As Founder and Managing Partner, Aziz has led venture capital and private equity investments globally across the consumer, retail, and tech sectors via closed-ended investment funds in the US since 2014 with another 20+ years of experience in investing personal family office capital. Amaana Capital is the international investment vehicle managed by NRD Capital Management (“NRD”), which aims to invest in companies with driven founders and compelling unit economics to drive further growth across frontier markets in the MENASA region. NRD currently manages an aggregate $400m in AUM across funds deployed in various investments and geographies. Aziz’s work through his funds has earned him various accolades, including a spot in the "Power 20" list, alongside some of the other most well-regarded private equity firms in the US.
Prior to NRD Capital, Aziz operated NRD Holdings focused on franchise concept aggregation and development with private capital. Aziz has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the International Franchise Association (IFA) to represent the franchise industry and its $1.6Tn annual economic output. In addition, Aziz created the NRD Foundation to support international organizations that create entrepreneurs, foster financial independence, and power academic research focused on franchise entrepreneurship. Aziz graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science (Honors) in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Irvine and has been inducted into UC Irvine’s engineering Hall of Fame.