WHO WE ARE

Tarek is a Managing Director and Head of Investments at SFO Capital Partners. He is responsible for the sourcing and acquisition of real estate investments globally and has been instrumental in the expansion of the firm’s portfolio across Europe and the USA.

Tarek has over 15 years of experience and has been involved in more than USD24 billion of transactions in both advisory and principle roles across the real estate and lodging industry. Prior to joining SFO in 2017, Tarek held different positions at Orion Capital Managers, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup covering real estate private equity and corporate finance.

Tarek holds a Diploma Grande Ecole from HEC Paris.

Benjamin is a Managing Director and Head of Business Development in Europe at SFO Capital Partners. He is responsible for widening SFO’s investor base, originating and overseeing investment partnerships as well as sourcing deals. In addition, Benjamin is Head of Germany responsible for all aspects of business execution domestically.

Benjamin has over 18 years of diverse and in-depth sector experience across the entire real estate investment lifecycle. He has been involved in the successful origination of new business at a cumulated total above USD4 billion in value and has taken the profit & loss and asset management responsibility for various portfolios in the segment between USD100 million and USD500 million (AUM). Prior to joining SFO in 2021, Benjamin held positions in large-scale organizations like Daimler, Corpus Sireo and, lastly, Swiss Life Asset Managers.

Benjamin holds a Master (“Dipl.-Ing.”) in Urban Planning from TU Dortmund University. Since 2011 he is lecturing at the International Real Estate Business School (IREBS) in Regensburg (Germany).

Ahmed is a Managing Director and Head of Finance at SFO Capital Partners. Ahmed assumes overall responsibility for all finance-related activities of the firm and its portfolio companies including structuring, financing, as well as fiscal and statutory matters.

Prior to joining SFO, Ahmed held senior finance positions at Azadea Group Holding, one of the largest retail groups in the Middle East, where he was responsible for the financial consolidation and reporting covering 14 countries and representing annual sales of c.USD2 billion. Previously, Ahmed worked at GulfMerger in Kuwait and was involved in more than 15 regional mid-market mergers and acquisitions exceeding USD800 million in aggregate value.

Ahmed holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a finance focus from the American University of Beirut.

Ziyad leads SFO Capital Partners’ US Housing Investment program and is responsible for the origination and maintenance of all strategic relationships with operating partners and lenders in the USA. In addition, Ziyad is involved in all the underwriting and asset management functions of the US multi-housing investments.

Having spent the past 15 years in the US, he has completed over USD1.2 billion in multifamily housing acquisitions, comprising 30 assets with more than 10,000 units across seven states. Prior to that, Ziyad held senior positions in large corporations in the USA, Europe and the Middle East.

Ziyad holds a Master Degree from Columbia University and is an Advisory Committee Member at the National Multifamily Housing Council; the industry’s prime trade organisation in the USA.

Zeina is an Managing Director at SFO Capital Partners and Head of Investor Relations where she is responsible for investor relations, including equity raising activities with a focus on family offices and HNWIs in the Middle East.

Prior to joining SFO in 2016, Zeina was with the Portfolio Management Team at Growthgate Equity Partners, a Dubai-based private equity firm overseeing a USD500 million portfolio of private companies. Previously, Zeina held positions at Nomura in the Equity Derivatives division and HSBC within the Structured Products team.

Zeina holds a Master in Management with emphasis in Finance from ESSEC Business School in Paris and a Bachelor in Engineering in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Beyrouth (ESIB).

Sophian is an Executive Director at SFO Capital Partners and Head of Business Development in the MENA region where he is responsible for widening SFO Capital Partners’ investor base and originating investment partnerships.

Sophian has over 12 years of in-depth real estate and finance expertise in both Europe and the Middle East. He has been involved in a multitude of real estate & debt advisory mandates as well as capital markets activity and transactions in excess of USD 5 billion. Prior to joining SFO in 2022, Sophian held various positions at BNP Paribas CIB and BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Sophian holds a Masters Diploma in Financial Strategy from Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Guillaume is a Senior Advisor for SFO Capital Partners based in Paris, France. In his role, Guillaume contributes to the implementation of the firm’s growth strategy in Europe with a focus on France.

Guillaume has over 18 years of experience in the real estate industry and has held senior positions at AEW and CBRE Global Investors from 2006 to 2017. During his tenure at AEW, he was the Head of Asset Management for Commercial Offices, managing a Pan-European portfolio of c. EUR7 billion. He was also a member of the firm’s European Management Committee and is a fellow member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Guillaume holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from ESTP School as well as a Master’s Degree in Finance and Real Estate from Paris Dauphine University.

Peter has joined SFO Capital Partners in 2015 as a Project Management Director responsible for sourcing and overseeing the development of real estate projects in the UK.

Peter has over 30 years of experience in financial structuring, acquisition and disposal of UK commercial and residential properties as well as in construction and development. Peter has advised and acted on behalf of HNWIs, family offices and institutions.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from Trent University Nottingham.

Lama is responsible for the acquisition and management of US real estate assets. Since joining SFO Capital Partners in 2016, Lama has completed acquisitions of real estate assets totalling in excess of USD600 million and is currently overseeing a portfolio comprising more than 4,000 multifamily and student housing units across multiple US states.

Prior to joining SFO, Lama held finance and investment positions at Webedia and The Resource Group, a global diversified investment holding headquartered in Beirut.

Lama holds a MSc in Finance from the American University of Beirut.

Philippe is responsible for the acquisition and management of real estate assets in Europe. Since joining SFO Capital Partners in 2015, Philippe has completed acquisitions of real estate assets totalling in excess of USD500 million located in Germany, France and the UK. He is currently overseeing a portfolio comprising of more than 1.5 million sqft of commercial and residential real estate.

Philippe holds an MBA from INSEAD and an MSc in Civil Engineering and Business Management from Imperial College London.

Malek joined SFO Capital Partners in 2022 as part of the Finance team. Malek is actively involved in all finance-related activities of the firm’s European portfolio companies, including structuring, financing as well as fiscal and statutory matters.

Prior to joining SFO, Malek held senior finance and investment management positions within French institutional management companies with multi-billion assets under management, including Twenty First Capital, AFER (Association Française d’Epargne et de Retraite) and Rothschild & Cie Gestion.
Malek holds a Ph.D. in Financial Management from the University of Paris II (awarded the University Research Thesis Prize in 2015), a Master’s Degree in Financial Techniques and the Magistère Banque Finance from the same university.

Maya joined SFO Capital Partners in 2019 as an Executive Assistant. She is responsible for providing direct support to the CEO in addition to overseeing general office operations and expenses management, as well as coordinating travel and logistics. Maya also assists the Investor Relations team with matters relating to all compliance, AML and KYC, as well as reporting and consolidation activities.

Maya holds a Bachelor degree in Business and Management from Saint-Joseph University of Beirut.

Alia joined SFO Capital Partners in 2021 as an Executive Assistant and Office Coordinator. Alia is responsible for all operating matters in relation to the office and provides ongoing support the team.

Previously she has worked at Evans & Payne Chartered Surveyor on the operational side and at Sousou Partners Executive Search on both Real Estate, Hospitality and Infrastructure searches. Alia holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of Law in London and a BSc in Business Administration from University of Wales.