Born in Giza, Egypt, the youngest son of Muslim civil servants, his father’s last post was first undersecretary for the Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources and his mother was a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Egypt.
He was educated and lived in Uganda, Kuwait, the United States, the Netherlands, Egypt and the United Kingdom. He graduated from Cairo University in 1991 with a Bachelor in Commerce and Accounting.
As a child he enjoyed playing football and fencing. He started his career working for United States Aid in Cairo as an accountants After six months, he decided to travel around Europe.
Following his travels, Abou El Seoud returned to Egypt to start his career in accounting.
He worked for a year as an accountant at Coopers & Lybrand, Egypt (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers). In 1994, Abou El Seoud moved to Ernst & Young in Kuwait as an auditor.
In 1996, he was recruited by Investment Dar KSC as an Internal Auditor then received several promotions until he reached Senior Executive Vice President. This is the position which Abou El Seoud actively held until 2009.
In 1998, Abou El Seoud qualified as a Certified Public Accountant in San Diego, California.
He moved to London in 2008 when he was appointed to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of Dar Capital (United Kingdom) Limited, a Sharia compliant investment banking subsidiary of Investment Dar based in London. As Dar Capital’s Chief Executive Officer, Abou El Seoud is responsible for the overall management of the company including all capital market deals, landmark projects and growth strategy. Abou El Seoud’s previous board memberships include: Bahrain Islamic Bank, Manzel Hodling Company K.S.C.C., and Cr Rating & Collection Company.
He was also operating as assistant general manager and finance manager for First Rate (at Lloyd's) Madar Financing and Leasing Company KSC in the process of company’s operational restructuring and setting up the performance standard.
During his time in the United Kingdom, he has played a pivotal role in many of the Investment Dar landmark acquisitions including Grosvenor House Apartments in 2006 and Aston Martin Lagonda in 2007, the first ever sharia compliant leverage buyout.
He also sits on the board of several companies including Grosvenor House Apartments (director), Aston Martin Holdings (United Kingdom) Limited (director), Aston Martin Lagonda group (board member, member of Remuneration Committee, Finance Committee and Audit Committee), Lagonda Properties Limited (board member), Aston Martin Lagonda Limited (board member), Aston Martin Investments Limited (board member), Investment Dar United Kingdom Limited (Chief Executive Officer), Dar International Investment Bank (chairman), First Rate (at Lloyd's) Dar Asset Management Company (director), Cyclic Redundancy Check United Arab Emirates (chairman) and Dar Capital United Kingdom Limited (Chief Executive Officer and board member).
