Stratum

Our value proposition

Stratum offers top tier advisory services from an experienced team that is aligned with its clients’ interests

Our clients choose us when
what matters most is:

To be clear
We prioritize the highest levels of clarity in how we think and communicate. While we practice a structured approach to problem solving that can be deeply quantitative when such rigor is required, our prime concern is to be logical, lucid, and accessible.
To be critical
We are unafraid of starting with a blank sheet of paper. In fact, we thrive on it. Our firm specializes in situations when critical thinking and resourcefulness are more important than scale, benchmarking, or looking backwards. We look forward.
To have context
As we proactively leverage our international relationships and credentials in order to deliver value to our clients, we aim to ensure that the partnerships that we help forge are rooted in our understanding of the MENA region and its unique requirements.

Our expertise

Stratum primarily supports investment institutions, corporations, and family offices in the development, growth, and financing of their plans and partnerships

We serve our clients across a wide range of industries
on engagements both within the MENA region and internationally

Defining clear goals and desired outcomes, and then planning and directing the ways and means to achieve them

Defining and articulating strategic objectives and constraints
Developing business and development plans for projects and portfolios
Building problem solving and decision making frameworks
Identifying and evaluating new project and partnership opportunities

Engaging with operating and financial partners, and then managing the transaction process through the deal lifecycle

Building successful operating and financial partnerships
Designing and negotiating high caliber transaction structures
Managing deal negotiation, due diligence, and documentation
Supporting capital formation, financing, and syndication efforts

Acquiring critical market and industry intelligence, and then synthesizing and maintaining those data sets over time

Conducting primary and secondary research initiatives
Synthesizing research findings into structured intelligence reports
Building robust data structures and providing ongoing reporting
Monitoring and evaluating project and portfolio performance

Conducting rigorous market and financial analyses, and then evaluating those findings to support strategic decision making

Applying both quantitative and qualitative analytical methods
Building comprehensive financial models and frameworks
Performing detailed market, industry, and financial analyses
Evaluating strategic options, opportunities, and risk scenarios

Our team

Stratum’s leadership represents a range of distinguished advisory experience

Ahmed Alumran

Managing Partner

Ahmed Alumran

Managing Partner

Mr. Alumran represents over 20 years of strategic and management advisory experience across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Since co-founding Stratum, he has supported investment institutions, family offices, and corporate clients in the planning, analysis, financing, and growth of a range of new businesses, projects, and partnerships. Earlier in his career, Mr. Alumran served at a global strategy firm founded by ex-McKinsey partners in New York and had later supported a portfolio of business ventures primarily in the USA and GCC region.

He has served as member of the MIT Educational Counsel for over a decade, and was a founding member of the Gulf Venture Capital Association and the Bahrain Competitiveness Council. He is also a Board member and Governance Committee member of Edamah, the real estate arm of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund. Mr. Alumran holds Masters of Engineering and Bachelors of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).
Marwan Tabbara

Managing Partner

Marwan Tabbara

Managing Partner

Mr. Tabbara co-founded Stratum and represents over 20 years of experience in strategic, financial, and transaction advisory. He has advised the firm's clients on significant transactions both regionally and internationally and has supported the development and growth of a range of businesses and projects. Having previously worked in the Global Corporate & Investment Banking division of Citigroup in New York, London, and Bahrain, he has also supported large private and public sector clients on financing transactions within the Middle East and overseas.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Bahrain Flour Mills Company BSC. (publicly listed and majority owned by Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain), Board Member and Risk Committee Chairman of Bahrain Development Bank BSC (c), and Board Member and Risk Committee Chairman of Bahrain Islamic Bank BSC (publicly listed and majority owned by the National Bank of Bahrain). He has also previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Bahrain Bourse BSC (c) (Bahrain's national stock exchange). Mr. Tabbara holds a Masters of Engineering Management degree and a Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Economics from Duke University.
Hasan Malik

Principal

Hasan Malik

Principal

Mr. Malik represents over 20 years of experience in financial analytics, real estate development advisory, product development and management consulting. He has supported Stratum's key clients in areas such as market analysis, financial planning, and project development across a wide range of industries such as real estate, education, manufacturing, and technology. He has also managed the firm's real estate advisory practice for several successful development projects. Mr. Malik previously served at Ernst & Young in Bahrain where he advised its major clients including financial institutions and government bodies. Mr. Malik holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University in Ontario, Canada with a concentration in Finance, as well as a Bachelors of Computer Engineering degree from McGill University in Montreal. In 2021, Mr. Malik successfully completed the Data Science in Real Estate course at the School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).
Fahd Sakrani

Senior Director

Fahd Sakrani

Senior Director

Mr. Sakrani represents experience in management consulting, strategy, market analytics, financial advisory, operational improvement, risk management and audit. He has advised the firm's key clients across a range of industries such as education, healthcare, real estate, and financial services and has also managed the development of several of the firm's proprietary tools and processes. Previously, Mr. Sakrani worked for several years with PwC and Deloitte where he managed a diverse portfolio of industry leading clients. He holds an MBA from Cass Business School, UK and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). In 2018, he received the Top Performer Award from Cass Business School for graduating at the top of his MBA class and was also inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma academic honors society. In 2007, he received the ACCA Award of Appreciation in Recognition of Outstanding Academic Performance for attaining the 1st position in ACCA exams held in the GCC. Mr. Sakrani is passionate about new venture creation and entrepreneurship. His MBA thesis was a detailed study of Bahrain’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, and he also serves as a mentor to a number of startups in Bahrain and abroad.

Stewardship

Entrepreneurship

Leadership

To be clear

To be critical

To have context

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