Who is Liwa
Capital Advisors.

Khalifa Al Kindi is a Managing Partner of Abu Dhabi-based Liwa Capital Advisors, which he co-founded with Hashim Kudsi in 2017. Prior to Liwa, he established Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) in 2007 and served as its Managing Director. His career began in asset management at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in 1983, where he ultimately served as Deputy Managing Director from 1997 to 2007.

During his leadership of the investment committees at both ADIC and ADIA, Mr. Al Kindi developed specialized knowledge across asset classes. He understands the complex nature of both long-term investing and market fluctuations, which enables him to identify managers who prioritize the stewardship and the preservation of assets.

His dedication to advancing the United Arab Emirates has been demonstrated in his commitment through numerous director and chairman roles in major financial institutions and government bodies: Chairman of the Board of UAE Central Bank, Chairman of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Member of the Supreme Petroleum Council, Board Member of ADIA, Chairman of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, Member of Allianz International Advisory Board and Chairman of the Arab Banking Corporation, among others.

Mr. Al Kindi received an honorary doctorate from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he had previously earned a bachelor of science in economics.

Hashim Kudsi is the Managing Partner of Liwa Capital Advisors, which he co-founded in 2017 with Khalifa Al Kindi. Previously, Mr. Kudsi worked with Mr. Al Kindi in establishing the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) in 2007, where he served as an Executive Director responsible for Active Investment Strategies and as a member of the ADIC Investment Committee. He began his professional career at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in 1989.

Mr. Kudsi has an extensive background in the asset management industry. In a career managing portfolios and evaluating asset managers for both ADIA and ADIC, he has identified many best-in-class asset management firms and has worked with each one directly over the years. His understanding of global financial markets, asset classes and economic cycles has given him the expertise to identify an allocation framework that has preserved and grown wealth over decades.

Mr. Kudsi has experience in the banking sector through his involvement as a Non-Executive Director at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and his time serving as a member of its Risk Management Committee. Mr. Kudsi holds a bachelor of science in business administration from American University in Washington DC and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
 

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Mr Abhijit Choudhury has a background of 45 years in the banking sector. This period covered careers with ANZ Grindlays Bank in India, Arab Banking Corporation in Bahrain, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and First Abu Dhabi Bank in the UAE, and finally with the Central Bank of the UAE. During this period, some of his responsibilities were as Group Chief Risk Officer and interim CEO at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Group Chief Risk Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank & Advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE.

Mr Choudhury is currently a Board member of Rakbank UAE & Bank ABC Islamic, Bahrain, and JSC Terabank, Georgia. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Amercican University of Sharjah.

Mr Choudhury holds a Masters degree in Economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

David Amirtham is a Managing Director responsible for fund management and portfolio analysis at Liwa Capital Advisors. Through his career at the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), he has developed technical capabilities and gained direct experience evaluating the work of asset managers.

Prior to Liwa, Mr. Amirtham was the head of Portfolio Modeling at All Seasons PTL Investment Management Ltd. in Dubai. He served as an investment analyst in the Active Investment Strategy Department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) for five years, where his responsibilities included manager selection, monitoring and portfolio analysis. He began his career in 2000 as a research analyst in the Treasury Department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), building quantitative models.

Mr. Amirtham earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Madras and is both a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Chartered Accountant.

Marie Nicolas is an Executive Director of Liwa Capital Advisors, responsible for business operations. Ms. Nicolas started her career at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in 1991 and was a member of the startup team that launched Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) in 2007.

In working directly with Mr. Al Kindi, she has experienced the transformation of the industry, administrative operations and technology. Ms. Nicolas has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the American University of Beirut.

Amudhan Peter Rajan is responsible for accounting and operations at Liwa Capital Advisors. Mr. Rajan began his career as an Audit Consultant at Ernst & Young GDS. Prior to Liwa, Mr. Rajan was an Audit Senior at Deloitte & Touche AERS India Private Limited.

