About Arif Efendi | Business Leader, Philanthropist and Investor
Arif Efendi is a business leader, investor and philanthropist who was raised in the US and is now based in the UK. He has spent time working in the UK, US and Europe in positions at all levels up to and including senior management roles, in a career spanning 15 years.
Education & Early Career History
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA) in 2009 from Vermont’s Norwich University (America’s oldest private military college), Mr Efendi began his career in the financial services and banking sector at the leading African-focused emerging markets investment bank, Standard Bank, in August 2010. Here, he worked on the African Equities desk within the Global Markets team, spending almost a year with the bank.
From here Mr Efendi moved to an international commodities trading and investment business in 2011, taking a principal position in which he remained until 2016. This business held financial interests in mining, and Mr Efendi’s primary role was the oversight of a global commodities trading book.
In 2016, for nearly two years, Mr Efendi was a consultant to ADCO Advisory Company, a specialist advisory firm that provides strategic counsel and funding solutions to companies based in the UK regarding commercial litigation and financial services investments.
Private Investment
Today, Mr Efendi is the principal at a London-based single-family office. In this capacity, he oversees private investments in the UK and Europe across a range of sectors including technology, hospitality and leisure, and sports and also heads up the asset management arm of the business, which incorporates global long-short equities products and other longer-term private capital deployments and solutions.
Philanthropy
In autumn 2021, Arif Efendi made a generous donation of $200,000 to Norwich University in dedication to its bicentennial campaign and in recognition of the positive impact the institution – and former dean Frank Vanecek – had on his life. For Mr Efendi, the military college was vital in terms of his personal development, encouraging him to leave his comfort zone and learn important life lessons. Although he initially had designs on becoming a general in the US Army, he changed direction during the course of his studies, deciding to pursue a career in business instead. He cites his experiences at Norwich University as benefiting his subsequent business endeavours and successes.
Mr Efendi’s key skills include creating marketing strategies, developing new businesses, strategic planning, financial modelling and contract negotiation.
