Al-Sharaa Appoints Omar Al-Halabi as Economic Advisor and Head of Sovereign Fund Board: Who Is He?

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree appointing engineer Omar Samer al-Halabi as an advisor for economic affairs at the presidential office and as chairman of the board of directors of the sovereign wealth fund.

The decree also stipulated adding al-Halabi to the membership of the Supreme Council for Economic Development, while keeping the remaining members of the sovereign wealth fund's board, established by a decree issued in 2025, unchanged.

Who is Omar al-Halabi?

Al-Halabi possesses professional experience exceeding twenty years working with governments, sovereign institutions, and the private sector in the Middle East and international markets, covering economic policies, institution building, and sovereign investment.

He previously served as partner and head of economic consulting and public policy for the Middle East region at KPMG, worked with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and spent nearly a decade at Johnson Controls, where he held leadership roles in strategy and business development in the Middle East.

His expertise includes industrial development, trade, investment, labor market policies, and private sector development, alongside finance, economic and financial valuation, deal structuring, and the development of investment instruments.

Al-Halabi holds a bachelor's degree in telecommunications engineering from Misr University for Science and Technology, and a master's degree in business administration with distinction from IE Business School in Madrid. He also studied public policy analysis at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and attended executive programs at academic institutions including MIT and Harvard Business School.