Fadi Abuali, co-chief executive officer for the Middle East and North Africa at Goldman Sachs, is set to retire after a career spanning almost 28 years at the Wall Street institution.

Abuali, who joined Goldman Sachs in 1997 as an associate and returned in 2001 as an executive director, has played a pivotal role in expanding the bank’s presence across the Middle East and North Africa.

Nearly five years ago, he was appointed co-chief executive officer for the region alongside Zaid Khaldi, a move that marked a new phase in the bank’s regional ambitions. During his tenure, Goldman Sachs opened an office in Abu Dhabi in 2023 and became the first Wall Street lender to secure a regional headquarters licence in Saudi Arabia the following year.

His influence extended beyond the region. Abuali also co-headed Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management International, working closely with Marc Nachmann, global head of the bank’s asset and wealth management business, and served as global co-head of the asset management institutional client business. His leadership was instrumental in the bank’s efforts to deepen its asset management footprint internationally.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to anchor Goldman Sachs’ new private credit and public equity strategies in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. As part of this push, the bank relocated London-based executive Deb Dutt to the region, a move Abuali discussed in a recent interview. “As part of the bank’s push into Middle Eastern private credit, it is relocating London-based executive Deb Dutt to the region,” Abuali said, as reported by Bloomberg. Source (https://archive.ph/ORyc6#selection-1509.0-1509.11)

The bank’s asset management team in the Middle East has seen significant movement in recent years. Khalid Albdah, head of Goldman Sachs in Saudi Arabia and co-head of the regional asset management arm, left late last year for Neuberger Berman. Earlier in 2024, BlackRock appointed Mohammad Al Fahim, who previously oversaw Goldman Sachs’ Abu Dhabi branch, to head its operations in the United Arab Emirates.

Abuali’s retirement marks the end of an era for Goldman Sachs in the region, where he has been a key figure in shaping the bank’s strategy and growth. The news was first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Reuters.

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