KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that it is expanding its presence in the Middle East including the appointment of General David Petraeus as Chairman of KKR Middle East.

 

It will also establish a dedicated investment team in the region led by Julian Barratt-Due, a Managing Director at KKR. 

 

These appointments build on KKR’s ongoing strategic commitment to the region, including having local offices since 2009 and deploying capital directly since 2019, said the company.

 

General Petraeus, former CIA Director and former Commander of US Central Command, is a Partner at KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which assesses geopolitical issues and supports international growth, as well as a Board Director and strategic advisor to KKR portfolio companies and the Kissinger Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. In his expanded role, General Petraeus will leverage his extensive Middle East knowledge and stakeholder relationships to strengthen KKR’s presence and partnerships in the region.

 

Julian Barratt-Due, who joined KKR in 2016, has been instrumental in a broad range of infrastructure investments, including the recent agreement to invest into Gulf Data Hub, a major independent data center platform in the Middle East with an owned portfolio of seven purpose-built and state-of-the art data centers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and additional facilities planned in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Julian will lead the new regional investment team to identify investment and partnership opportunities in the region, with a focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

 

Building on 16 years in the region, KKR has also strengthened and grown its Global Client Solutions team based across KKR’s offices in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with Directors Patricia Bandeira Vieira and Michael de Freitas moving to the region last year to focus on strategic partnerships and client engagement across the Middle East.

 

Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-CEOs of KKR, commented: “We view the Middle East as an increasingly important destination for investment, with structural reforms, pro-investment policies, and favorable demographic trends accelerating economic growth. With General Petraeus’ unparalleled insight into the region's strategic and economic landscape, and Julian’s expertise in optimizing and growing businesses, we believe KKR can be a valuable partner for clients and companies across the Middle East." – TradeArabia News Service