“I highly recommend Chad Gracia to help any high-quality firm with investor relations and client cultivation, especially in Europe and the Middle East. He has helped introduce [our firm] to Sovereign Wealth Funds and families in the Gulf states, and we now manage over $800 million from the region, with additional conversations underway. Chad knows the Gulf families well.... the reservoir of trust that he has built across the region is critical in establishing financial relationships.

- Boykin Curry
EAGLE CAPITAL

"Chad's trade mission was well run and his team was friendly and professional; not only that, he introduced us to a local LP that invested in our fund. It was a great cultural experience as well for us"
- Ganesh Rengaswamy
QUONA

“We are huge fans of Chad and the Middle East Trade Mission. We have been on two of the missions and found both to be worthwhile.”
- Marquette Chester, Managing Director
WL ROSS

“The GCC is an increasingly important source of Limited Partner capital for venture and private equity firms. It is also a market that relies heavily on relationships that have been forged over time and the trust that comes with those relations. Through his highly organized Trade Missions, Chad has been able to bring us together with leading regional investors that we have worked for years to identify and access. The Trade Mission format is professional, engaging and highly efficient. For us, working with Chad has been a very effective use of time and resources.”
- Robert Ackerman, Founder & Managing Director
AllegisCyber

“The mission provides great value. Not only are the meetings well organized, but the Gracia Group has done a wonderful job of including as attendees some of the best names in the region. In a 3 day trip, we saw groups that would have otherwise have taken a month to visit, and probably nowhere near as effectively. In addition, post-trip, Chad and team organized two days of meetings for me in another country, which were extremely fruitful. I ended up with hour plus meetings with very large family offices that are looking to invest in our sector. I found that the trip was exhausting, purely because it was so productive. We averaged 12 meetings a day. This is a get to know you trip, as investors in the MidEast need to know who you are before they even consider investing. Because Chad is a trusted name that barrier is crossed very quickly. I heartily recommend working with the Gracia Group.”
- Peter S.H. Grubstein, Managing Director
NGEN

“Thank you for hosting an amazing week in the Middle East! We have a lot of wood to chop as a result of our meetings and we’ve already tentatively scheduled a trip back to the region for the first quarter. The Mission was a wonderful introduction to the area. Thanks for your hard work and for being absolutely wonderful hosts.”
- Angela Gorder, Managing Partner
ARGENTEM CREEK

“As a venture capital firm focused on TaqwaTech, Chad Gracia’s trade mission to the Middle East was very worthwhile for us. We had many productive meetings in a condensed time frame. It was a great use of our time, and we hope to attend the next one.”
- Tom Tsao, Co-Founder
GOBI PARTNERS

As a venture capital firm, I found Chad Gracia's trade missions and virtual missions to the Gulf to be a great way to meet active allocators throughout the region. In fact, we added new LPs as a result of meetings Chad arranged on our trip with him and the US Commerce Department to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman. Highly recommended if you are looking for a professional and comprehensive approach to building LP partnerships in a geography that is traditionally difficult to penetrate.”
- Hasan Haider
500 STARTUPS

“As the creator of the Certified Trade Mission initiative on behalf of the U.S. Private Equity industry while at the Department of Commerce, it was imperative for me to associate the program with only quality, well organized intermediaries who possessed impeccable credentials. Working with Chad Gracia was a winning move.

“CTMs run by Chad resulted in return visits by GPs to the same destinations as they knew the quality and quantity of the LPs to be superior. If I were a U.S.-based GP today seeking LP capital from the Middle East, I would not hesitate to embark on a journey through the region with Chad Gracia and his highly capable team.

- Randy Mitchell
Former SENIOR TRADE SPECIALIST for Private Equity and Venture Capital, U.S. Department of Commerce

“I was very impressed by the connections we made during our 2017 trade mission trip to Saudi Arabia and Oman with Gracia Group. I was particularly impressed by the investors we met, specifically that they were not simply sovereign wealth funds or other entities we would have found on our own. Rather, we were introduced to leading private businesses and family offices that we would not have identified otherwise. Chad Gracia's long history in the region has created a great network.  We look forward to working further with Gracia Group and with the LP's we met on our trip.”
- Tom Darden
CHEROKEE FUNDS

“I made several good connections on the trade mission. The trip was well organized by Chad and team and a very efficient way to meet lots of LPs. In terms of meetings, it was the equivalent of 3 or 4 week-long trips to the region in just a few days. The trade mission is an excellent way for GPs to quickly and efficiently build a network of potential investors in the Middle East.”

- Peter M. Moore, CFA | Senior Vice President
TCW

“You and your team run a very professional, efficient, warm and high-quality event. I was impressed and believe it was worth our time and investment. You’ve crafted a very interesting and valuable program, Chad -- and a knock-out team. Both are clearly a testament to your intelligence, thoroughness, and care — thank you for sharing all with Full Cycle and Synova!”
- Caitlin Sparks
FULL CYCLE FUND/SYNOVA

“I attended a Middle East certified trade mission, led by Chad Gracia. I found the trip to be extremely valuable. It was very organized and I was able to meet a number of LPs I would not normally have access to, over a 4 day trip. Chad Gracia's certified trade mission is an excellent introduction to active sovereign and private investors interested in U.S. investment opportunities.”

- William R. Lindsay
PCCP

“Chad's advice and introductions saved us a great deal of time and allowed our CEO to introduce Extell to more the a dozen investors managing more than $1 trillion in just a few days.”
- Lela Goren, SVP
EXTELL DEVELOPMENT

“We participated in one of Chad Gracia’s first trade missions that he organized in the Middle East and would recommend it to U.S. managers interested in raising capital in the region. Chad is has deep relationships with many Middle Eastern sovereigns, families, and other institutions and can be extremely helpful to U.S. private equity managers.
- IRVING PLACE CAPITAL (Attended by Founder John Howard)

“Intellectual Ventures has attended a number of trade missions throughout the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Chad Gracia's certified trade mission to the Middle East was a great introduction to region in a short time frame. We were introduced to very high quality names in all countries and able to access LPs and relationships we don't normally access. Extremely well organized and Chad is a pleasure to work with.”

- Eric Nagel
INTELLECTUAL VENTURES

“I led a team to the middle east to attend one of Chad’s trade missions. The experience was valuable as we were able to be very productive with our time and meet many new potential partners. For an investment manager who is trying to figure out how to take the first steps in cracking in to the Middle East or for managers who just want to meet new folks this is a very efficient way to do so.

- Robert A. Faith
GREYSTAR

“Chad is great to work with, and I found his trade mission in the Middle East to be very worthwhile. Both the attendees and the format were top notch. Chad's trade missions, which he runs with local US embassies and the Commerce Department, were well organized and provided a nice extra 'touch point' for those LPs we were already speaking with as well as new potential partners, especially in Saudi Arabia and Oman.
- William Mason
ANCHORAGE CAPITAL

We held a 1-hour strategy/consulting call with Chad and it was well worth it. Not only did he have specific suggestions for how we could improve our marketing materials for a MENA audience, he also gave us concrete ideas into how we could more successfully market our fund to LPs in the region. He studied our materials in advance and was well prepared with both specific advice and potential LP contacts he thought would be appropriate for our fund.”

- Phillip Caplan
RENOVA CAPITAL PARTNERS