30 SEP - 02 OCT 2024
Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
Layla Abuzaid
Chief Executive Officer
WK Holding
With an instinct for business, Abuzaid found her way into asset management where she focused on turnaround strategies for distressed assets, making her first million dollars in at the age of 23.
In 2009 Abuzaid became a partner in an Islamic Fund asset management company Vision Brazil Investments, where she was responsible for fund raising in the GCC countries.
Later that year, on a fundraising mission for Vision Brazil Investments, Abuzaid made her first visit to her father’s homeland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After finalizing the fundraising, she decided to stay and build her life and career in Saudi Arabia.
In 2011 Abuzaid formed a partnership with Tharawat Holding and together they established Tharawat Buisness, a company focused on agriculture commodities with offices in Sao Paulo, London, Geneva, Dubai and Riyadh.
In 2017 she co-founded her own investment holding company, WK Holding where she currently serves as CEO, bringing strategic opportunities, international innovation, and expertise to the Saudi market in line with Vision 2030. Some of the companies and business that WK is currently investing:
RUSSAD operating as a bridge for Russian lifestyle and tech companies wishing to enter Saudi Arabia
SAPEG Fund established in Luxemburg
BD F&B is an investment company focused on the F&B and hospitality in Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
She is also a partner in Gloventures, an investment holding company with offices in Riyadh, dubai, China and Brazil.
Abuzaid graduated from University Paulista (UNIP) in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she studied Economics and graduated from London Business School with a B.A Master’s in Finance.