Sadek Wahba Explained

Sadek Wahba
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Cairo, Egypt
Education:Harvard University
London School of Economics
American University in Cairo
Occupation:Managing Partner, I Squared Capital

Sadek Wahba (born 1965) is an American economist and businessman. He is the founder and managing partner of the Miami-based global infrastructure investment company I Squared Capital.[2] In 2022 he was appointed by President Biden to the President's National Infrastructure Advisory Council.[3]

Early life and education

Wahba is the great-grandson of Egyptian Prime Minister and jurist Youssef Wahba.[4] His grandfather, Mourad Wahba, was a high court judge.

Wahba was born in Cairo and attended the Collège de la Sainte Famille. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, where his thesis advisors were Gary Chamberlain and Guido Imbens, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.[5] His research at Harvard was on measuring causal inference in social studies.[5] He also holds a M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in economics from the American University in Cairo.

Career

Wahba began his career as an economist for the World Bank, where he worked on the social dimensions of structural adjustment.[6] He subsequently joined Lehman Brothers, where he worked on structured financing. In 1998, he joined Morgan Stanley, where he started Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and was Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure.[7] [8]

In 2012, Wahba formed I Squared Capital, a U.S.-based private equity group that invests in infrastructure projects in the U.S. and in developing economies, particularly China and India. The group manages over $25 billion in assets, including a commitment from the U.S. government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation to invest in Southeast Asia.[9] The firm’s assets are focused in the energy, utilities, transport, digital infrastructure and social sectors in the U.S., Europe and in select high-growth economies including China, India and Latin America. I Squared Capital's portfolio companies employ over 12,000 professionals.

Infrastructure advocacy

Wahba is known as an advocate for increased investment in infrastructure both to address public needs and as a tool to create sustainable economic growth. He argues that infrastructure investment is capable of stimulating economic growth while also providing tangible benefits to the public and the environment.[10]

He cites the 2021 Texas power crisis as an example of the "crisis" caused by long-term under-investment in domestic infrastructure and neglect. In addition to tax-funded investment, Wahba proposes additional infrastructure investment sources including pension funds, the creation of an infrastructure IRA, overseas capital and the establishment of a public-private infrastructure bank.[11]

Wahba writes frequently about infrastructure issues. His articles advocating greater investment in infrastructure and increased use of private investment include "Can the Private Sector Bring About the 'Greening' of Infrastructure" (Forbes),[12] "US Infra Funding Needs More Than Just a Tax Hike",[13] "The U.S. Needs an Infrastructure Bank That Models the World Bank" (The Hill),[14] "Biden's Billion-Dollar Infrastructure Plan Needs a Dedicated IRA to Pay for It" (Miami Herald),[15] "Pension Funds Can Launch a New Infrastructure Era" (Pensions & Investments),[16] "A Three-Step Action Plan to Save US Infrastructure" (Infrastructure Investor)[17] and "Upgrading our Crumbling Infrastructure Could Recession-Proof Our Nation" (Miami Herald).[18]

Wahba is a published author on economic research, including articles in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Review of Economics and Statistics as well as other publications and proceedings. One of his publications was selected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as one of its 50 most influential papers in the last 50 years.[19] [20] [21] His research at Harvard included labor migration and worker remittances as a source of foreign capital to emerging markets.[22]

He has appeared frequently on Bloomberg, CNBC,[23] Nasdaq, Yahoo! Finance,[24] TD Ameritrade[25] [26] and Cheddar.

He is a member of the President's Infrastructure Advisory Council.

Awards and honors

Wahba is a senior fellow at the Development Research Institute of New York University,[27] a member of the board of trustees of the American University in Cairo,[2] a foundation fellow of St Antony's College at the University of Oxford, a former member of the Brookings Foreign Policy Leadership Council, and was part of the expert committee on the World Economic Forum first report on global infrastructure investments.[28] He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Advisory Council of the Wilson Advisory Center,[29] [30] and a member of the board of directors of the Miami Cancer Institute.[31]

In 2019, Wahba became the only person to receive the "Global Personality of the Year" award from Infrastructure Investor magazine twice[32] [33] and Global Infrastructure Personality of the Decade by Private Equity International (PEI).[34]

