Alvarez & Marsal boosts Middle East practice with senior-level team hire
Global management consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal has taken a major step in expanding its Real Estate, Travel, Hospitality & Leisure practice in the Middle East with the hire of several new senior leaders.
The Real Estate, Travel, Hospitality & Leisure practice of Alvarez & Marsal supports clients across real estate, tourism and hospitality at the corporate, portfolio and asset levels. Its capabilities span the full lifecycle, from corporate and portfolio strategy, market assessment and business planning through investment, M&A deal advisory, development and transformation to portfolio performance and value realization.
The arm also offers Alvarez & Marsal’s signature services in areas such as restructuring, technology, tax and debt advisory, and interim management.
The cohort of six new hires – all have been appointed as Managing Directors or Senior Directors – brings a track record spanning landmark developments, investment and transaction mandates, destination strategy and operational transformation serving clients across the Middle East and Africa.
Colie Spink, Middle East Regional Leader at Alvarez & Marsal, said that the team expansion comes in response to its ambitious growth plan in the sector, as well as growing demand from the firm’s clients.
“As programs real estate, tourism and hospitality across the region move from planning into delivery and operations, the focus is increasingly on execution, capital efficiency, asset performance and sustainable returns. This next phase is creating greater demand for hands-on advisors who can work across the full lifecycle, supporting ambitious growth plans while also stepping in when assets, projects or businesses require operational improvement, transformation and accelerated delivery.”
“Our Real Estate, Travel, Hospitality & Leisure has been built around senior leaders who understand the realities of operating at scale. They have helped shape and deliver many of the region’s landmark developments and transactions, bringing first-hand experience of the decisions, challenges and execution required to take major programs from ambition to delivery.”
The new team members
Spearheading the team joining is Yousef Wahbeh, who was Managing Partner of EY’s Infrastructure business across the Middle East & North Africa. At Alvarez & Marsal, he has been appointed Managing Director and Co-Head of the Real Estate, Travel, Hospitality & Leisure practice for the EMEA region.
Wahbeh has more than 25 years of experience advising sovereign wealth funds, governments, developers and investors on major developments, transactions and investment programs across the Middle East and internationally.
Several other EY partners have joined Wahbeh in the cross: Maya Whiteley, who spent 13 years at EY and is a real estate and hospitality expert with focus on the destination lifecycle; Dalia Alderzi, who specializes in real estate, tourism and destination development; and Rohit Dhawan, who advises corporate and portfolio strategy, investment planning and business planning.
Meanwhile, Saqib Saeed has been hired from outside the industry, although he too has a background at EY. He spent two years as a partner in EY’s Real Estate Strategy and Transactions team before transitioning into industry, most recently serving as Managing Director at Dubai Holding. In the role, he led the direct real estate and hospitality investment platform for the group covering M&A, joint ventures, portfolio management, and capital formation.
Fabian Modena is a hospitality, real estate and investment practitioner with over a decade of experience advising governments, sovereign wealth funds and large-scale projects across the Gulf region. His experience spans destination development, capital allocation and transformation delivery across hospitality, urban real estate and emerging sectors including health and wellness. He previously worked in industry and served PwC and specialist consultancy Horwath HTL.
Commenting on the team appointments, Wahbeh said: “Clients across the region increasingly want seasoned industry practitioners turned advisors, with first-hand experience shaping, developing and delivering major projects. Our team brings deep industry and regional experience across the development lifecycle – from strategy, investment and transactions through to development, activation and operations.”
“This combination of deep regional experience and Alvarez & Marsal’s borderless global network gives clients access to the right expertise, lessons learned and leading practices from around the world, helping them unlock value and deliver at pace.”
Alvarez & Marsal is a US-headquartered consulting firm with over 10,000 people worldwide. The company established its presence in the Middle East more than 20 years ago and currently operates in the region with offices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
