Fatima Al Arabi is the founder and CEO of ALAF Capital SA. With nearly 25 years of leadership experience in private banking, Fatima has drawn upon a forward-thinking approach to wealth planning and management in building long-term relationships of trust with ultra-high-net-worth clients worldwide. Her extensive understanding of global markets and financial structures, as well as her risk management mindset and expertise in anticipating market trends, has been pivotal to her success in advising individuals and families with dynamic portfolios and complex needs.
Born in Saudi Arabia, Fatima quickly became part of a new era in global wealth management. She has earned a reputation as a leader in Islamic finance and has been sought out to develop and manage Islamic wealth management markets for several global financial institutions and has led the way in creating private banking businesses that serve Islamic investors worldwide.
She is recognized as a global thought leader in global wealth management. She has contributed to a number of research initiatives and case studies at Harvard University and has been invited as a keynote speaker to address industry, academic, and government groups worldwide. Earlier in her career, Fatima accepted a position as a Senior Relationship Manager for the National Commercial Bank’s Private Banking division in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Here, she co-led the launch of the Kingdom’s first private banking business dedicated exclusively to high-net-worth women. She was consistently recruited to build and manage thriving private banking businesses—with a focus on Islamic wealth management and high-net-worth investors, serving in leadership positions with The Pictet Group, Citibank EMEA, a Saudi-Swiss private banking startup, BNP Paribas Private, Bank of China (Suisse SA), and Bank Julius Baer. In each position, she has played an important role in shaping the bank’s go-to-market strategy for Gulf and eastern Mediterranean markets.
A multilingual executive with joint Saudi-Swiss citizenship, Fatima holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Finance from Webster University Geneva’s Grenoble School of Management (France, Thesis: “Islamic Financial Products and Investments in Western Banks–Whence and Whither?”) and an M.B.A. from The University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School (U.K.).
