Sameer Al Ansari quits as Shuaa Capital chief executive

Sameer Al Ansari, the CEO of Shuaa Capital, has resigned his role after two years at the company, saying that the investment house needs a “different skill set to achieve its next phase of growth”. Al Ansari will be replaced by Michael Philipp, formerly on the advisory board of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and current chairman of Reykjavik Geothermal. Philipp. “During my tenure at Shuaa Capital, we have successfully restructured the organisation, introduced a world-class corporate governance framework, deleveraged and cleaned up the balance sheet and have put Shuaa in a very strong position for the future,” Al Ansari said, in a press statement. “Despite these achievements, I believe Shuaa Capital now needs a different skill set that will help the firm achieve its next phase of growth.” In July, Shuaa – one of the largest investment banks in the Gulf region – posted a small second-quarter net profit after carrying out a cost-cutting programme. Earlier this year, the firm announced that it would cut 11 percent of its staff, and CFO David Deards resigned his role in April this year. In June last year, Al Ansari also stepped down from his position as non-executive chairman at Dubai International Capital (DIC), the private equity firm he helped found in 2004. Under Al Ansari’s stewardship, DIC made a number of significant investments in the private equity field including the UK’s Alliance Medical ($873m), Travelodge ($982m) and the Tussauds Group ($1.2bn). Al Ansari was also involved with an attempt to buy English Premier League outfit Liverpool FC. In 2008, he told Arabian Business that DIC had offered to pay $786m for the club, but that a deal could not be reached with Liverpool’s American owners. He has also served as finance chief at the executive office of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.