Follow The Leader: Maha Al Ghunaim, Vice Chairperson And Group CEO, Global Investment House Al Ghunaim's company was the very first Kuwaiti organization to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and today manages a formidable US$4.3 billion in assets.

"Follow your passions and start a business that you love, and give it all you can," advises Maha Al Ghunaim, the Vice Chairperson and Group CEO of the Kuwait-based Global Investment House (GIH). Al Ghunaim's company was the very first Kuwaiti organization to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and today manages a formidable US$4.3 billion in assets. Back when it was launched, Global was a small startup, with only a very determined woman at the helm. Today, the company plays a key role promoting investment opportunities across the Middle East through its brokerage, asset management, and investment bank- ing divisions. In fact, GIH's private equity funds –one of which, Global Buyout Fund, distributed $15 million to its investors in August- have distributed a total amount of more than $473 million since its inception. The company is now working on launching a Middle East-focused Secondary Fund (the first of its kind in the region), as well as a platform to invest in the healthcare market of the GCC and Turkey.