Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment firm Kingdom Holding would see the departure of its second high profile executive this year. Sources familiar with the matter told Dinesh Nair of Reuters that Shadi Sadeek Sanbar, chief financial officer of Kingdom Holding, will leave the firm by the end of this year. Sanbar joined Kingdom Holding in 2005 as a special adviser in 2005. He became the chief financial officer in April 2007. Before joining Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom, he worked at Arthur Andersen for about 32 years.
Mohammed Fahmy Soliman to replace Sanbar
Another source told Reuters that Sanbar will retire from Kingdom Holding and move to the United States with his family. However, he will stay on the board of Kingdom Holding. Deputy chief financial officer Mohammed Fahmy Soliman may be promoted to replace Sanbar, the sources added. In June, Kingdom Holding’s executive director for private equity, Ahmed Reda Halawani, left the firm citing personal reasons.
Prince Alwaleed to build the world’s tallest building
Prince Alwaleed is a highly respected and closely watched personality in international markets. He has made several successful investments including News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) (NASDAQ:NWS) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C). Prince Alwaleed invested $300 million in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) in 2011. Shares of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) jumped 73% after its debut last month. He is the nephew of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. Prince Alwaleed owns a 95% stake in Kingdom Holding.
Earlier this year, Prince Alwaleed bashed Forbes magazine over the investigation into his wealth. He said the magazine’s valuation method was flawed. Forbes had ranked him 26th in its annual billionaires list with a net worth of $20 billion. Prince Alwaleed said that he has more wealth than the magazine could think of. He recently announced plans to build the world’s tallest skyscraper in Jeddah.
Last month, Kingdom Holdings reported a 1% increase in its third quarter profits. Its stock has soared 7% this year on the Riyadh stock exchange.
