ABBAS HIJAZI
ABBAS HIJAZI
Building. Thinking. Living deliberately.
Building. Thinking. Living deliberately.
I work with businesses, investments, and people—often where decisions are difficult and answers aren’t obvious. But work is only one part of who I am.
I work with businesses, investments, and people—often where decisions are difficult and answers aren’t obvious. But work is only one part of who I am.
I am a husband, father, son, brother, traveler, and occasional mountaineer. I am interested in business and investing, but equally fascinated by people: what drives us, how we make decisions, what ambition does to us, and what ultimately makes a life meaningful.
WHAT I DO
WHAT I DO
Strategy. Investment. Building businesses.
Strategy. Investment. Building businesses.
My professional life has taken me across businesses, industries and different stages of growth and geography. The common thread has been solving difficult problems, understanding businesses, allocating capital and building value.
Over time, I have become increasingly interested in the quality of decisions behind the numbers: identifying what actually matters, challenging assumptions, recognizing where bias may be shaping judgement, and helping management teams and boards see difficult choices more clearly.
My professional life has taken me across businesses, industries and different stages of growth and geography. The common thread has been solving difficult problems, understanding businesses, allocating capital and building value.
Over time, I have become increasingly interested in the quality of decisions behind the numbers: identifying what actually matters, challenging assumptions, recognizing where bias may be shaping judgement, and helping management teams and boards see difficult choices more clearly.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
WHAT I THINK ABOUT
Questions interest me more than answers.
Questions interest me more than answers.
Why do intelligent people sometimes make poor decisions?
Why do intelligent people sometimes make poor decisions?
What separates authority from leadership?
What separates authority from leadership?
How much of ambition comes from wanting to create, and how much from wanting to be recognized?
How much of ambition comes from wanting to create, and how much from wanting to be recognized?
Why do some organizations welcome independent thought while others quietly resist it?
Why do some organizations welcome independent thought while others quietly resist it?
I write occasionally about business, investing, leadership, human behavior, and some of the questions I am still working through myself.
I write occasionally about business, investing, leadership, human behavior, and some of the questions I am still working through myself.
EXPLORE MY THINKING
BEYOND WORK
There is a bigger life outside the office.
There is a bigger life outside the office.
Mountains have a way of putting things into perspective. So do children. Travel, hiking, and physical challenge give me something professional life rarely can: distance. They remind me that the world is much larger than whatever problem happens to feel important that day. Some of my clearest thinking has happened far away from a desk.
Mountains have a way of putting things into perspective. So do children. Travel, hiking, and physical challenge give me something professional life rarely can: distance. They remind me that the world is much larger than whatever problem happens to feel important that day. Some of my clearest thinking has happened far away from a desk.
WHAT MATTERS
Success is useful. Contribution is meaningful.
Success is useful. Contribution is meaningful.
I still care about achievement. I still want to build difficult things and do them well. But my definition of success has changed. Increasingly, I think the better question is not simply:
I still care about achievement. I still want to build difficult things and do them well. But my definition of success has changed. Increasingly, I think the better question is not simply:
What did I accomplish?
What did I accomplish?
Whose life was better because I was part of it?
Whose life was better because I was part of it?
For me, that begins with the people closest to me. Family has become the clearest reminder that our greatest contribution may not always be the most visible one.
For me, that begins with the people closest to me. Family has become the clearest reminder that our greatest contribution may not always be the most visible one.
NOTES & IDEAS
Occasional notes on business, investing, leadership, human behaviour, and Islamic culture, art, and contribution to humanity.
Occasional notes on business, investing, leadership, human behaviour, and Islamic culture, art, and contribution to humanity.
01
PIF Is Moving From Growth to Value Realization
PIF Is Moving From Growth to Value Realization
CAPITAL & INVESTING
02
Makkah and Madinah: The “New Oil” Opportunity
Makkah and Madinah: The “New Oil” Opportunity
ECONOMICS & REAL ESTATE
03
A Family Investment Company Is Built by Its First Rules, Not Its First Deal
A Family Investment Company Is Built by Its First Rules, Not Its First Deal
BUSINESS & GOVERNANCE
04
The Monetization Route for Saudi Master Developers Is Recurring Cash Flow, Not Plot Sales
ECONOMICS & REAL ESTATE
MEDIA & CONVERSATIONS
Ideas in conversation.
Ideas in conversation.
Occasional conversations on business, investment, industry, and the forces shaping the region.
Occasional conversations on business, investment, industry, and the forces shaping the region.
ASHARQ BUSINESS WITH BLOOMBERG · MAY 2025
Gulf Industrial Policy & the AI Competition
Gulf Industrial Policy & the AI Competition
A conversation on the convergence of industrial policy across the Gulf, and the strategic choices emerging as the region positions itself in the global competition for artificial intelligence.
CONTACT
A conversation can start here.
A conversation can start here.
For professional enquiries, interesting ideas, or simply a thoughtful conversation.
For professional enquiries, interesting ideas, or simply a thoughtful conversation.