Mr. Rajan completed his professional education at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has a Master of Commerce from The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and is a Chartered Accountant.

Flavia Trotolo is an Associate at Liwa Capital Advisors, contributing to technology and software development initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from New York University Abu Dhabi. Flavia has experience in optimizing web-scraping for and developing scalable algorithms for data analysis and automation. She has also worked as a front-end developer on various projects, including responsive web applications and dynamic data visualizations, with skills across multiple programming languages and frameworks. Fluent in three languages, Flavia is passionate about technology-driven solutions and innovation.

Elen Asatryan is an Investor Relations Associate at Liwa Capital Advisors. She holds a BA in Economics with a focus on business and finance from New York University Abu Dhabi.

Before joining Liwa, she gained valuable experience in asset management and fundraising through roles at a family office and a UAE-based charitable foundation.

Fluent in English, Russian and Armenian, Elen is passionate about building trusted relationships that drive long-term value. Beyond her professional life, she is an avid padel player and enjoys the social energy of the sport.

Jay Suba brings over a decade of experience in accounting, financial reporting, and audit across sectors such as wealth management, commodities, and real estate. At Liwa Capital, he supports the finance function with expertise in MIS reporting, budgeting, reconciliations, and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining the firm, Jay held finance roles at Areca Capital, Landmark Group’s Family Office, and ISA Commodities, where he played a key role in financial operations and trade accounting. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Mumbai and is a semi-qualified Chartered Accountant

Anand Nizamkar is Liwa Capital Advisors' AI and Investment Intelligence Advisor, leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance the firm's investment research and operational efficiency.

A finance student at New York University (NYU) with experience across China, the UAE, and the United States, Anand combines rigorous investment analysis with advanced AI applications. His previous experience includes AI and strategy consulting for a U.S.-based accessibility technology company, as well as hands-on roles supporting the growth of early-stage ventures across China and India.

Beyond his academic pursuits, Anand has served as Vice President of Falcon Advisory (NYU Abu Dhabi) and Director of Consulting for TAMID (NYU Shanghai). He has also contributed to TEDx initiatives and led one of the largest cohorts of the United Nations Millennium Fellowship, in partnership with the Gates Foundation.

Anand has a strong interest in finance, artificial intelligence, and their intersection. He is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, and Telugu.

Zachary Wieder is the Chief Executive Officer of Principles, a company he started with Bridgewater founder and Chairman Ray Dalio. Zachary has been working with Liwa Capital Advisors as a consultant to help enhance the organization’s culture and performance of the team. Furthermore, he supported the implementation of Dot Collector® within the team, and provided guidance on using the tool for development.

At Principles, he was responsible for building their world-class personality assessment product, PrinciplesYou, that boasts over 1M users, which he built in partnership with world-renowned psychologists Adam Grant, Brian Little, and John Golden. He brings over a decade of experience across management, strategy, operations, and talent management across startups and corporates, including almost 10 years at the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. At Bridgewater, Zachary worked directly with Dalio, managing the team responsible for key initiatives related to Bridgewater’s management transition, with direct oversight of internal Training and Development at the firm. He has experience coaching 1,000+ employees as well as advising executive teams at multiple unicorn startups and fortune 500 companies in order to help them achieve their performance and culture goals.

Zachary received his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Comparative Literature.

Dave is currently the CEO and CIO of Selby Lane Capital LLC. He is the Co-Founder and former Chief Executive Officer (2013-19) and Board member of Makena Capital Management. Previous to being named Chief Executive Officer, Dave headed Makena's private equity and venture capital activities. Prior to forming Makena in 2005, Dave was a Managing Director of the Stanford Management Company, overseeing the Stanford University endowment's investments in private equity and venture capital. Prior to joining the Stanford Management Company, he ran the private equity and venture capital investment program for The Investment Fund for Foundations. During the 1990s, Dave was an international capital markets lawyer in London and Paris with Linklaters, and practiced law with McCutchen Doyle in San Francisco.

