Steve Khayat ^{Top-Executive}

A collective of various elements contributed in the shaping of my career path, and why is that I do what I do, and how I ended up in a corner office.

Born and raised in war-torn Lebanon, I grew up into a young man empowered with a battle-hardened confidence, with a distinct ability not only to positively deal with adversity, but to the point of relishing, even embracing adversity, as I grew stronger and matured when the pressure was on, on all fronts. Therefore, from my early days, I always found myself in a position of leadership, or aspiring for one, as I knew deep inside, as a young man, that the Lord has given a purpose for every man and women in this life, and for those with the ability to handle adversity, and thrive on it, leadership is how they can serve.

Another element that drove my ambition like wildfire, was this passionate curiosity, never leaving a stone unturned, always following intuition to look around corners, and most of all, venturing into unchartered territory, at least for me. From school days, I always showed genuine enthusiasm, and kept asking questions: the lesson had to make sense to me, I could never just memorize it; the professor just had to convince me. This almost infectious sense of fascination with everything around me emanated from having to be constantly alert as a boy, and subsequently very awake and engaged as a young man, due to the perils of the prevailing war, and the post-war era that proved only forgiving to the fittest.

These two attributes set me on a course to study and engage in the world of finance and investment, where I found my way to put such attributes to good use, whereas for me to thrive, I must always be a net positive to my ecosystem, not only bringing value to the table, but being impactful in the most positive of ways, and leave a dent in the universe, as little as it may be.

Finally, being a people's person, I quickly learned from my mentors that it does not have to be lonely at the top, or during the climb along the way, and therefore, throughout the evolution in my career, every milestone was net positive, not only to myself, but to my immediate circle, and the wider ones, where I always placed more empowerment to the benefit of the whole organization, in what empowered the whole team to achieve more, and reach self-realization, collectively and individually.

As my career pushes through 23 years in investment banking, investment management and strategy, I choose to focus more on people and ideas that disrupt our economies, in what shapes our future and that of generations to come.