People

Ghassan Nassief is a Managing Director leading Teneo’s Financial Advisory practice in Riyadh, having joined Teneo in May 2022 from Swicorp.

Ghassan has spent over 21 years in the Kingdom, working across all regions in various corporate and investment banking roles. He has held senior roles in various local and international banks advising corporate clients on debt restructuring, project finance, working capital requirements, trade finance and most recently on M&A transactions as head of business development and placement at Swicorp. Ghassan has also held several C-level operational roles, including in challenging turnaround situations for complex businesses. ​

Ghassan holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Ghassan has acquired the International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management by CISI of London and completed the Executive Leadership Program by Jack Welch Management Institute and Exponential Thinking by Singularity University in the United States. ​

Selected Project Experience:

• At SABB Bank, an HSBC subsidiary, Ghassan secured a $500 million loan for 2 conglomerates based out of Jeddah. The new money raised was used for working capital, and as part of the refinancing of an existing facility​.
• Led a large loan syndicate deal to finance one of the largest real estate mixed-use development projects in Makkah, including analysis of funding requirements, business plan assumptions review, and scenario analysis .
• Ghassan has led numerous financial debt restructuring transactions from origination through to execution, including a comprehensive capital structure optimization exercise for a Riyadh-based large construction company​.
• Recently led financing strategy review and debt raising exercise for a steel fabrication company based in Jeddah​.
• In a recent advisory role, Ghassan launched a new GCC-wide business line primarily focused on Saudi Arabia. In the first year of operations, Ghassan led the development of a $1 billion pipeline and achieved line profitability.
• As part of the management team of a Riyadh-based financial services company, Ghassan led a comprehensive operational and financial turnaround of the business, culminating in a return to profitability and Board approval of a business plan to invest further and grow the business significantly over the next 3-5 years.
• For a large corporate bank in Saudi Arabia, Ghassan developed and implemented a strategy which ultimately increased the Bank’s loan portfolio by 36% and achieved new profitability levels.