Goldman’s Saudi Investment Bank Chief Said to Leave for PIF Role - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s head of investment banking for Saudi Arabia is leaving to join the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest in a string of departures at the U.S. lender in the Middle East.
Eyas AlDossari will join the Public Investment Fund to help work on new investments, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while the PIF and AlDossari didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.
AlDossari joined in 2017 as Goldman looked to beef up its presence in the kingdom. The bank has since worked on Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering, as well as its $70 billion acquisition of a stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp., and the merger of Saudi British Bank with Alawwal.
Over the past two years, though, Goldman has lost bankers including veteran Dubai-based dealmaker Hazem Shawki who joined Credit Suisse, and its regional CEO retired at the end of last year. Two other executives left this year to join Saudi Research & Marketing Group.
The bank’s Mideast operations were also dealt a blow from the corruption scandal in Malaysia involving the 1MDB investment fund, and it missed out on deals in the United Arab Emirates -- including with wealth fund Mubadala and state oil firm Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.
AlDossari is set to join the PIF which has been rapidly expanding since its mandate was changed from being a largely domestically focused holding company into an engine of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to transform the kingdom’s economy.
Since 2015, the PIF has grown assets under management to $400 billion from about $150 billion. It has taken stakes in Uber Technologies, put $45 billion into SoftBank’s Vision Fund, and backed electric vehicle maker Lucid. It’s also increased headcount to more than 1,000 from about 40.
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