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Lars HaakenstadLH

Lars Haakenstad

M&A, investments and fundraising

$800/day
Dubai City, AE
3-7 years

Average response time: 1 hour

About Lars

Investment Executive & Corporate Strategist with 9+ years' experience in MENA, Norway, UK & Greater China. Proven track record in fundraising (up to US$30m), corporate development, cross-border M&A, entrepreneurship and venture scaling. Sector experience in investment banking, e-commerce and consulting
  • English

    Native or bilingual

  • Norwegian

    Native or bilingual

  • Swedish

    Fluent

  • French

    Conversational

  • Spanish

    Conversational

  • Chinese

    Basic

Can work on-site
Dubai City (up to 50km), Abu Dhabi Island and Internal Islands City (up to 50km)

Experience

  • INDEPENDANT
    Freelance Strategy & Investment Advisor
    CONSULTING AND AUDITS
    May 2024 - Today (2 years and 1 month)
    Dubai City, United Arab Emirates
    • Advised regional and international clients on operational and strategic initiatives including corporate strategy, market entry, investment advisory, and fundraising support
    Corporate strategy Fundraising Mergers and Acquistions financial modeling Project Management
  • Estasheer
    CEO and Entrepreneur in Residence
    CONSULTING AND AUDITS
    June 2020 - May 2024 (3 years and 11 months)
    Dubai - United Arab Emirates
    • Built and scaled a bootstrapped start-up from scratch, including designing operating model and service offering:
    • Led business development efforts, established partnerships and built a client base serving 10+ of the leading consulting firms in the MENA region, smaller boutique consulting firms and end clients
    • Led strategic talent deployment and advisory for senior stakeholders and consulting firms supporting PIF-backed entities and regional giga-projects in KSA and UAE
    • Hired and managed the team and daily operations from inbound requests, delivery oversight to contracting
    • Achieved profitability within 24 months of joining and generated annual GSV in the US$ millions range
  • Awok.com
    Head of Strategy and Corporate Development
    E-COMMERCE
    April 2018 - March 2020 (1 year and 11 months)
    Dubai - United Arab Emirates
    • Fundraised the largest Series A round in the region till that date (US$30m)
    • Developed business plans, marketing material, and managed the full DD processes (CDD, FDD, LDD, Tech)
    • Coordinated and managed discussions with potential and current investors in MENA, US & China, including exploring partnerships with potential strategic acquirers, and supported the founder with investor relations
    • Reviewed fundraising transaction documents (SHA, SPA) and other commercial agreements
    • Developed corporate strategy and led international expansion efforts as right-hand man to Founder and CEO
    • Managed the international expansions and incorporations in KSA (through SAGIA), Egypt, Pakistan and China
    • Evaluated business development opportunities through potential new partners and vendors

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Education

  • Bachelor of Business Administration
    The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    2013
    Bachelor of Business Administration
  • One- year Full-Time Intensive Mandarin Chinese Program
    Qingdao University
    2014
    One- year Full-Time Intensive Mandarin Chinese Program

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