In the spring of 1992, I walked into the Park Avenue offices of Investcorp after having prepared for countless hours to present what I thought was a terrific acquisition idea, Adidas.
Nemir had single-handedly willed Investcorp into existence and to become the envy of professionals in finance. The visit was nothing short of awe inspiring for a first year associate working on Wall Street. We were hired to work on the IPO of one of Investcorp's portfolio companies, Sports & Recreation. I was so proud, that even though underwriters listed to the right (First Boston was on the left) do not create tombstones to memorialize deals, I had one created for this IPO and it is in my office today.
Fifteen years later, I found myself in Dubai, sitting with Nemir and four other executives as an inaugural member of the WEF Global Agenda Council in the global skills group. Over the next few years, we talked about everything - typically face to face for hours at one of his homes. I learned a lot. In 2012, I started working at Investcorp on Grosvenor Street in London as his CEO for Europe.
Nemir loved business. He was meticulous at it. It was evident to anyone upon their first meeting with him in any of his NY/London/Bahrain offices. His offices were extraordinary and identical. He exuded elegance and graciousness in how he thought and spoke. He even wore it, sporting three piece suits and pocket watches throughout his career.
Above all, it was the architecture of his firm that made him and all those who worked for him successful.
Nemir’s firm was founded on his premise that there was an abundance of a precious resource in a concentrated part of the world. The Gulf states would extract that resource, ship it to other countries around the world and, in return, be remunerated in currency. They invested that money in infrastructure and traditional investments. Nemir would bring them what they didn’t have: alternative assets.
The ownership structure of his firm was also meticulously crafted and key to his business model. He painstakingly secured a very broad group of the most prominent individuals across each of the Gulf States to take small ownership interests in his firm. The benefits were multiple: he got co-branding reputational benefits that would accelerate his firm’s brand building; he created access to capital for his deals; he created alignment of interests; and he created formidable barriers for others who may want to tap into the Gulf capital available for alternative assets.
Nemir deployed the same meticulousness and relentlessness in his initial acquisitions: Gucci and Tiffany. He quickly propelled himself to sit among the titans in private equity.
Nemir was much more than his Investcorp and an economic bridge builder.
He was a cultural bridge builder.
Nemir loved the United States; he was an ambassador for it throughout his life. Whether it was fashionable or not at the time, he would actively defend the US - even proclaim that no other country has done more for others than the US.
On the campus of Oxford University, the Zaha Hadid designed building for Middle East studies that he funded is the most tangible legacy of his bridge building. I recall Nemir telling me how he ensured that the structure bridged other buildings at St Anthony’s College to serve as a physical reminder of our continued need to bridge cultural differences.
In today’s world, we need more leaders to build bridges of understanding. Sadly, we just lost a great one.