Robert D. Booth

Executive Chairman

Robert D. Booth is the Managing Director of Ellington Properties, and is the Executive Chairman of Ellington Capital. Ellington Properties is a leading Dubai based real estate development company, and currently is developing a portfolio in excess of US$1B.

Before forming Ellington Properties, Mr. Booth spent 14 years at Emaar Properties, where he was most recently their CEO for the Real Estate business. Mr. Booth joined Emaar in 2001, and was instrumental in the development of US$50B dollars plus of real estate assets, including 40,000 residential units in Dubai. Prior to Emaar, Mr. Booth worked for Li Ka Shing’s Concord Pacific Group In Vancouver and Toronto, where they were developing over US$5B dollars of real estate.

Currently he serves on the Advisory Board of Piramal Realty based in Mumbai, who are one of the largest real estate development companies in India.

Mr. Booth received a BA in Political Science from Simon Fraser University (SFU), and a MA in Real Property Development and Planning, from the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Joseph Thomas

Director

Joseph Thomas is the Managing Director and Co-founder of Ellington Properties and Ellington Capital.

An entrepreneur with a passion for creating new avenues for growth. In 2000, he started his first business venture, before moving on to the real estate industry in 2006. His expertise lies in complex transactions and the structuring of major mixed-use projects and world-class residential and commercial developments. Over the course of his career, Mr. Thomas has undertaken real estate projects of over 3 million square feet of space and project valuing in access of US$300M. He spearheaded Mayfair Executive offices & Park Avenue offices in 2011 – a fully furnished office space in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai with more than 200 offices running full strength for different corporates in the UAE with a business centre concept and actively playing a role to get more corporate and business houses to start up business in this part of the world.

Mr. Thomas earned his post-graduate degree in Business Management from Xavier School of Management (XLRI).

Nitin Bhatnagar

Director

A successful entrepreneur, Nitin Bhatnagar is the Co-founder of Ellington Properties and Ellington Capital.

Mr. Bhatnagar has over 20 years of experience in financial services specializing in Wealth Management, Structured Credit and Corporate Financial Advisory in Onshore and Offshore Markets, having commenced his career in India. He moved to Dubai from India in 2002 to join ABN Amro Bank. Continuing to build on his financial services career, in less than a decade, he became one of the youngest Managing Directors with Bank of Singapore and then J. Safra Sarasin Bank and is also the Founder and Promoter of Canarax Trading LLC.

Mr. Bhatnagar graduated from University of Maryland with Bachelor in Sciences on International Business Management.

Simon Townsend

CEO

He started his career in the UK where he was responsible for private client and family office real estate investment portfolios with a specific focus on valuation, asset management and portfolio optimization.

In 2005 Mr. Townsend was involved in establishing CBRE’s Middle East business focusing on the advisory, consulting, valuation and investment service lines. He then spent four years at both investment and Islamic investment banks in the Middle East region leading the real estate advisory and transaction teams completing more than USD800M of real estate transactions internationally including Europe, the United States, Asia, the Middle East and Russia.

Prior to joining Ellington Capital, Mr. Townsend spent a further five years at CBRE where he was responsible for leading the strategic advisory teams across the MENAT region which comprised more than 30 professionals, as well as establishing and leading the business in KSA.

Mr. Townsend has a BSc(Hons) in Urban Land Economics from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK as well as additional diplomas from Cornell University in Real Estate Investment as well as Hospitality Investment and Asset Management.

Manzar Jawaid

CFO

Manzar Jawaid is the Chief Financial Officer of Ellington Capital.

He is responsible for the firm’s finance function and its compliance with IFRS, DFSA prudential and capital adequacy requirements.

Before joining Ellington, Mr. Jawaid worked as the Chief Financial Officer for multiple regulated entities in the DIFC and ADGM. Prior to that he has held various senior managerial roles in multiple industries – Financial Services, Healthcare, FMCG, Telecommunications and Business Assurance Services.

Mr. Jawaid is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA, UK).

Tamer Ghresi

Compliance Officer

Tamer Ghresi is the DFSA Authorized Compliance Officer & MLRO of Ellington Capital.

As a Compliance Officer, Mr. Ghresi is responsible for overseeing the Firm’s systems and controls for compliance and anti-money laundering with the legislation applicable in the DIFC and for reporting thereon to the Board of Directors via the SEO and Supervisory Committee. Additionally, Mr. Ghresi will be the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) where he will be responsible for acting as the focal point for all activity within the Firm relating to anti-money laundering, for identifying and assessing money laundering risk, and for establishing and monitoring effective controls.

Before joining Ellington Capital, Mr. Ghresi has worked at Alkhair Capital, a DFSA Authorized Firm with a Category 3A license, and prior to that with Standard Chartered Bank.

Tamer holds a B.A degree in Economics from Western University in Canada and an International Governance, Risk and Compliance Diploma from the International Compliance Association and from the Alliance Manchester Business School-The University of Manchester. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

Kiran Thakur

Head of Investments

Kiran Thakur is the Head of Investments for Ellington Capital.

