Follow The Leader: Maha Al Ghunaim, Vice Chairperson And Group CEO, Global Investment House

"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.