US Central Command and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

KKR is in the process of expanding its presence in the Middle East, with a dedicated investment team for these markets now headed by Julian Barratt-Due.

“We see growing opportunities for KKR to partner with leading domestic businesses, bringing differentiated expertise to deliver value while supporting governments’ strategic economic goals,” said General Petraeus. “It will be a pleasure to be spending considerable time in the Middle East, and to help build on regional momentum and contribute to its growing global presence.”

He is, incidentally, a Partner at KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which assesses geopolitical issues and supports international growth, as well as board director and strategic advisor to KKR portfolio companies and the Kissinger Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs.

In 2019, KKR had been associated with ADNOC to create ADNOC Oil Pipelines, which was the 'first midstream infrastructure collaboration between a leading global institutional investor and a national oil company in the Middle East'.

KKR also acquired aircraft from Etihad Airways in 2020 through the aircraft leasing investment platform Altitude Aircraft Leasing, which was set up by KKR’s credit and infrastructure funds in 2018 to acquire aircraft serviced by Altavair.