Sadeq Sayeed


Sadeq Sayeed is a prominent Pakistani-born banker and businessman, known for his role behind Nomura's acquisition of the Europe, the Middle East and Africa businesses of Lehman Brothers in Oct 2008.
He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a master's degree in finance from their Sloan School.
From Nov 2008 till Feb 2009, he served as CEO of acquired EMEA businesses of Lehman; and later as CEO of Nomura International plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Europe Holdings plc until his retirement in June 2010.
He previously served as the chairman of a London-based hedge fund firm, Metage Capital Limited until March 2019. He has also sat on the board of JS Investments Ltd, and Silk Bank Ltd.

Early life and education

Sadeq Sayeed was born in Karachi on Dec 1953.
He attended Karachi Grammar School. Later, he enrolled for an undergraduate program in economics with concentration in electrical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After earning his BS degree, he went on to complete his master's degree in finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Professional career

Early years : 1976 to 2000

Sayeed started his active professional life in 1976 as a research associate, and subsequently an internal consultant at the World Bank, where he served for five years.
In 1985, he joined the London office of Credit Swiss First Boston as an associate within the cross markets arbitrage group. From 1989 to 1999, he served as the managing director, firstly within the arbitrage group and fixed income divisions; and latterly within the leverage funds group.
In 1993, he taught investment banking at MIT.

Nomura : 2000 to 2010

He joined Nomura Group in 2000, as member of the firm's Management Committee.
On 31 March 2008, a consortium – International Finance Corporation, BankMuscat, Nomura Holdings, and Sinthos Capital; led by senior banker Shaukat Tarin along with Sadeq Sayeed was instrumental in the acquisition of a controlling stake in Saudi Pak Commercial Bank, later rebranded as Silk Bank Limited.
He rose to prominence during Nomura Holdings's acquisition of the Europe, the Middle East and Africa assets of Lehman Brothers in Oct 2008. Sayeed was the chief negotiator for Nomura during its acquisition of the Lehman's EMEA operations.
From November 2008 till Feb 2009, he served as the Executive vice-chairman and Chief Executive of acquired businesses; overseeing the combined EMEA operations of Nomura and Lehman Brothers. On 2 February 2009, he was appointed as CEO of Nomura International plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Europe Holdings plc. He held the position until his retirement on 25 June 2010. He is reported to have received $34m severance package upon his retirement.

After Nomura : 2010 till date

He currently serves as the Chairman of a London-based hedge fund firm – Metage Capital Limited.
He sits on the board of JS Investments Ltd, and Silk Bank Limited.
On November 8th 2019 Sadeq was charged with financial fraud involving Nomura, Deutsche Bank and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA.