Ismael Hajjar

Ismael Hajjar is a Partner at PwC where he leads the firm’s awards-winning International Private Wealth & Family Office practice across the Middle East. With over 18 years of experience across Europe and the Middle East, he specializes in international tax & wealth structuring, family office and private capital advisory, serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), entrepreneurial families, family offices and royal households.

Prior to joining PwC, he led the Private Client Services division of another Big Four firm, where he built a regionally recognized advisory practice for successful families and was responsible for the overall firm strategy regarding privately owned companies and their owners.

Ismael acts a trusted advisor to families, guiding them through complex cross-border matters and helping them to preserve, grow, and transition their wealth across generations. In this context, Ismael has contributed to building and currently serves Family Offices. This involved designing their strategy, operations and organizational structure as well as advising them on global tax matters.

In addition to his private client activities, Ismael also regularly advises and supports government entities across the GCC in the context of the design of HNWI / family office attraction programs. He is a member of various wealth management industry committees and working groups, and he currently serves on the Advisory Board of the DIFC Family Wealth Centre.

A frequent speaker at regional and international conferences, Ismael is recognized as a thought leader on topics such as private wealth institutionalization, cross-border tax planning, multi-generational succession planning, family governance and the evolving role of a family office.

He is a Certified Chartered Accountant in Luxembourg and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from HEC-Ulg School of Management in Belgium. He is also a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), holds a Certificate in Islamic Finance from the Institute of Islamic Banking & Insurance (UK), and is certified in Family Business Advising (CFBA) by the Family Firm Institute.