In the half-light of the British Museum's Round Reading Room, I am waiting to talk to Qaisra Khan, the curator of a pioneering new exhibition about the Haj.
Our interview has been delayed twice as she is constantly called onto the exhibition floor for last-minute adjustments. Around me, museum staff scurry around the artefacts, checking they have been correctly positioned and that their labels are accurate.
We exchange pleasantries, and Khan expresses her delight at the positive reception the exhibition is getting worldwide. She is softly spoken, and each word is chosen with care. But beneath her precise manner of speech and her self-contained demeanour, I sense a deep-seated drive and creativity.
The thirty-something is passionate about her work, her eyes glittering as she describes how each exhibit was painstakingly procured from public and private collections around the world. But the arts wasn't a place Khan ever imagined her career would take her. Her parents had "set rules" about the kind of professions that were suitable for their children, a world view that is not unusual for Asian families such as Khan's. Doctors, lawyers and accountants were typical choices.
Of Pakistani descent, she grew up in Manchester, UK, the youngest of four children. One of her older siblings went to Oxford, the other, Cambridge. She followed by gaining her undergraduate degree in law from Magdalene College, Cambridge University. Law was her "sensible" choice.
It wasn't straight out into the world though. Between her degree and the workplace, the first hint of Khan's self-confessed unconventionality manifested itself.
She undertook a master's of philosophy degree in oriental studies at Cambridge. The mixture of arts, poetry and Persian literature lit a flame within her. "I wanted to do something completely different that I'd be really happy doing," she says.
MPhil completed, and head ruling heart, she took a "sensible job" in the city, at the international accountancy firm Deloitte. In the evenings she studied gemmology and Islamic art.
Five years later, she gave up her job to complete her legal studies. She acknowledges that "it would have been the easy option to plod along". She insists it was not bravery but practicality that led to her resignation from a prize job. She wanted to ensure she was fully qualified as a lawyer.
But she didn't take up a job as a lawyer; instead, she applied for and secured an extremely sought after internship at Christie's auction house. I'm baffled by this. Was it fate? She seems surprised by this idea. "I put myself out there," she says.
She had the right skills, along with passion and determination, and her business background was an asset. "I understood that Christie's is first and foremost a business," she says. Being self-taught in the arts was a bonus to demonstrate her commitment to the career change.
The six months she spent with Christie's were a "huge stepping stone", and there was no turning back. She then moved to the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, where she was researching artefacts at the soon-to-be-opened establishment. The work was "incredibly exciting", with the opportunity to work on parts of the collection never seen before. The relationships she built with her co-workers made Doha, then still under construction, more bearable.
"I became very good at shopping, too," she says, chuckling.
Ultimately she returned to London to marry her fiancé, whom she had met at Deloitte. They now live in Northwood, north-west London. What does he think of her foray into the arts? "He's very proud," she says.
Newly married and unemployed for the first time since graduation, Khan at first enjoyed the rest. However, with no roles coming up, and the recession biting, she wondered "what have I done? Have I made a mistake?" But her risk-taking paid off when the British Museum advertised a role just under two years ago for project curator for the Haj exhibition.
"I almost cried when I got the job," Khan says. "It was like an Oscar speech."
From City finance to sensible law to pioneering arts: is it a struggle managing her seemingly contradictory pragmatism and creativity? Such internal conflict could be paralysing, but for Khan this tension propels her forward. She pauses, searching for the right response, careful neither to give away too much nor be vague.
"I'm a considered risk-taker," she says.
And what does she think of her journey?
"I had no clear vision," she muses, looking back to Cambridge, through to financial services, to Christie's, abroad to the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and finally to where we are today at the British Museum. But then she laughs, and says her unusual route might not be so surprising after all.
"My father has a tagline," she explains: "Nothing is impossible."
Hajj - Journey to the Heart of Islam runs until April 15 at the British Museum in London. For more details go to www.britishmuseum.org.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Paris%20Agreement
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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