Before joining Ellington Capital, she started her career in real estate with DTZ (now Cushman & Wakefield) where she advised on valuations and occupational strategy whilst training as a Chartered Surveyor in London. Mrs. Thakur moved to Dubai in 2014 and subsequently joined CBRE in 2015, where she specialized in development valuations and worked as a trusted advisor to institutional investors, lenders and prominent developers in the region such as Emaar Properties, Dubai Properties, Aldar and Select Group. During her time as Director at CBRE, Mrs. Thakur has worked closely with a number of real estate funds to provide them with strategic counsel surrounding the valuations of their assets worth over US$200M for listing purposes. Mrs. Thakur has been an active Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) since 2012 and regularly sits on the assessment panel for potential candidates.

Mrs. Thakur received an MSc in Real Estate with Merit from Cass Business School in London following the completion of a BA in Business Management from University of Westminster.

Nicholas Jopling

Strategy

Nick Jopling is a Senior Advisor and IC Member of Ellington Capital.

Before joining Ellington Capital, Nick gained over 20 years’ experience working in the UK residential investment market focusing on strategic and operational leadership. Over his working life, Nick worked as an adviser and broker at Allsop LLP and CBRE. Most recently he was on the board as the Property Director of FTSE 250 listed Grainger PLC, the largest listed residential property company in the UK.

Nick has been appointed to both National and Regional Review Boards / Task Forces to assist in policy making and is currently the Co-Chair of the European Residential Council of the Urban Land Institute having previously founded and Chaired the ULI Residential Council UK overseeing the publication of the Best Practice Design Guide for Build to Rent in the UK.

Arif Mapara

Advisor

Arif Mapara, a graduate from the UK, is an entrepreneur with over 25 years’ experience in business within the UK and the UAE. With his business acumen and dynamic flair, he has brought in different concepts to the UAE during his time here.

In 2000, he opened a car dealership and became the sole importer of the British high-end sports car TVR as well as the French classic sports car Venturi. He opened flagship showrooms and workshops and showcased these cars together with other exotic cars in various major motors shows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

His conviction and desire to branch out into other ventures led him to acquire and bring the Master Franchise of the popular British food chain Pizza Express, to the UAE. After opening several profitable branches within the UAE, he successfully sold it back to the Principles. He pursued his love for food and passion in this industry by opening and becoming co-owner of Wakame, a Contemporary Pan Asian fusion concept, in which he still has a vested interest.

Naman Goel

Internal Auditor

Naman Goel is the Internal Auditor of Ellington Capital.

Before joining Ellington Capital, Mr. Goel worked at Varun Beverages Morocco S.A. which is the second largest bottler of Pepsi in the world outside of the USA with presence in more than 10 countries, handling Internal Audit and Finance Department of the Morocco plant and 12 depots related to it. Rich experience of working on ERP software’s SAP and Oracle and proficient with finalizing MIS reports, Variance reports, Quarter end Balance Sheets and P&L as per IFRS. Prior to Varun Beverages Morocco SA, Mr. Goel worked with one of the Big 4 consulting firms, Deloitte Haskins and Sells where he held the responsibility for finalizing the process audits of major fortune 500 companies, discussing the same with higher management including COO’s and CEO’s. He led a team of more than 10 people, directly reporting to him.

Mr. Goel received a Chartered Accountants degree from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He also earned his Law Degree from CCS University in Meerut, India. He has served on numerous projects both within and outside of India including South America, Europe, Africa and Middle East.

Hashim Al Awami

Investment Advisor

Hashim Al Awami is the Funds’ Investment Advisor of Ellington Capital.

Hashim is bringing with him over 24 years of experience. He played a key role in HSBC Saudi Arabia as Regional Senior Manager Business Development in the Asset Management and Global Banking department. In HSBC, Hashim focused on direct sales activities, developing, and increasing the bank’s products and services’ sales, especially with HNW individual and institution clients. Throughout his years of experience, he worked as a Real Estate Investment and Financial Consultant, putting him in a position to assist and support HNW clients with investment and financial solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. Another undertaking added to Hashim’s vast work experience was working as a GCC Business Development & Investment Advisory at Nobile Energy Partners NEP Oil & Gas Midstream and Royalties in Houston Texas, USA.

Arie Rashid

Senior Investment Advisor

Arie Rashid is Senior Investment Advisor for Ellington Capital

He started his career working for Brochot SA in the metals and mining industry in Paris before spending 10 years at Elara Capital, a London headquartered boutique investment firm focusing on emerging markets.

After spending his first two years with Elara in London as a trader, he relocated to Dubai to establish the office and grow their Middle East client base. Arie specialised in fund raising for Elara’s asset management division and was also involved in Investment Banking & Corporate Finance deals. In 2017, he was promoted to CEO of Elara’s Middle East business.

Prior to joining Ellington Capital, Arie joined Neo Capital, an independent advisory and asset management firm focused on Private Equity and Commercial Real Estate Deals in the US and Europe, to build out their UAE client base. He also advised startups from the UK, South Africa and UAE.

Arie has a BSc(Hons) in International Business & French from Aston Business School, Birmingham.