In 2023, the Wilson Center announced the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, an initiative intended to support policy reforms that strengthen American leadership.[35]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: I Squared Capital (Uk Parent) Limited - London .
  2. Web site: Dr. Sadek Wahba. The American University in Cairo - Dr. Sadek Wahba. The American University in Cairo. 18 September 2015.
  3. Web site: House . The White . 2022-08-31 . President Biden Announces Appointments to the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council . 2022-12-13 . The White House . en-US.
  4. Book: Chronology of Egyptian Council of Ministers Vol. I. General Egyptian Book Organization. Cairo. (In Arabic).
  5. Sadek . Wahba . 1996 . Estimation of causal effects in observational studies: Applications to training programs and labor migration decisions . 38840528 .
  6. Book: Lucas, Robert E. B.. International Migration and Economic Development: Lessons from Low-income Countries. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2005. 9781781959169.
  7. News: LaCapra. Lauren Tara. September 18, 2012. Exclusive: Morgan Stanley infrastructure fund hit by Volcker rule. Thomson Reuters. Reuters. 18 September 2015.
  8. News: Guerrera. Francesco. May 12, 2008. Morgan Stanley fund to tap Asian growth. Pearson. Financial Times. 18 September 2015.
  9. Web site: Infrastructure Investor I Squared Capital Gets Approval for $200 Million Funding. 2015-12-31.
  10. Web site: Massive nationwide initiative can bring jobs, thwart slowdown Miami Herald. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210503092341/https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article236736458.html. 2021-05-03. Miami Herald.
  11. Web site: Sadek Wahba: US infra funding needs more than just a tax hike. 15 March 2021.
  12. Web site: Wahba . Sadek . Council Post: Can The Private Sector Bring About The 'Greening' Of Infrastructure? . 2022-04-04 . Forbes . en.
  13. Web site: Writer. Guest. 2021-03-15. Sadek Wahba: US infra funding needs more than just a tax hike. 2021-06-07. Infrastructure Investor. en-US.
  14. Web site: 2021-08-04 . The US needs an infrastructure bank that models the World Bank . 2022-04-04 . The Hill . en-US.
  15. News: Biden's Infrastructure Bill Needs... . .
  16. Web site: 2021-06-01 . Commentary: Pension funds can launch a new infrastructure era . 2022-04-04 . Pensions & Investments . en.
  17. Web site: Writer. Guest. 2020-09-10. A three-step action plan to save US infra. 2021-06-07. Infrastructure Investor. en-US.
  18. Web site: Upgrading our crumbling infrastructure could recession-proof the nation. Miami Herald.
  19. Web site: 50 Influential Journal Articles. 18 September 2015. MIT Press Journals. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  20. News: Sadek Wahba. January 24, 2011. WAHBA: The state of the union's roads, rails, bridges. The Washington Times. 2015-12-31.
  21. The Future of U.S. Infrastructure: Proposals for Progress. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. 2011. 23. 3. 92–98. 10.1111/j.1745-6622.2011.00346.x. 153753149. Wahba. Sadek.
  22. Book: Lucas, Robert E. B.. International Migration and Economic Development: Lessons from Low-income Countries. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2005. 9781781959169.
  23. Web site: Think tank says Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure program will 'revive' American productivity . 2022-09-12 . CNBC . en.
  24. Web site: Biden's infrastructure bill should be much more than $1.7 trillion: I Squared Capital Founder . 2022-04-04 . news.yahoo.com . en-US.
  25. Web site: Economic Impact Of Geopolitical Tensions: Rising Costs . 2022-09-12 . TD Ameritrade Network.
  26. Web site: U.S. & China: Removing Trade Barriers Helps Global Economy . 2022-12-13 . TD Ameritrade Network.
  27. Web site: Sadek Wahba.
  28. Web site: Paving the Way: Maximizing the Value of Private Finance in Infrastructure. World Economic Forum. 2016-10-24.
  29. Web site: Center . Wilson . Global Advisory Council: Wilson Center . 23 October 2021 . www.wilsoncenter.org . en.
  30. Web site: Council on Foreign Relations . Council on Foreign Relations . 13 June 2022 . en.
  31. Web site: Dr Sadek Wahba St Antony's College . 2022-09-12 . www.sant.ox.ac.uk.
  32. News: Infrastructure Investor. March 4, 2016. The roll of honour. Infrastructure Investor. 4 March 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307051522/https://www.infrastructureinvestor.com/uploadedFiles/Editorial_Imageas/II70_AR-awards2.pdf. 7 March 2016.
  33. Web site: Awards 2018: Global winners. www.infrastructureinvestor.com. March 2019. 2019-03-12.
  34. Web site: Staff. P. E. I.. 2019-09-11. And the Decade Awards go to.... 2021-07-21. Infrastructure Investor. en-US.
  35. Web site: Wilson Center Launches Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition to Shape Conversations and Reforms in Era of Great Power Competition Wilson Center . 2023-02-16 . www.wilsoncenter.org . en.