Omar Aggad

Omar Aggad
Omar Aggad
Born Omar A. Aggad
Occupation Businessman
Known for Founder of Arab Palestinian Investment Company and Aggad Investment Company (AICO)
Children Tarek Aggad, Lama Aggad, Talal Aggad, Rana Aggad

Omar A. Aggad is a Saudi businessman, the founder of Aggad Investment Company (AICO), and the founder and former chairman of Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC).[1]

Aggad founded AICO in 1975.[1]

Aggad is a financier and philanthropist. He is the founder of Aggad Investment Company (AICO), and the founder and former chairman of Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC).[1] He is best known for having led a group of investors to purchase 25% of Smith Barney in 1982, and served on its board of directors.[2]

The Wall Street Journal noted that "Aggad is considered one of Saudi Arabia’s most savviest and professional managers. In a recent book about Arabian merchants, British writer Michael Fields calls him "bold and impulsive, an intuitive decision-taker with a huge head for detail." As a partner with other Saudi and foreign investors, Aggad operates 23 manufacturing plants scattered across Saudi Arabia."[3]

He was a founding shareholder and director of InvestCorp Bank and a founding director of the Saudi British Bank while serving on the board of directors for 20 years.[4][5][6]

Aggad was born in Jaffa, Palestinian Mandate in 1927, where he attended Alrashidieh college in Jerusalem. He subsequently received a scholarship to attend Manchester University in the UK where he graduated with degrees in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. After working for a few years in the UK, he moved to Saudi Arabia in 1950 where he joined the Juffali Group as a senior manager tasked with various responsibilities. In 1975, he ventured out on his own and created one of the leading investment groups in Saudi Arabia. Throughout his career, he is credited with establishing and operating over 40 separate industrial and trade ventures in Saudi Arabia, most of which exist until today.

After the Oslo process, and having been historically supportive of Palestine, Aggad decided to create an entity to invest and create jobs in his historic homeland, . and thus he founded the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC).

Since its founding, APIC has become one of the largest operators in Palestine, employing over 1600 employees. Subsidiaries of APIC offer a wide array of products and services through distribution rights agreements with multinational companies that include Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg's, Hyundai, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fiat Professional, XL Energy, Abbott, B. Braun, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Aventis and Nivea, among many others.[7]

APIC was registered in the British Virgin Islands in September 1994. In 1996, it was registered with Palestine's Ministry of National Economy as a foreign private shareholding company, and became into a foreign public shareholding company in 2013. In March 2014, APIC shares were listed on the Palestine Exchange (PEX: APIC). Its authorized capital is US$70 million, and its paid-up capital is US$66 million as of December 2015.[8][9]

Aggad is also a well-known philanthropist in the Arab world, as the school of engineering at Birzeit University is named after him, and he serves as an honorary trustee of the university.,[10] He is also an honorary trustee of the Institute of Palestine Studies as well as many other not for profits in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Arab World.

Personal life

He has 4 children, Talal, Rana, Lama, and Tarek and is married to Malak Aggad. Aggad is now retired and his children are in charge of various entities. Talal Aggad manages the family Holding Company (AICO), whereas his brother Tarek Aggad is CEO of APIC.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Aico.com". Aico.com.sa. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "ARABS BUY 25% OF FIRM ON WALL ST. - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Seib, Gerald (1986). Facing the Recession In Saudi Arabia Taxes A Businessman’s Skills; Omar Aggad Slashes Costs, Ponders Diversification (1st ed.). Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Investcorp Bank B.S.C.: Board of Directors - Businessweek". Bloomberg. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Annual Report 2001" (PDF). Saab. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "In Pursuit of Fulfilment". Google Books. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "APIC Home Page". APIC. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "About The Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC)". APIC. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Blau, Uri; Dolev, Daniel (7 April 2016). "Panama Papers: Leaks Reveal Abbas' Son's $1m Holding in Company With Ties to Palestinian Authority". Haaretz. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Birzeit University Campus". Birzeit University. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
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