Mara Group, a pan-African multi sector conglomerate with headquarters in Dubai, has named Bradford M Gibbs, the managing director of Morgan Stanley, as its third managing partner.

Mara Group is a young and dynamic diversified group of companies, possessing in-depth knowledge and unrivalled expertise in Africa, said a statement from the company.
 
Founded by Ashish J. Thakkar almost two decades ago, the group started out as a small family business but has, since then, evolved into an international multi-sector business with operations in 26 countries, spanning four continents.

Mara's current businesses operate in a broad range of sectors including information technology (IT) services, business process outsourcing (BPO), a multi-faceted mobile-enabled online platform, agriculture, real estate, hospitality, packaging and asset management, it added.

Alongside Prashant H. Manek and Ashish J. Thakkar, Gibbs will share the responsibility for the operations, administration and strategy of Mara Group.

Brad worked for thirteen years at Morgan Stanley, executing mergers, acquisitions and capital markets transactions across a broad array of industries.

He was based, at various junctures, in the New York, London, Frankfurt and Johannesburg offices. During his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Brad also served as the head of South Africa Investment Banking and head of EMEA Chemicals, Building Materials and Paper & Packaging.

Welcoming Gibbs, Thakkar said: "We are delighted to bring on board someone of Brad's calibre and experience as our third managing partner. At Mara, we are continuously looking to further strengthen our management team to help lead the future growth and development of the group."

In addition to its core team and as part the Mara network, the group benefits from the advice and insight of Michael Buchen and David Burlison, the managing directors of Dhabi Holdings, as well as of Marwan Abedin; a seasoned finance and investment specialist with over 15 years of experience, said the statement.

Marwan also serves as the CEO of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) and the Dubai Financial Support Fund (DFSF), it added.-TradeArabia News Service