Abdul Kadir Hussain, head of fixed income asset management at Arqaam Capital.
Previous company and job title: Chief executive, Mashreq Capital DIFC
How many years in the region? Ten
What do you consider to be your home town? I have moved around too much. Home is now simply where the family is.
Educational background: Karachi Grammar School; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, B.S. economics; Andersen School of Management, University of California, MBA
First job in the funds industry: First job on the buy side was as a proprietary trader at Credit Suisse
What is the toughest challenge you’ve faced in your professional life? Deciding to leave a business I had built pretty much from scratch, at Mashreq Capital. Leaving some of my team behind was what made it the most challenging.
What achievement in your job are you most proud of? I feel most proud when I come across the young men and women that I have worked with and trained in the past and see what they have gone on to achieve in their careers.
What advice would you give to someone who is beginning their career? No one gets it right all the time, but the ones who succeed examine their mistakes and learn from them.
If you could change one thing about the funds industry, what would it be? In this region, the main challenge is making people understand that investing is not about instant gratification, it is about long-term wealth creation.
What is your greatest ambition in life? Twenty-three years into my career, I think most of my professional ambitions have been met. Now, there are mainly personal milestones.
What’s the best investment you’ve made? Giving my children exposure to different countries and cultures and equipping them with the education to understand and the humility to accept difference.
Tell us something about you that most people don’t know: My true ambition in life is to be a cricket commentator!
Favourite country to visit for a holiday: Istanbul, Turkey. The history is just amazing.
Favourite type of food: Pakistani barbecue. Nothing beats it.
Favourite book or film: The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak [a French-born Turkish writer]. It is a guide to life.
Your house is burning. Your family is safe. You have time to rescue one object. What would it be? Our family albums. Because family is the foundation on which I built my life.
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