Our Management Team

The Primis team offers many years of banking and financial markets expertise with a diversity of backgrounds, mostly located in Switzerland, yet all internationally trained and educated.
Primis’ team members all embrace the company’s culture of entrepreneurship, service, expertise, rigour, performance and tolerance. English, French, Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian are spoken by Primis’ team.

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WAEL EL ZEIN

Founder, Chairman & CEO
Head of the Investment Committee

Wael is the Chairman & CEO of Primis Investment (Suisse) SA. He is also the Chairman of Lucid Investment Bank SAL, an investment bank he initiated in Beirut in 2011 following ten years of corporate finance and strategy practice in London, Europe, Beirut and the GCC. Before that Wael held senior banking positions supervising financial, operational and information system functions. From 1989 to date, Wael has over 30 years of experience in private and investment banking across Europe, GCC and the Levant.

Wael resides in Switzerland. He holds an MBA from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut.

Languages spoken: English, French, Arabic

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NADI R. NAJJAR

Founder
Board Member

Nadi is a Founder and Board Member of Primis as well as an Attorney of Law and Legal Consultant. He is a Member of the Beirut Bar Association and Partner in the Roger Najjar Law Firm as well as a consultant for Luxembourgish Law Firm Eversheds Sutherland. Nadi has 30 years of extensive knowledge and experience in Middle-East and Europe, specializing in Corporate Law, Banking and Financial Law, Funds, Venture Capital, Trusts and Arbitration.

Nadi is a Luxembourgish/Lebanese national and resides in Paris. He holds a Masters in Tax and Corporate Law from the Paris Assas University and an LLM in International Business Law from Georgetown University, D.C. USA.

Languages spoken: French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Luxembourgish

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JEAN-PIERRE GRANDI

Chief Operating Officer and Head of Compliance
Board Member

Jean-Pierre heads Operations and Compliance at Primis, after 11 years at PWC within audit and consulting services, he joined the banking industry with executive positions at Crédit Suisse, American Express Bank Switzerland and Standard Chartered, in Switzerland and Monaco. Jean-Pierre is also an independent board member in other non financial businesses. He holds two Masters in International Economics, Management and Finance from University Paris Dauphine and a French high graduate in accounting and finance degree.

Languages spoken: French, English, German

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JEAN-FRANCOIS OWCZARCZAK

Head of Wealth Management
Member and Coordinator of the Investment Committee

Jean-François is Head of Wealth Management at Primis. He has 20 years experience in institutional financial advisory, focused on Asset Allocation and Cross Asset Research for Banks, Asset Managers and Family Offices in Switzerland. He holds the FRM (Financial Risk Manager) and CFTe (Certified Financial Technicians) certifications. Prior to that, Jean-François was an M&A and Leverage Finance Banker in London (Paribas then Deutsche Bank) and obtained a Masters in Business from the University of St Gallen, Switzerland.

Languages spoken: French, English, German

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Rami Maalouf

Corporate Finance Manager

Rami is the Corporate Finance Manager at Primis. He has more than 20 years of experience in Banking, Investment Banking and Private Equity fields. Rami leads all corporate finance engagements at Primis from origination to execution. Prior to joining Primis, Rami was the manager of the Investment Banking department at Lucid Investment Bank SAL with further previous experience in other banks and boutique corporate finance firms. Rami is an alumnus of L'École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in France and the American University of Beirut.

Languages spoken: English, French, Arabic

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Charles Najjar

Member of the Investment Committee

Charles is an Independent Member of Primis’ Investment Committee. He started his career 25 years ago in Lebanon as a consultant in project finance and private equity. He then continued as a Senior Credit at Banque Saradar in Beirut, made it up to Head of Research and then Head of Investment Solutions and Board member. He then took on the role as Representative Officer for the Lebanese and Jordan markets for UBS. Since 2014, Charles has been an Independent Financial Advisor to UHNW and HNW clients and is registered under Swiss legislation (RegFiX). Charles is also a Financial Market Professor at St Joseph Jesuite University in Beirut. Prior to his career, he obtained a Bachelor in Economics and Management from University Paris II Assas, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management and Finance from Paris X Dauphine and an MBA from HEC Paris.

Languages spoken: French, English, Arabic, Italian, Spanish