Principal, Saudi Family Holdings | Program Leader, Global Family Enterprise Program, Columbia Business School | Ex-Goldman Sachs & AIG

Abbas Hashmi is the Principal of Saudi Family Holdings, a Single Family Office based in New York and Riyadh, focused on strategic investments and impactful ventures. He bridges opportunities between U.S.-based private investors and the GCC region, leveraging his deep expertise in capital introductions and strategic growth.

At Columbia Business School, Abbas serves as the Program Leader for the Global Family Enterprise Program, empowering family enterprise leaders with strategic mindsets, skills, and connections to drive sustainable progress. His role involves guiding participants through transformative learning experiences, drawing on his extensive global network and industry insights.

With over two decades of global experience, Abbas specializes in capital formation, investor relations, and family office dynamics. He is a sought-after speaker and moderator at premier events including LEAP, Money 20/20, and Cityscape Global, where he addresses capital raising strategies, financial innovation, and global wealth trends.

Abbas has a distinguished background, having previously worked at Goldman Sachs and AIG, leading strategic initiatives and global business development. He also co-chairs trade missions to the Middle East under the U.S. Department of Commerce, fostering cross-border investments and economic collaborations.

He holds an MBA in International Business and is actively involved in moderating and delivering keynotes on family office dynamics, capital formation, and financial innovation globally.

Matthew offers 20+ years of experience across banking, technology, and capital raising. His career includes investment management roles at Bank of America Securities, UBS, and Morgan Stanley in California, and enterprise relationship management at Oracle in the Bay Area. For the last ten years, Matthew has been instrumental in connecting global organizations with GCC markets, driving capital, partnerships, and government engagement. He advises a leading Emirati family on investment strategies and sits on the Board of Ruya AI, a US/UAE bioinformatics venture providing B2G forensic and identity solutions.

Zafer Younis is the Founder and CEO of Silicon Valley Venture & Innovation (SVVI), MENA’s premier VC Fund of Funds and technology investments platform. SVVI generates outstanding returns by investing in the thoughtfully curated Silicon Valley deals and VC funds (Carta, DarkTrace, Illumio, Race Capital, Shield AI, Function Health, BTV, A16Z, and many more).

Prior to founding SVVI, Zafer led Social Capital’s CaaS (Capital as a Service) program, and before that, served as a Partner at 500 Global’s main fund (USA).

Zafer is passionate about good coee, collecting Vinyl (all 8236 records), technology, investments, and building relationships between Silicon Valley and his home region.