The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Sagard, a $14.5-billion (U.S.) alternative asset management firm controlled by Quebec's Desmarais family, is opening an office in Abu Dhabi as part of an international expansion plan. The Post's Barbara Shecter writes that the office will be led by Firas Mallah, a finance executive with more than two decades of experience including six years as a managing director at BMO Global Asset Management in Abu Dhabi as well as fundraising expertise and relationships with institutional investors in the region. He is being brought on as managing director and head of the Middle East and North Africa for Sagard, which invests in venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate and royalties, and has 125 portfolio companies. "Opening our new office in the United Arab Emirates is an important milestone towards our vision of becoming one of the most respected and impactful alternative investment management firms globally," said Paul Desmarais III, chairman and chief executive officer of Sagard. The chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development said firms such as Sagard will contribute to Abu Dhabi's goal of building a financial hub focused on innovation.