Leadership
Practitioners who have originated, structured, and executed the transactions they now advise on. Every member of the senior team has held principal responsibility inside the institutions our clients operate within.
Kaelo's leadership model is built on a single conviction: the people advising clients on complex cross-border transactions must have personally executed comparable transactions themselves. This is not a philosophical preference — it is an operational requirement. The difference between an adviser who has structured a sukuk issuance and one who has read about the process is the difference between advice that survives first contact with a counterparty and advice that collapses under the weight of real-world complexity.
Every member of Kaelo's senior leadership has held positions of principal responsibility inside the institutions that constitute our client universe: investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, regulatory authorities, listed corporates, and development finance institutions. They have sat on the other side of the table. They understand how investment committees make decisions, how regulatory bodies evaluate applications, how family governance dynamics shape commercial strategy, and how sovereign mandates navigate the intersection of political economy and financial return.
This practitioner orientation extends to how the firm is managed. Kaelo does not operate a traditional partnership model where senior professionals spend the majority of their time on client origination and delegate execution to junior teams. Our managing directors remain personally involved in transaction execution — reviewing models, attending negotiation sessions, engaging directly with regulators and counterparty counsel. The client engagement partner is the person doing the work, not a relationship figurehead who appears at pitch meetings and disappears at mandate award.
This model limits the number of mandates the firm can accept simultaneously. That limitation is intentional. We would rather execute five transactions with the full weight of senior attention than fifteen transactions where the senior team's involvement is reduced to periodic review meetings and signature authority. In our experience, the quality differential between a transaction led by practitioners and one managed by administrators is not marginal. It is decisive — particularly in the complex, multi-jurisdictional, culturally nuanced mandates that define our practice.
Kaelo's leadership model is built on a single conviction: the people advising clients on complex cross-border transactions must have personally executed comparable transactions themselves. This is not a philosophical preference — it is an operational requirement. The difference between an adviser who has structured a sukuk issuance and one who has read about the process is the difference between advice that survives first contact with a counterparty and advice that collapses under the weight of real-world complexity.
Every member of Kaelo's senior leadership has held positions of principal responsibility inside the institutions that constitute our client universe: investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, regulatory authorities, listed corporates, and development finance institutions. They have sat on the other side of the table. They understand how investment committees make decisions, how regulatory bodies evaluate applications, how family governance dynamics shape commercial strategy, and how sovereign mandates navigate the intersection of political economy and financial return.
This practitioner orientation extends to how the firm is managed. Kaelo does not operate a traditional partnership model where senior professionals spend the majority of their time on client origination and delegate execution to junior teams. Our managing directors remain personally involved in transaction execution — reviewing models, attending negotiation sessions, engaging directly with regulators and counterparty counsel. The client engagement partner is the person doing the work, not a relationship figurehead who appears at pitch meetings and disappears at mandate award.
This model limits the number of mandates the firm can accept simultaneously. That limitation is intentional. We would rather execute five transactions with the full weight of senior attention than fifteen transactions where the senior team's involvement is reduced to periodic review meetings and signature authority. In our experience, the quality differential between a transaction led by practitioners and one managed by administrators is not marginal. It is decisive — particularly in the complex, multi-jurisdictional, culturally nuanced mandates that define our practice.
"We do not delegate judgement. Every client engagement is led by a senior professional who has personally executed transactions of comparable complexity."
Chief Executive Officer
Kavita Sunderlal Pohani
Responsible for firm-wide strategy, institutional relationships, and the articulation of Kaelo's market position across all three jurisdictions. Leads the firm's engagement with sovereign clients, regulators, and strategic partners. Brings over two decades of experience in investment banking and sovereign advisory across the Gulf, Asia, and Africa — having held senior positions at global financial institutions before founding Kaelo to address the advisory gap in South-South capital corridors.
Chief Operating Officer
Omar Al-Rashidi
Oversees the operational infrastructure that enables Kaelo's multi-jurisdictional advisory practice — technology systems, compliance architecture, human capital, and the coordination protocols that ensure seamless execution across Dubai, Singapore, and Seychelles. Previously held operational leadership roles at financial institutions in Dubai and Singapore, with particular expertise in building the internal systems and controls required for institutional-grade advisory firms operating across multiple regulatory regimes.
Managing Director, Gulf
David Rothstein
Leads Kaelo's Gulf advisory practice from the Dubai headquarters, covering Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Responsible for originating and executing mandates across M&A, capital markets, and strategic advisory for sovereign entities, family conglomerates, and government-related enterprises. Deep institutional relationships with Gulf sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and capital market authorities built over a career spanning investment banking, private equity, and sovereign advisory in the region.
Managing Director, Asia
Wei Lin Chen
Leads Kaelo's Asian advisory practice from Singapore, covering ASEAN, India, Greater China, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Responsible for fund structuring, Asian institutional capital relationships, and the origination of Gulf-to-Asia cross-border mandates. Previously held senior roles in Asian investment banking and fund management, with specific expertise in Singapore-based fund vehicles, Asian family office advisory, and the institutional mechanics of deploying Gulf capital into Asian growth opportunities.