Dave has served on the advisory and corporate boards of 30 private equity, venture capital, and direct investments in the US and abroad. Dave currently serves on the Boards of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. He previously served on the Boards of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), Stanford University Athletics, Kuvare Insurance Holdings, and Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton. He is currently a Trustee of the University of Virginia Law School Foundation. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the University of Virginia Honor the Future Capital Campaign, and the Co-Chair of the Law School Campaign.

Dave received a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Finance, Juris Doctor (JD), and a Masters in Arts (MA) in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and has executive education certificates from the Stanford Graduate School of Business 2019 SEP Executive Program and Harvard Business School. He is an inactive/former Member of the CA, NY, and DC Bar Associations.
 

Caitlin Mavraganis is currently a Managing Director at Selby Lane Capital. Prior to joining Selby Lane in 2021, Ms. Mavraganis was a Managing Director at the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO) where she had co-head responsibility for venture capital and growth equity investments and was a member of UVIMCO’s investment committee. Ms. Mavraganis also spent three years as an Investment Director with Cambridge Associates in Arlington, Virginia where she advised several university endowments, non-profit foundations, and families on asset allocation, manager selection and portfolio management. Prior to Cambridge Associates, she worked for the Chief Investment Officer at Kingdon Capital Management, a long/short equity hedge fund based in New York City and began her career on the institutional equity sales desk at Goldman Sachs. Caitlin currently serves on the Investment Committee of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.

Caitlin received a B.S. in finance and accounting from Georgetown University and an M.B.A degree from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Nic is currently a Director at Selby Lane. Prior to joining Selby Lane, Nic was a Vice President at Makena Capital Management overseeing client investment portfolios and the firm’s business development efforts. During his tenure at Makena Capital Management, Nic worked closely with Dave Burke on investments and strategic business opportunities. Prior to Makena Capital Management, Nic was an equity analyst specializing in the consumer and internet sectors at Peninsula Capital Management, a long/short equity hedge fund located in San Francisco.

Nic received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of California, Davis, with a focus on finance, managerial economics, and history. Nic was a four-year Division 1 NCAA athlete on the University of California, Davis Men’s Tennis Team.

Donna is the Chief Administrative Officer of Selby Lane Capital and has over two decades of experience in the space. Previously, she was the Office Manager and Lead Executive Administrator for 16 years at Makena Capital Management. She has also worked at the Stanford Management Company and was a Vice President/International Sales Trader at Robertson Stephens.

Ziv is a legal adviser to Selby Lane Capital, handling day-to-day legal needs, compliance support, and transactional work. Starting his career as a lawyer with Perkins Coie Ziv was focused on representing emerging companies from seed stage to IPO, supporting them through their entire life cycle, including fundraising and mergers and acquisitions. Ziv has also served as an external general counsel to VCs and other investment firms, rendering legal and operational services. While working at Perkins Coie Ziv has founded the firm’s Israel Practice Group, co-chaired it for almost a decade and grew the practice by a few multiples. At that time, he also founded Stanford University’s “Practice to Academy Forum” which focused on bringing startups’ practical aspects to the academy.

During 2018 to 2021 Ziv was an adjunct professor at Cornell Tech, teaching a course on the entire spectrum of starting, running and selling a startup company. While at Cornell, Ziv was also an adviser on the Cornell’s Runway Startup Postdocs program, supporting PhD entrepreneurs with respect to their business model, how to bring a product to the market and finding its market fit.

Ziv is an angel investor and a co-founder of Monthly Ventures, a seed VC fund. He has co-founded Veritamo, a B2B marketplace for high-end services and products, as well as Ordo.ai, a SAAS platform to manage venture funds’ investments. Ziv was also a founding member of Startup Socials, a global community of ~70k entrepreneurs connecting and empowering professionals in the startup ecosystem.

Ziv holds a BA in information technology and LLB (JD equivalent) from the Reichman University, Israel, and is a member of the CA, NY, and Israel bar associations. Ziv served as a lieutenant in an elite IDF unit.