Saqib Malik

I graduated from Imperial College of Science and Technology in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Maths & Computer Science.

I have spent a quarter of a century working across a range of tier one investment banks and asset management firms — Deutsche Bank, Union Bank Switzerland, Commerzbank, Unicredit, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo Asset Management — in London, Zurich and Munich.

In 2015 I bootstrapped a non-alcoholic fruit cider brand, Sicera, after persuading the largest fruit cider brand, Kopparberg, to create a non-alcoholic version of their premium brand for distribution in Dubai. I subsequently negotiated production of my own brand with Belgium's leading brewery, Stassen, owned by Heineken, and the initial batch of two flavours — Pear, and Strawberry & Lime — was well received by consumers. The experience taught me several crucial lessons which will prove invaluable in my future endeavours.

2024 saw me gain the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment's Islamic Finance Qualification (Merit), followed the next year by the Investment Advice Diploma (Securities).

These days a good deal of my attention goes to the rooms I put together: private views, salon talks and supper evenings in London and, before long, the Gulf. I also collect contemporary art and write fiction. But most of all I am a father — simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding job of all.