Karim Souaid
new BDL Governor

Appointment was preceded by

spat in government and social media

Karim Souaid has been appointed as Governor of the Central Bank by the Council of Minister – following a public controversy and a split vote at the Cabinet.

Souaid is the founder and Managing Partner of Growthgate Partners. Prior to that he was a Managing Director of Global Investment Banking at HSBC Bank (Middle East) where he was responsible for regional activities in corporate finance, privatization, M&A, corporate restructurings, and equity capital raising.

Souaid, whose father, mother, and brother were at one point or another members of Parliament has so far stayed away from the fray of politics and besides hosting a webinar on ‘A Sustainable Recovery for Lebanon’s Economy’, a paper by Harvard Growth Lab, he did not publicly expressed an opinion on the financial crisis or the role of the Central Bank. That paper has stirred the ire of several parties.

He led several privatization mandates in the Middle East. Prior to joining he was a Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Middle East Capital Group (MECG), a regional merchant bank. He was a corporate finance attorney in New York working at a leading Wall Street law firm specialized in M&A and securities offerings.

Souaid holds a Law degree (LLB) from St. Joseph University (USJ), an LLM from Harvard Law School, and Executive Program Certificates from Harvard Business School in the areas of Corporate Valuation and Restructuring.