Shiv Srinivasan has joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Council this month as its new chief investment officer for active investment strategies, comprising hedge fund investing.

Shiv Srinivasan has joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Council this month as its new chief investment officer for active investment strategies, comprising hedge fund investing. He previously spent seven years at Optima Fund Management in New York, most recently as co-deputy chief investment officer.

Before joining Optima, Srinivasan spent four years with Goldman Sachs in New York as a trader in the equities division, and he earlier worked for four years with HSBC in the Middle East.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Council was established by the government of the Gulf emirate in 2006 to invest state funds inside and outside the country. It is a corporate body financially and administratively independent of the government, but is headed by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates.

The council owns various companies and financial institutions in Abu Dhabi, including National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Al Hilal Bank, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company. It hit the headlines this week with reports that it is negotiating to acquire a 75 per cent stake in New York's famous Chrysler Building for USD800m.