Yusuf Alireza
Yusuf Abdulla Yusuf Akbar Alireza | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth year and age Bahrain |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, CEO |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Known for | CEO of Noble Group, partner at Goldman Sachs, CEO and co-founder of ARP Global Capital |
Yusuf Abdulla Yusuf Akbar Alireza (born August 1970 in Bahrain) serves as the CEO and co-founder of ARP Global Capital, a fund headquartered in Dubai. Before this role, he was a partner and co-leader of Asia-Pacific operations at Goldman Sachs and held the position of CEO at Noble Group, a Fortune Global 500 energy corporation based in Hong Kong, until his departure in May 2016.
Education
Alireza obtained combined bachelor's and master's degrees from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with a focus on international economics and international relations.
Career
Over a span of two decades, Alireza advanced through various roles at Goldman Sachs, ultimately becoming co-president of Asia operations excluding Japan and joining the firm’s global management committee. He began his career in 1992 within New York’s Fixed Income Industry Research Group, later overseeing sales and structuring activities across EMEA from London. After becoming a partner in 2004, he relocated to Hong Kong in 2008 to lead Goldman Sachs’ Asia Pacific securities division. In January 2011, he was promoted to co-head of Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), a position he held for 11 months before resigning.
In April 2012, Alireza took over as CEO of Noble Group, replacing Ricardo Leiman. During his tenure, he directed the company towards an asset-light business model, including the sale of Noble Agri to China’s Cofco Corp in 2014. Despite these strategic changes, Noble’s stock value declined by 76%, culminating in his resignation in May 2016.
Beginning in 2015, an anonymous blog named Iceberg Research questioned Noble’s accounting methods, accusing the company of recognizing profits prematurely on long-term contracts. Alireza publicly identified the blogger as Arnaud Vagner, a former Noble credit analyst who had been dismissed in 2013. While PricewaterhouseCoopers verified that accounting standards were met, they advised enhancements to corporate governance. Subsequently, in November 2018, Singaporean authorities initiated an investigation into Noble’s financial reporting. The company defaulted on its debt obligations in October 2018 and entered a restructuring process.
Alireza holds board memberships at Bahrain's Economic Development Board, National Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain Ship Repairing and Engineering Company, Room to Read, and Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.