{{Short description|Tunisian-Swiss investment banker (born 1952)}} {{Infobox person | image = | caption = | image_size = | name = Kamel Lazaar | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|07|10}} | birth_place = | alma_mater = Tunis University, B.A, Higher Institute of Management of Tunis (Institut Supérieur de Gestion de Tunis) Tunis University, MBA | occupation = Founder and Chairman of Swicorp, Founder and President of the {{ill|Kamel Lazaar Foundation|fr|Fondation Kamel Lazaar}} (KLF) | spouse = Soumaya Lazaar, 1980-2009 | children = Lina Lazaar, Rayan Lazaar and Bashar Lazaar from his marriage with Mrs. Soumaya Lazaar and Yara Lazaar from the relationship with his second life partner | website = }}
'''Kamel Lazaar''' (born July 10, 1952) is a Tunisian-Swiss investment banker, serial entrepreneur and philanthropist<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Tunis, the Kamel Lazaar Foundation is pushing the boundaries of what's possible |url=https://www.artbasel.com/stories/kamel-lina-lazaar-foundation-tunis |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=Art Basel}}</ref> active across the MENA region.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Adam |first1=Georgina |title=Kamel Lazaar Foundation: seeds of change |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6f0585c0-b839-11e8-a1d8-15c2dd1280ff |website=Financial Times |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=21 September 2018}}</ref> He is the founder and chairman of Swicorp,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Talmor, Vasvari |first1=Eli, Florin |title=International Private Equity |date=24 June 2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, 2011 |isbn=978-1119973881 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=glAqLXXKsaAC&q=kamel+lazaar |accessdate=13 May 2020}}</ref> an investment banking, private equity (PE) and asset management firm headquartered in Riyadh, and former Vice-President of Citibank in Saudi Arabia<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clémençot |first1=Julien |title=Banque d'affaires : Kamel Lazaar entre Riyad et Tunis |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/25885/economie/banque-d-affaires-kamel-lazaar-entre-riyad-et-tunis/ |website=jeuneafrique |date=20 September 2012 |accessdate=13 May 2020}}</ref> (at the very beginning of his career). He is known for innovative initiatives in the following fields: business, public policy, art and culture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Downey |first1=Anthony |title=Future Imperfect: Contemporary Art Practices and Cultural Institutions in the Middle East |date=2016 |publisher=Sternberg Press, 2016 |isbn=978-3956792465 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyZTnQAACAAJ&q=kamel+lazaar |accessdate=13 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vignal |first1=Leïla |title=The Transnational Middle East: People, Places, Borders |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge, 2016 |isbn=978-1315535630 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_4wDQAAQBAJ |accessdate=13 May 2020}}</ref>
==Education== Kamel Lazaar holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Higher Institute of Management of Tunis (Institut Supérieur de Gestion de Tunis) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Tunis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kamel Lazaar |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/17273304 |website=Bloomberg |accessdate=13 May 2020}}</ref>
==Career== Kamel started his career at Citibank in North Africa, Europe and Saudi Arabia and was part of the Saudi American Bank’s (Samba (bank)) founding team.<ref>{{cite web |title=2011 Speakers |url=http://financialleadersforum.com/speakers.php?id=#2013 |website=Financialleadersforum |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=2011 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119203834/http://financialleadersforum.com/speakers.php?id=#2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1987, Kamel founded one of the first investment banks in MENA: [https://www.swicorp.com/ Swicorp].<ref>{{cite web |title=Swicorp et Kamel Lazaar détiennent désormais respectivement 49% et 26% du capital de CGF |url=https://www.ilboursa.com/marches/swicorp-et-kamel-lazaar-detiennent-desormais-respectivement-49-et-26-du-capital-de-cgf_6900 |website=ilBoursa |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=10 June 2015}}</ref> Today, Swicorp is present in Riyadh, Tunis, Dubai and Geneva. The company handles assets in excess of 1 billion dollars and executes multi-billion corporate finance and asset management deals across the region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Acciona, Swicorp begin construction work on three photovoltaic plants in Egypt |url=https://www.arabianindustry.com/construction/news/2019/mar/4/acciona-swicorp-begin-construction-work-on-three-photovoltaic-plants-in-egypt-6047366/ |website=arabianindustry |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=4 March 2019}}</ref>
In 2011, he founded the Maghreb Economic Forum (MEF)<ref>{{cite web |title=Who We Are - Board of Trustees |url=https://www.magef.org/who-we-are/ |website=Maghreb Economic Forum |accessdate=13 May 2020}}</ref> as an independent, non-partisan think-and-do tank. MEF is an NGO engaging a conversation between public and private audiences and nurturing new solutions for Education, Employment, Leadership & Gender Equality.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ahres |first1=Sofiene |title=Comment l'agriculture peut réduire le chômage |url=https://www.businessnews.com.tn/comment-lagriculture-peut-reduire-le-omage,519,67990,3 |website=Business News |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=30 October 2016}}</ref>
==Philanthropy== Together with his daughter Lina Lazaar, Kamel handles most of his philanthropic work through the {{ill|Kamel Lazaar Foundation|fr|Fondation Kamel Lazaar}} (KLF), which he created in 2005 in an effort to consolidate his interest in visual art and heritage preservation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Montazami |first1=Morad |title=Uncommon Grounds: New Media and Critical Practices in North Africa and the Middle East |journal=Critique d'Art. Actualité Internationale de la Littérature Critique Sur l'Art Contemporain |date=1 June 2016 |doi=10.4000/critiquedart.17589 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/critiquedart/17589?lang=en |accessdate=13 May 2020 |language=fr |issn=1246-8258|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Downey |first1=Anthony |title=Common Grounds and Common Cultures Kamel Lazaar in conversation with Anthony Downey |url=https://www.ibraaz.org/interviews/88 |website=Ibraaz |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=September 1975}}</ref> The backbone of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation is one of the largest contemporary and modern art collections in the MENA region. In 2011, KLF initiated the launch of the online magazine and platform Ibraaz- the largest forum for critical exchange on visual culture in the MENA region, followed shortly by the first instalment of Jaou<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kim |first1=Evangeline |title=Tunisia's Rising Star and Its Post-Revolutionary Creative Economy – 2015 Retrospective Kudos: The Jaou Tunis Conference {{!}} World Music Central.org |url=https://worldmusiccentral.org/2015/12/16/tunisias-rising-star-and-its-post-revolutionary-creative-economy-2015-retrospective-kudos-the-jaou-tunis-conference/ |website=World Music Central.org |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=16 December 2015}}</ref> – which became an annual event bringing together artists, thinkers and change-makers to exhibit works of art and fostering a dialogue about contemporary creative practices in the region. KLF contributed to bringing Tunisia back to the Biennale di Venezia after an absence of nearly six decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kamel Lazaar Foundation: "Climbing Through the Tide" |url=https://www.worldartfoundations.com/kamel-lazaar-foundation-climbing-through-the-tide/ |website=World Art Foundations |accessdate=13 May 2020 |date=15 March 2019}}</ref>
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
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Category:Tunis University alumni Category:Tunisian philanthropists Category:Swiss philanthropists Category:Investment bankers Category:1952 births Category:Living people