Irth Capital taps former US ambassador to Qatar as president and partner

(Reuters) -Timmy Davis, the former U.S. ambassador to Qatar, has joined Irth Capital Management as president and partner, the global alternative asset management firm said on Monday.

A three-decade veteran in foreign policy and diplomacy, Davis served as the U.S. envoy to Qatar, which Washington considers a strong ally in the Gulf, from 2022 until September.

In May, the U.S. military accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jetliner from Qatar to transport U.S. President Donald Trump. The current U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, also has business ties to Qatar.

Irth was co-founded by Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al Thani, who had been director of the Americas and Business Development for the Qatar Investment Authority, and Matthew Bradshaw, who founded Durational Capital Management and was a portfolio manager at hedge fund Millennium Partners prior to that.

Irth’s hiring of Davis extends a long-standing practice of senior politicians taking up positions in finance where their policy background and global networks are viewed as strategic assets.

“His record of leading in complex environments will help guide how we price, navigate and invest through volatility,” said Bradshaw.

This would be Davis’ first role outside the U.S. government since at least 1993, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He has also served as an advisor to three U.S. Secretaries of State, Irth said.

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)