Fishing in the desert in Kuwait: We ran a marathon to catch a CEO
Burton Flynn and Ivan Nechunaev
June 2025
Our Eureka moment
In the last several months, we have accomplished unique investment adventures. First, we crossed Malaysia from Johor to Penang on our bicycles, meeting 25 company CEOs along our 1,380km route. Second, we swam from Europe to Asia in Turkey, interviewing a CEO while conquering the 4km Dardanelles strait. We biked and we swam – whatever it took to chase investment opportunities in emerging markets. But we still felt that something was missing.
Recently, we had a meeting with the CEO of a $100m investment holding from Kuwait. When answering our personal questions – which we ask all CEOs we meet to better understand their leadership style and purpose in life – he said that his hobbies include running and long-distance triathlons. At that moment, we realized – as if a lightning bolt (gently) struck our brains akin to when the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes shouted his infamous Eureka! – we need a major run to complete our investment triathlon! We already biked and swam, and now we clearly needed a run!
The CEO invited us to participate in a marathon in Kuwait, for which he had already signed up. We boldly accepted the challenge and started our preparation for a unique research marathon trip to Kuwait. We were going to give a very powerful test to the CEO's stamina in running a very long distance – which could also provide powerful insights into how he is going to manage his business in the long run.
Meeting with the CEO of a $100m investment holding in Kuwait before starting a marathon
A walk in the Sharq
The morning of the marathon was absolutely delightful. The Arabic dawn was epically picturesque, air temperature was pleasant, and there was fresh enough wind from the Persian Gulf. We met the CEO at the busy marathon event, shook hands, took a photo for the history books, and went straight to the starting line. The game was on. A few moments later, the starting signal cut through our eardrums down to our feet, and the race began in earnest from the beautiful marina in Kuwait City. Our struggle became real.
We paced ourselves through the marathon to the best of our abilities. While for one of us it meant finishing with a lifetime-best result under 4 hours in the top-10% of all participants after executing a masterfully prepared race strategy, for the other it was no more than a timeless walk in the Sharq (Kuwait City's waterfront district and the oldest neighborhood) and through the Souq (the old market). The CEO raced hard with honor and integrity, and deserved our utmost respect – we unanimously came to a conclusion that he is likely to be running his company the same way he ran the marathon.
For history lovers, the grueling marathon race as we know it was made immortal by a very mortal Pheidippides, a legendary ancient Greek messenger that over 2,500 years ago ran non-stop from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news that the Greeks achieved victory in their fight against the Persians. “We have won!”, he screamed – and died on the spot from exhaustion and excitement, according to trustworthy fact-checked historical accounts. In our case, thankfully, no one screamed – and even better, no one died. We certainly suffered some, but overall had great fun, and won in spirit in this 42,195-meter race (run in this distance format ever since the 1908 London Olympics) – we consider this a great outcome.
As such, after a tough battle – with a iguana-rich jungle when biking in Malaysia, with an aggressive current when swimming in Turkey, and with a hot asphalt when running in Kuwait – our larger-than-life ambition to complete an absolutely unique long-distance emerging markets investment triathlon has now been fulfilled!
By finishing the marathon, we completed a unique emerging markets investment triathlon
The Berkshire Hathaway of Kuwait
Of course, going to Kuwait only for a marathon would never be enough for us. Tired but happy to be done with running a marathon, we had a lot bit of food and were soon running due diligence of the CEO's company and some of its assets, which took us across nearly the entire territory of Kuwait – it's not the largest country, to be fair (but one of the richest ones – to be fair!).
While driving to see the company's assets in the far corners of Kuwait – with the surrounding landscapes way too strongly reminiscent of those from the Mad Max movies – we learned valuable insights about the business from the CEO. It turned out this company’s investment case is a very intriguing special situation.
The firm was established over 40 years ago – with an IPO 20 years ago – and throughout all that time it had operated as a classic “boring” real estate investment company with several real estate assets producing stable rental income. However, a year ago new reputable shareholders joined, new board members were elected, a new management team was formed, and a new corporate vision was adopted. The firm's strategy has fully transformed from only real estate previously to also private equity investments in healthcare, education and sustainable industrials now, combining the investment models of Berkshire Hathaway and Brookfield to generate substantial shareholder value in the long term.
The CEO is ready to inject fresh ideas into this new private equity business thanks to his strong finance background: he was educated in Australia for his PhD in finance, published research on emerging markets in academic journals, and has worked as a finance professor. Quite unusually progressive for Kuwait is the academic CEO’s intensive focus on ESG: not only did the company become the signatory to both the UN PRI and the UN Global Compact, its stated objective – which is vividly imprinted on the company’s website front page – is to be “leading responsible investing in frontier markets”.
It takes time for the market to process big changes: the company's transformation has so far gone largely unnoticed, with investors still thinking the company is the same uneventful real estate business it ever was. We made a friendly recommendation to the CEO that he needs to change his company’s name from "Hump of Camel Real Estate" (literal translation from Arabic) to "Hump of Camel Holding" to better reflect the new business nature and trajectory.
We went to the far corners of Kuwait for due diligence of assets of a local company undergoing comprehensive transformation
Printing like the Fed
Studying the company's assets, we visited a construction site where one of its subsidiaries is building homes. This sounds simple, right? – well, not quite! This sustainability-focused construction subsidiary builds homes using a large innovative 3D printer made in Denmark, and is the first such business in Kuwait – one of a kind. We inspected several homes under construction printing (it takes up to three months to print a family villa) as well as the world's first 3D-printed water tank recently made by the company, and were impressed how modern technology is used in a rather traditional field. It surely helps that the company also has its own efficient cement factory – which we also observed in operation – ensuring sufficient supply of building materials.