Managing Director, Africa
Amara Ndikumana
Leads Kaelo's Africa and Indian Ocean advisory practice from the Seychelles office, covering East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, and the island economies. Responsible for the firm's Africa-focused fund administration services, offshore structuring, and the development of institutional relationships with African sovereign funds, DFIs, and regional banking groups. Extensive experience in African capital markets, having structured transactions across multiple jurisdictions with expertise in navigating the regulatory, political, and commercial complexities unique to African markets.
Head of Capital Markets
Yael Goldberg
Leads the firm's debt advisory, equity capital markets, and structured finance practices. Responsible for the design and execution of capital raising strategies across conventional and Islamic instruments, public and private markets, and multiple jurisdictions. Brings deep structuring expertise in sukuk issuance, project finance, securitisation, and IPO advisory — with particular capability in cross-border instruments requiring simultaneous compliance with DIFC, MAS, and SIBA regulatory frameworks.
Head of Risk & Compliance
Fatima Al-Hajri
Oversees the firm's compliance architecture across all three operating jurisdictions — Dubai, Singapore, and Seychelles. Responsible for AML/KYC procedures, sanctions screening, conflicts of interest management, and regulatory reporting. Ensures Kaelo maintains the highest standards of regulatory compliance, operating the internal controls and monitoring frameworks required for an advisory firm serving institutional clients across multiple regulated markets. Previously held compliance leadership roles at Dubai-based financial institutions.
General Counsel
James Harrington
Responsible for the firm's legal affairs, engagement documentation, and the legal architecture of cross-border advisory mandates. Provides internal counsel on regulatory matters, corporate governance, intellectual property, and employment law across three jurisdictions. Qualified in common law and civil law systems, with specific expertise in DIFC law, Singapore corporate law, and the legal frameworks governing offshore financial services in the Seychelles. Previously practiced at an international law firm advising financial institutions on regulatory and transactional matters.
Kavita Sunderlal Pohani
Responsible for firm-wide strategy, institutional relationships, and the articulation of Kaelo's market position across all three jurisdictions. Leads the firm's engagement with sovereign clients, regulators, and strategic partners. Brings over two decades of experience in investment banking and sovereign advisory across the Gulf, Asia, and Africa — having held senior positions at global financial institutions before founding Kaelo to address the advisory gap in South-South capital corridors.
Omar Al-Rashidi
Oversees the operational infrastructure that enables Kaelo's multi-jurisdictional advisory practice — technology systems, compliance architecture, human capital, and the coordination protocols that ensure seamless execution across Dubai, Singapore, and Seychelles. Previously held operational leadership roles at financial institutions in Dubai and Singapore, with particular expertise in building the internal systems and controls required for institutional-grade advisory firms operating across multiple regulatory regimes.
David Rothstein
Leads Kaelo's Gulf advisory practice from the Dubai headquarters, covering Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Responsible for originating and executing mandates across M&A, capital markets, and strategic advisory for sovereign entities, family conglomerates, and government-related enterprises. Deep institutional relationships with Gulf sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and capital market authorities built over a career spanning investment banking, private equity, and sovereign advisory in the region.
Wei Lin Chen
Leads Kaelo's Asian advisory practice from Singapore, covering ASEAN, India, Greater China, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Responsible for fund structuring, Asian institutional capital relationships, and the origination of Gulf-to-Asia cross-border mandates. Previously held senior roles in Asian investment banking and fund management, with specific expertise in Singapore-based fund vehicles, Asian family office advisory, and the institutional mechanics of deploying Gulf capital into Asian growth opportunities.
Amara Ndikumana
Leads Kaelo's Africa and Indian Ocean advisory practice from the Seychelles office, covering East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, and the island economies. Responsible for the firm's Africa-focused fund administration services, offshore structuring, and the development of institutional relationships with African sovereign funds, DFIs, and regional banking groups. Extensive experience in African capital markets, having structured transactions across multiple jurisdictions with expertise in navigating the regulatory, political, and commercial complexities unique to African markets.
Yael Goldberg
Leads the firm's debt advisory, equity capital markets, and structured finance practices. Responsible for the design and execution of capital raising strategies across conventional and Islamic instruments, public and private markets, and multiple jurisdictions. Brings deep structuring expertise in sukuk issuance, project finance, securitisation, and IPO advisory — with particular capability in cross-border instruments requiring simultaneous compliance with DIFC, MAS, and SIBA regulatory frameworks.
Fatima Al-Hajri
Oversees the firm's compliance architecture across all three operating jurisdictions — Dubai, Singapore, and Seychelles. Responsible for AML/KYC procedures, sanctions screening, conflicts of interest management, and regulatory reporting. Ensures Kaelo maintains the highest standards of regulatory compliance, operating the internal controls and monitoring frameworks required for an advisory firm serving institutional clients across multiple regulated markets. Previously held compliance leadership roles at Dubai-based financial institutions.
James Harrington
Responsible for the firm's legal affairs, engagement documentation, and the legal architecture of cross-border advisory mandates. Provides internal counsel on regulatory matters, corporate governance, intellectual property, and employment law across three jurisdictions. Qualified in common law and civil law systems, with specific expertise in DIFC law, Singapore corporate law, and the legal frameworks governing offshore financial services in the Seychelles. Previously practiced at an international law firm advising financial institutions on regulatory and transactional matters.
Practitioners, not administrators.
Engage directly with the senior professionals who will lead your mandate.