#RedPin series / ONE profile: Karim Kouki
Three years of university evening classes and various student jobs laid the foundation for my career. Having earned a master’s degree in International Business, I was excited to jumpstart my professional life. I sought my first job in international commerce, but almost all job advertisements listed several years of experience and foreign language skills as a requirement and at the time I had only my mother tongue with no professional experience as I just finished my studies.
Undaunted, and with the full support of my family—especially my wife, who was pregnant at the time—I flew to Ireland for nearly two months to take an intensive English-language course. It was an exciting period of my life, and studying alongside more than ten different nationalities from around the globe was inspiring and motivating.
In 2005 more than 120,000 border workers were working in Luxembourg, mainly in the finance sector. I felt well equipped to tackle the finance sector. Two applications later, after returning from Ireland, I was offered my first job in the fund industry at one of the most renowned banks in Luxembourg.
Since 2005 I have been fortunate enough to work at the heart of the fund industry for the main pillars of fund operations in Luxembourg: from Fund Administration to Depositary Bank - allowing me to build a thorough knowledge in both Alternative and UCITS funds. I am grateful to all those who have shared their knowledge and expertise with me and who have actively contributed to strengthening my professional profile while also helping me grow as an individual.
The year 2017 marked a turning point in my career when I discovered the asset management world by joining a third party management company. There I had the opportunity to sit in the mid- to front-office, joining an exceptional team of leaders with excellent management skills.
Today I feel incredibly lucky to be part of a hand-picked group within an incredible team of individuals who are all looking in the same direction—onwards and upwards—a team that acts with integrity and professionalism, and that always prioritises client service.
I am proud to be a Partner within ONE group solutions, and to be part of the journey with Steve Bernat and Revel Wood.
We operate around the principle that if our people have a stake in the business, they will do a better job for our clients. We have a committed and stable team, as they see the benefit of long-term value creation through building long-standing relationships. We build value for clients, and their end customer.
You can have the best technology and the most efficient processes in the world, but if you don’t have the people to operate them, your business is worth very little. Thus, our biggest asset is our team of professional and passionate experts.
We operate next generation technology through a combination of in-house, and best in market solutions to deliver an impeccable service and use technology to excel in both service delivery and efficiency.
We delight in valued long-term partnerships with clients, team, industry partners and our stakeholders. We aim to work with clients who share our belief in the importance of building strong partnerships over time.