Touring one of the first ever 3D-printed villas in Kuwait
Seabass swimming on the Saudi border
We then visited the firm's aquaculture subsidiary which operates a large fish farm located deep in Kuwait’s mainland. It may sound very strange – truthfully, even quite funny or hard to believe – but we saw a lot of fish in the middle of the desert: literally, somewhere on the border between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, thousands of sea bass were sighted!
The company takes a scientific approach to fish farming and managed to cultivate shim, a premium fish in Kuwait, becoming the first fish farm in the country to have achieved such a milestone. We met the farm’s chief scientist – a highly experienced fish farming expert originally from Singapore – who showed us the impressive farming facilities, including a control room, a water quality laboratory, four fish production lines, water filters with ozone and UV clearing all the viruses and bacteria, as well as a fish grader separating fish according to size so that the seabass don't eat each other. We were impressed that even in a +50°C hot summer weather the farm stays cool, and so we decided to learn from it and also be cool.
Visiting a fish farm in the middle of the desert
The fish farm uses sustainable state-of-the-art technology which leads to no water waste as all water that comes out from the fish tanks is used for irrigation and is very fertile, making it possible to grow and sell agricultural goods fertilized by this water – an additional revenue-generating opportunity which the company is taking advantage of by operating an agricultural field right next to the fish farm. We enjoyed spending some quality tea time with the farming team, appreciating the eternal tranquility of a still desert evening coming down on earth like a vast orange-blue blanket.
Enjoying a tranquil tea break on an agricultural farm in the evening
Eating raw onions with the Money Man for due diligence
After completing our unique high-pressure due diligence of the CEO and his firm's assets which included (and required) running a marathon, we met for a tour of Kuwait City's old town and a dinner in the Souq with a reputable local investor and operator who owns large stakes in several companies listed on Boursa Kuwait, including the one we had just studied in detail earlier in the day. Our fund has owned two of this businessman's publicly traded businesses – a $500m diversified investment holding building one of the world's largest wastewater plants in Kuwait and operating iconic hospitality assets in Dubai, and a $1.2b global real estate business with projects in the US and the UAE (in which the gentleman serves as the CEO) – and both stocks have more than doubled. We believe given his enviable track record, this “Money Man of Kuwait” might as well play his magic and make the company we researched before meeting him also double.
As we were walking through the narrow cobbled streets of the old town – guided by the businessman – we were amazed listening to his insights about the history of Kuwait and the history of his own family. Here – he said pointing at an old mosque – is the mosque his great-great-grandfather built in 1889 and then donated to the city. And here is the Al Safat Square, the city's main square which was established by another forefather for the enjoyment of fellow citizens; today, it is a beloved gathering place of Kuwaitis and expats.
On our tour of the old town guided by a successful local investor
The gentleman explained that he comes from a longstanding family of Kuwaiti merchants who not only trade to make profits but also are genuinely interested in creating positive social impact in Kuwait. For example, they have been building hospitals and donating them to the country, and when an old market burned down in a recent fire, the family provided free space for the damaged shops. Noteworthy, he mentioned after we asked, is that his family does not ever get involved in politics and sticks to its business and community support initiatives, executing them exceptionally well.
As we were eating shim (same truly delicious local fish that we saw earlier cultivated by an aquaculture farm in the middle of the desert) for dinner with the Kuwaiti merchant – in a very simple, unassuming food joint in the Souq where food is often consumed with one's bare hands (which we tried and enjoyed) – we contemplated that one doesn't need much in life to be happy. We also realized – very clearly – that business owners and operators such as this successful man are there to stay: they are committed to their country, community, roots, descendants, and businesses forever, and they won’t ever jump ship after being called by a recruiter like so many career managers would. When a mosque is built by one ancestor, and a city square is developed by another, there certainly is a great deal of intergenerational commitment to one's home – and to making it better.
We always like to understand the people behind the prosperous businesses we invest in, as well as the culture they come from, and so a simple local food shack in Kuwait where we ate fish and raw tear-of-joy-provoking onions with our hands was perhaps one of the best places in the world for this sort of in-person "due diligence".
Enjoying local fish for dinner in the old market with a successful Kuwaiti merchant
The Investment Triathlon
The trip to Kuwait concluded our unique investment triathlon. We started this special adventure by crossing Malaysia from the South (Johor) to the North (Penang) on bicycles, pedaling for 1,380 kilometers and meeting 25 company CEOs along the way. We then swam from Europe to Asia in Turkey, completing a 4-kilometer swim without drowning while meeting a leather goods company's CEO. Now, we ran a full marathon in Kuwait, testing a CEO's – and our own – stamina over an enduring 42-kilometer race which even the tough ancient Greeks could not survive. What a feat!
However, on this research trip, we accomplished many feats. Not only did we run a marathon, we also studied an obscure misunderstood real estate company in Kuwait that is undergoing transformation in order to become a sizable private equity business; we challenged an ESG-savvy CEO who is not only a professor of finance but also a great runner; we saw the world's first 3D-printed water tank; we became semi-experts in trying to fish in the desert; we ate shim and onions with our hands; we gained knowledge of the history and culture of Kuwait; and we learned from a successful local merchant what true commitment to one's homeland means.
It was a very meaningful, experience-rich trip, and for this we are grateful to Kuwait and its fantastic people. Even if Kuwait always ensures a subpar airport arrival routine, it only gets better and better once you exit the airport building (if anyone is offended, please accept our lighthearted humorous apologies; we couldn't resist making a joke about Kuwait airport, which had a very recent chance to improve its international terminal with the help of a great Turkish airport operator but unfortunately the deal fell through; perhaps, there is still a slight chance to learn from the Middle Eastern brother Bahrain that gets the airport thing very well).
We look forward to new unique challenges and memories in emerging markets, all the way ‘til our river runs dry.
