Newport News, Virginia, June 13, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Walid Soliman, a former investment banker, has completed his degree and was offered a post-MBA position within the bank he worked for. However, he kindly declined, deciding instead to start his own eco-friendly, sustainable investment company in Newport News, Virginia. Walid Soliman got a top MBA job at Goldman Sachs after graduating from Cass Business School, in the United Kingdom, in 2015. One year later, he became one of the very few people working for Goldman Sachs to ever resign. He resigned because he felt the time had come to pursue a venture of his own.
Upon leaving Goldman Sachs, he founded Oak Capital together with a fellow Cass graduate. The goal of Oak Capital is to provide support to the field of eco-tourism around the world. Soliman found an investment firm that focuses specifically on hospitality and real estate to become the parent firm of Oak Capital, creating it as a separate, almost independent arm of the existing business, which is also located in Newport News, Virginia. Everything at Oak Capital will be eco-friendly, aiming to integrate sustainable, environmental, green projects within the tourism and hospitality industry.
"When I left Goldman Sachs, I spent six months living on a shoestring, trying to raise funds for Oak Capital. I had to get support and contracts from the business community, and I had to negotiate with the government. Things didn't move as quickly as I had wanted. I am used to a fast-paced environment and needed to adjust to things a little bit. However, I did persevere and found some excellent professional advice, helping me to build a network and find the necessary resources to make Oak Capital a reality."
Walid Soliman
Before going to the Cass Business School, Walid worked as a banker in Singapore and New York. He gave up those jobs to be able to study full time, which took one year to complete. The Cass MBA is ranked #1 in the country for one-year MBAs, and one of the 25 best programs in the world with a focus on finance.
Oak Capital currently is just a startup company. However, Soliman likes to think big. He is confident that the skills and knowledge he obtained through the Cass MBA will ensure that his big goals will be met. He says: "When I left Goldman Sachs, I spent six months living on a shoestring, trying to raise funds for Oak Capital. I had to get support and contracts from the business community, and I had to negotiate with the government. Things didn't move as quickly as I had wanted. I am used to a fast-paced environment and needed to adjust to things a little bit. However, I did persevere and found some excellent professional advice, helping me to build a network and find the necessary resources to make Oak Capital a reality."
Since Oak Capital invested in its initial project, it has received a lot of approval and positive feedback. This, in turn, meant that interest in the company was raised significantly. Soliman now aims to create more interest in and awareness of green and clean energy, while at the same time building the eco-tourism industry.
On why Soliman decided to travel to the United Kingdom for his degree, he says: "Cass has a fantastic reputation on a global level for its MBA program. But the key for me was that the faculty are experienced and knowledgeable in the fields of finance and sustainability, as well as in strategy. Furthermore, Cass is right in the center of London, so that gave me the chance to live in one of the world's most amazing cities, which is also a global financial center. In so doing, I was already able to build important network connections."
The entire MBA program was a great success for Soliman, but he particularly enjoyed the international and merger & acquisition (M&A) electives. To complete them, he partnered with other students and they undertook various consultancy projects, coming up with innovative, out of the box solutions. During that time, he was also able to learn about the nature of sustainable work and eco-tourism.
He adds: "What really opened my eyes to eco-tourism was the consultancy week I completed in Iceland. We actually got to meet the President, which was quite an impressive experience. But more impressive for me was our visit to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, the one that brought air travel to a standstill in 2010. That's when I knew there was a business to be made here because more people surely wanted to see this."
As a result of his work experience and education, Soliman was able to have his mind broadened with wider perspectives, while at the same time having his entrepreneurial spirit nurtured. This made it possible for him to transform himself into an agent for change.
Oak Capital in Newport News, Virginia is set for great things. It has serious financial backing and its initial projects have been hugely successful. With Walid Soliman at its helm, many financial experts agree that this is a company to watch.
Source: Walid Soliman
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