Our People

Management Team

Iqbal Khan
Chief Executive Officer

Iqbal Ahmad Khan is the Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Cravia Group, Jadwa Investment and MENA Infrastructure. Prior to Fajr Capital, he was the founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, where he built the business and team over eight years into one of the fastest growing and most successful emerging businesses in the HSBC Group. He is a long-time advocate of the Islamic financial services industry, serving as an advisor to government initiatives in Brunei, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Physics and Chemistry, both from Aligarh Muslim University. He is the recipient of several industry and global accolades, including the Royal Award for Islamic Finance, a biannual prize presented by HM the King of Malaysia, and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE.

Rizwan Kherati
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer

Rizwan Kherati focuses on corporate and investment operations and is the Chief Financial Officer at Fajr Capital. Mr Kherati also represents Fajr Capital on the Board of Directors of Biogen, a leading UK-based renewable energy firm. He has led a variety of functions at leading international firms, including financial control, financial analysis, audit, risk management, compliance and operations. Prior to Fajr Capital, Mr Kherati was the Global Head of Finance and Risk at HSBC Amanah. In earlier roles, he worked at HSBC Financial Services (Middle East), Orix Leasing and PwC. He is a qualified chartered accountant, cost and management accountant, corporate secretary and internal auditor.

Zahid Kamal
Managing Director

Zahid Kamal is a Managing Director at Fajr Capital. He is actively involved in various aspects of Fajr Capital’s transactions (including origination, execution and portfolio management) and strategic initiatives. He is also a board and executive committee member of several Fajr Capital portfolio companies, including Cravia Group, and is a member of Emerging Markets Private Equity Association’s Middle East Council. Prior to Fajr Capital, Zahid was a senior lawyer at Ashurst LLP in London and Dubai, where he advised Fajr Capital and other corporate clients. He has over fourteen years’ experience in UK and MENA public and private company transactions, including private equity, M&A, public takeovers, IPOs, investment funds, secondary offerings, restructurings and joint ventures.

Mubashar Khokhar
Managing Director

Mubashar Khokhar is a Managing Director at Fajr Capital and covers investments. Between 2015 and 2021, he served as the CEO / Managing Director and Board member of BIBD (on full-time secondment from Fajr Capital). He is a seasoned financial services professional with more than 30 years’ experience across fifteen developed and emerging markets, including the USA, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Prior to Fajr Capital, Mr Khokhar was the CEO of Ajman Bank, a publicly listed Shari’a compliant bank in UAE, and also served as the CEO of Badr Al-Islami/Mashreq Al-Islami, a wholly owned subsidiary of MashreqBank. During his reign, Ajman Bank received widespread industry recognition, including the coveted ‘Best Domestic Bank’ award in 2011. Mr Khokhar has previously served on the Board of Directors of Badr Al-Islami and SAMBA Pakistan Ltd, and held senior positions in American Express Bank and Bank of America. He has an MBA and BBA (Hon.) from Ohio University, USA.

Atif Mahmood
Managing Director

Atif Mahmood is a Managing Director at Fajr Capital and covers principal investments. He has led Fajr Capital’s investments in the oil and gas (including the successful acquisition and subsequent exit of National Petroleum Services), industrial manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors, and serves on the board and executive committees of various portfolio companies. Prior to joining Fajr Capital, he worked at PwC in Dubai and Karachi. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Chartered Management Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst, with a record-setting nine gold medals at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Pakistan and a joint third highest in the world in Financial Accounting at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Ben Sautelle-Smith
Managing Director

Ben Sautelle-Smith is a Managing Director, Legal and Investments at Fajr Capital. Mr. Sautelle-Smith has a broad remit at Fajr Capital, including the structuring, negotiation and implementation of investments and exits, portfolio management activities and internal corporate governance, operational and investor matters. Mr. Sautelle-Smith has represented Fajr Capital at the board and committee level of its portfolio companies. Mr. Sautelle-Smith is a dual-qualified English and New York lawyer and previously worked in the London office of leading US law firm Covington & Burling LLP. Mr. Sautelle-Smith holds a First Class LLB (Hon.) degree from Exeter University with commendation for graduating top of year.

Hasli Hasan
Head of Human Capital Management and the CEO’s Office

Hasli Hasan is currently responsible for human capital management and administration, and is Head of the CEO's Office at Fajr Capital. He joined Fajr Capital from Khazanah Nasional (the Government of Malaysia's strategic investment fund), where he was Special Officer to the Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer. Prior to that, he spent a few years in equity research and project management roles in Malaysia. He holds an Executive MBA from Imperial College London, a Master of Philosophy (in Engineering) from University of Cambridge, and a Bachelor of Science (in Electrical Engineering) from Purdue University.

Manglam Jain
Director

Manglam Jain is a Director at Fajr Capital and focuses on principal investments. He joined Fajr Capital in 2011 and has over a decade of Investment Banking experience. He has an MBA (Finance) from the International Management Institute, Belgium, and has completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme.

Arsalan Mustafa
Director

Arsalan Mustafa is a Director at Fajr Capital and focuses on principal investments. He joined Fajr Capital from Goldman Sachs, where he was an Associate, Research. He has more than a decade of experience in equity research and direct investment in the Middle East, including previous roles at HSBC and SAIB BNP Paribas. Mr Mustafa holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University and an Executive MBA from Cass Business School. He is also a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Cyril Samin
Associate Director

Cyril Samin is an Associate Director at Fajr Capital and focuses on principal investments. He joined Fajr Capital from Citi, where he was an Associate in the Middle East Investment Banking Team based in Dubai. Prior to that, he was based in London and was part of Citi’s Transportation & Infrastructure Investment Banking Team, which he joined in 2010. Mr Samin holds a master’s degree in International & Corporate Finance from ISC Paris Business School and an undergraduate degree in Business Management from Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France.

Noman Tahir
Head of Business Development and Communications

Noman Tahir oversees business development and communications at Fajr Capital. He is involved in various aspects of Fajr Capital’s investment activities and is also responsible for spearheading the development and management of Fajr Capital’s key industry and institutional relationships. Mr Tahir has a decade of experience in developed and emerging markets. He started his career at Weber Shandwick, advising multinational financial services institutions on public affairs and policy in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Glasgow and an MBA from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Abdur-Rafay Naeem

Abdur-Rafay Naeem works in the Finance & Risk function at Fajr Capital. He joined Fajr Capital from A.F. Ferguson & Co. (a member firm of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) network), where he was an Assistant Manager in the Assurance and Business Advisory (ABAS) group. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (under The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP)) and holds a Bachelors of Commerce (First Class Division) from the Karachi University, Pakistan.

Maya Shaar

Maya Shaar works in the Legal & Corporate Affairs function at Fajr Capital. She has been working in the legal sector in Dubai for several years, including a secondment to a magic circle law firm. Maya is an English qualified lawyer and speaks English, Arabic and German. She holds a LLB (Hon.) Degree from the University of Exeter and a LLM Degree in International Development Law and Human Rights with Distinction from the University of Warwick.

Mansoor Shakil
Advisor

Mansoor Shakil is an Advisor at Fajr Capital and previously served as Managing Director. Prior to Fajr Capital, Mr. Shakil was Director, Asset Management Group at the Doha–based Al Rayan Investment. Before Al Rayan, he was a Director with HSBC Amanah. Mr. Shakil has over sixteen years of experience; first as a corporate attorney before transitioning into product development, sell-side private placement advisory, listed equities and private equity. He holds LL.M. degrees from Harvard Law School and Cambridge University, as well as LL.B (Hon.) degree in Shariah & Law from International Islamic University, Islamabad.