EL KHATIB MOVES TO CARLYLE GROUP

New head for Cairo based investment operations

Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group announced that Egyptian investment professional Hassan El-Khatib joined the new Middle East and North Africa (MENA) team as a Managing Director advising on investments in Egypt and Northern Africa. Mr. El-Khatib, who comes to Carlyle from EFG-Hermes Private Equity, will be based in Cairo and begin his duties immediately.

Mr. El-Khatib joins Carlyle from his position as Managing Partner at EFG-Hermes Private Equity. In this capacity he raised and managed several general and sector-focused funds with investments in Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. He most recently was Chairman of Wadi ElNil Cement Company, a new company he helped establish.

From 2001 to 2003, Mr. El-Khatib was a Partner at Commercial International Investment Company (CIIC), a private equity firm in Egypt that had an investment banking partnership with Fleming International. As a member of the investment committee, Mr. El-Khatib managed CIIC’s portfolio companies in numerous industries, including pharmaceutical, oil & gas, food & agro-industries, construction, automotive, textiles and real estate. Prior to CIIC, Mr. El-Khatib was Deputy General Manager at Al-Ahly for Development and Investment, a private equity firm with several specialized investment vehicles and funds.

With 12 years of private equity experience, Mr. El-Khatib has been through all stages in private equity: fundraising, investing, value creation and exit realization. Mr. El-Khatib has served on numerous boards representing a range of industries including insurance, industrial, pharmaceutical, real estate, oil & gas, telecommunication, food & agro-industries and textiles.

Mr. El-Khatib is a Board Member of the Egyptian Institute of Directors, a Board Member and Secretary General of the Egyptian Junior Business Association, a Board Member in the Arab Private Equity Association. Mr. El-Khatib also serves as an Independent Board Member in the Insurance Holding Company, the Executive Organization for Industrial and Mining Projects (IMC) and the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines.

Mr. El-Khatib earned his M.B.A. from the California State University at Sacramento, his C.M.A. from Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA), USA and his B.S. from Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering

Carlyle’s MENA team will invest primarily in healthy, growing companies. From offices in Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul, the team will leverage Carlyle’s expertise in various sectors, including energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology and transportation.

Mr. El-Khatib will advise on Carlyle’s investment activities in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia. Investments are expected to include: leveraged buyouts, growth capital, majority and minority stakes in private companies and stakes in public companies.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on February 9th 2007 the appointment of Ambassador Mohammad Shaaban of Egypt as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. Mr. Shaaban currently serves as National Coordinator for Reform Initiatives in the Middle East and he has been Personal Assistant to the Foreign Minister of Egypt since 2004.

Mr. Shaaban is a seasoned diplomat who is no stranger to the UN and multilateral diplomacy. He served as Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs (2001-2004). In his capacity, he was National Coordinator for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the Mediterranean Forum and the OSCE. He also served as Assistant Minister for Information, Research and Assessment (2000-2001) and National Coordinator for Information, Research and Assessment (2000-2001).

He served as Egypt’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark and Lithuania (1998-2000) and Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and Head of Egypt’s Permanent Mission to the European Union, Brussels (1993-1997). Between 1997 and 1998, he was Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs, in charge of coordinating and managing the country’s relations with African states and the different regional organizations in Africa. He was chief negotiator for Egypt in the negotiations on Egypt’s accession to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Between 1984 and 1988, Mr. Shaaban was Egypt’s representative to the Second Committee, ECOSOC, UNDP and various intergovernmental bodies and committees. He was the Coordinator of the Group of 77 when Egypt held the Presidency (1985-1986). He was the Spokesman of the African Group during the 13th Special Session on the Critical Economic Situation in Africa.

Since 2004, Mr. Shaaban has served as National Coordinator for Reform Initiatives in the Middle East, managing relations with different foreign partners and coordinating with Egyptian governmental departments, political parties, civil society and think tanks. In this capacity, he also provides advice to the Foreign Minister on various issues, including on the restructuring of the Foreign Ministry. He is also the diplomatic adviser to the Egyptian Parliament Speaker. In March 2005, he was the Coordinator-General of the First Session of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, which was attended by some 600 Euro-Mediterranean parliamentarians.

Mr. Shaaban was born on 13 June 1942. He holds a Ph.D in political science and an M.A. in international relations from Brussels University. He is fluent in English and French and has fair knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish. He is married with three children.

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