Ghassan is a seasoned corporate finance executive with a strong reputation serving clients in the Middle East and Gulf region over a period of 30 years. He is the Founding Partner of Full Circle Investments where he applies his investment banking and capital markets experience, assisting companies to reorganize their legal and capital structures and focus their corporate strategies to enhance value to shareholders and achieve monetization. Previously, Ghassan played an instrumental role in the establishment and launch of the DIFX (now Nasdaq Dubai), where he advised and guided the first international IPOs to list on the Dubai Bourse. He also worked for leading bulge bracket investment banks in the City of London for over 10 years. Ghassan has a degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a degree in Law from the University of London.

Laya is a highly experienced strategic consultant and advisor to businesses in the Middle East and Europe spanning 30 years. She leads the consulting practice of Full Circle Investments delivering advisory projects to leading regional and international clients on mandates including strategy development, business restructuring, operational optimization and growth and enhancement. Previously, Laya worked in London with Bain & Company where she was part of the private equity team responsible for pre-acquisition due diligence and post-acquisition restructuring, growth and implementation. While at Bain, Laya worked on transactions with an aggregate value of US$ 5B. Following Bain, Laya was the Chief Operating Officer at a leading Global Emerging Markets Asset Manager and Head of European Strategic Marketing at Marsh & McLennan. Laya has a degree in Chemistry from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Richard is an engineer with heavy-duty operational and financial experience extending over 30 years. He is responsible for the financial analytics practice of Full Circle Investments, delivering data driven solutions with a focus on robust financial modelling to bridge the gap between technical operations and high impact commercial and financial issues. Previously, Richard founded an energy IP platform and consultancy firm chaired by a former UK Energy Minister, which he sold in 2004. Richard also worked as the Chief Analyst for ARCO as part of the Europe and North Africa development team. In addition, he worked in the City of London at Robert Flemings, Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank’s energy and utilities M&A team. He started his career as a wire line engineer with Schlumberger. Richard has a degree in Engineering from Brunel University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Our expansive ecosystem consists of venture partners and shareholders with specialized industry knowledge deployed on select projects. These include:  Westerly Winds, a venture capital asset manager investing in European and US-based tech businesses;  Shore Capital, a UK-listed investment bank providing access to UK capital markets; AgriTech experts scouting emerging technologies with outsized opportunities in the GCC to facilitate market entry and growth; Energy consultants advising on oil, gas, power, utilities, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen across the GCC.