Adam Torres and Lord Carmine Villani discuss FII PRIORITY MIAMI 2025.
Subscribe: iTunes / Spotify
Apply to be a guest on our podcast here
Show Notes:
Listen to FII PRIORITY MIAMI 2025 coverage. In this episode, Adam Torres and Lord Carmine Villani, CEO at Crown MFO Gulf, explore localization benefits in Saudi Arabia and FII PRIORITY MIAMI 2025.
About Lord Carmine Villani
Lord Carmine Villani is the Founder & Managing Director of Multi Family Office (MFO) – A multi billion dollar asset management Family Office managing wealth in excess of $8 Bn of renowned families from Europe & America.
Lord Carmine was former advisor to Blackstone Private Equity Group, current advisor to Berkshire Hathway Homecare Services & Board Member of Saudi Crown Holdings.
He was also Managing Director at KPMG New York. He is a certified Public Accountant in the State of New York and Public Notary for the American Society of Notaries.
He holds a Master in Professional Accounting and Bachelor in Business Administration with Highest Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest on the show, go to our website@missionmatters.com and click on Be Our Guest to Apply. All right, today I have Lord Carmine Ani on the line, and he is the CEO over at Crown, MFO Golf.
Carmine, welcome to the show. Thank you very much for my name here. Alright, so excited to have you here. I know that we did not get to meet in person at the FIII, I personally attended for the first time. I went out to cover the FII priority summit in Miami 2025. And I was just. cover conferences all around the world.
I’ll tell you Carmine and I’ll tell you that. I was just so pleased. It was a great conference. And I guess just to start our conversation I know you were there and then you attend other FII institute conferences. Maybe just talk to us a little bit about why you feel it’s important to go to events like this.
Well, I mean FII is very unique. it was originally created like was Davos in the Gulf. But actually it’s in my envelope opinion, it’s much, much better. Mm-hmm. First of all, you have a lot of old top. Global decision makers, and whether it is from the top in every sector, every industry from the finance sector to media, entertainment, AI technology, healthcare infrastructure renewable oil and gas.
I mean, it’s of course philanthropy. You have really leaders, movements are shakers, has done a great job in a. Assembling a great group of speakers, attendees, and and it’s the peak is one of course in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, which usually takes place every end of October, which has been like something like 7,000, 8,000 attendees.
Wow. And it’s fully booked. So the one you seen in Miami, which is of course, very, very efficient, very beautiful and effective in many ways. You have you know, similarly is happening in Hong Kong, is happening in Brazil. it’s always been a global footprint for leaders to, it’s not just the political leaders by all means at all.
It’s really for people can have an impact and from. Multifamily offices to some our funds, to family offices, to a chairman and president and CEO of the top companies in the world. From Apple to Google, from BlackRock, Blackstone, or Citibank. Know in each sector. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You know that everyone is is has been there or the top guys have been there?
Been there, yeah. Yeah, it was super impressive. It was super impressive. Like I said, it’s my first time going. I’ve covered other conferences, like the Milking Global Conference in Beverly Hills. I’ve been going to that for years and it’s a lot of fun. There’s a , lot of decision makers that come out there, but when in Miami, the whole, the field and the vibe.
I haven’t been to the other ones though, but it sounds to me like I need to go check out some of the other ones too. Absolutely. You have to, you welcome to come and ind in October it gonna be spec you, you’ll see and actually be able to. It’s not just a matter of networking or whether people call the club, but it’s not, it’s way, way beyond that.
And it’s you know, you, rub elbows with the everyone which is someone in a specific industry and you can really make that build, I mean. I used to say, you do business with your friends and yeah, it’s a great way to, to build friendships with with people that can actually, you can create one plus one equal.
Hmm. Amazing. Let’s well, and thank you for that. And especially for those that have been considering going or being part of you know, FI Institute to, to, to attend. I mean, it, it’s just a place to be now, now that it’s on my radar, I know I’ll be going yearly, so I’m excited about. That and to continue to build the friendships and, and partnerships there.
Let’s switch it up a bit here. Carmine let’s talk a little bit more about, your role and maybe the Crown Golf. Maybe talk to us a little bit more about what you do for those that are listening. Well, I mean we run a multi-family office. It’s a platform of family offices and international as well.
A local family office in the Gulf and which is a combination of Royal family offices and and also older. So to speak, regular family offices which in the last centuries were families that have actually led economically the economic development of the country in the region. Mm-hmm.
And so families that usually have one, 200 plus companies conglomerates you know multibillion dollar in each sectors of portfolio. And and so Just, I mentioned to you before, one plus seven equal 11, our role is what Origin was a role of private equity investment. Yeah. We determined that the best way is to build your own, create your own alpha own value, is to be able to create synergies between portfolio companies across the globe where it’s from, Brazil, us, Europe, to the Gulf or China.
India. It’s really focused on how to create values between you know, the values markets and the values, industrial sectors that we are present or we want to be in involved with. Hmm. what kind of trends are you following right now? Like in your day to day, you have a very unique position and I would argue a unique vantage point working at where you’re at, like overseeing what you oversee.
Like I’m just curious and based on like your, I mean, you see companies all, you see, you have a different vantage point based on traveling, based on your worldview. Like what kind of trends are you following?
I. the vision 2030 of Rohans. Mm-hmm. It’s a vision of evolution. Mm-hmm. And not as much is just revolution, but evolution in making a destination, not just a GC. Will become the new Europe. Mm-hmm. And and it’s, you know, coming from, of course from a European originally I can witness the growth that is taking place, which is significant in all sectors.
Mm-hmm. Whether you going from, from oil and gas, of course. Two, we’re going to renewable, creating and building the, the, the top company in the world from a renewable perspective. And now it’s on the supply chain. Something the supply chain will be able to basically create, which historic has been mostly Chinese and Asia, able to provide a real supply chain, 100% solid.
Mm-hmm. And not just you know, cover up. I mean it’s really knowledge base and the technological base you have. Of course in the country we have. two terms of the population below 35 years old, half population below. Mm-hmm. 20 years old. Extremely technologically literate. And I have 600 apps on the phone, including your passport.
So you have a situation in which historically you have had very young, talented young people that were, were paid to go and be trained in US, Europe or England, Switzerland, or France, Italy. And, and they came back. Nowadays, actually. There’s also been an approach of hiring the best and also certainly not me.
I’m putting myself in that role, but the most advanced technologies. Around the world. So when you get into AI or go into you know, technologies, you always looking the globe as a map. and you partner up or you try to bring in the master advanced solutions in the region.
Partner up with and this also of course has been playing. Also geopolitical role, which is, it’s current news of what the role that Saudi has been playing with US and Russia, Ukraine, in terms of peace process or with Israel and Mass and the, the overall region. I mean, There things will go beyond from macro economical perspective and geopolitical perspective. While at the level of micro certainly you see certain development, like, you know, it’s a real estate. It is a place called, which is the original house of Saud and the regional first capital about Arabia is today the biggest and, and the fastest develop in the world.
Wow. And which is spectacular. It’s a hundred miles by a hundred miles. Mm-hmm. Building over five years, like something like 17,000 v 6,000 hotel rooms, all lion, end of five stars. a right. The heart of Riyadh. Not in the middle of nowhere. So is an example of something which is unique. and for which in the city, like which you have about eight, going to 10 million people, you have already over a hundred million people visiting from end of 2023 Saudi Arabia, which of course passed a lot of them through Riyad to go.
Whether me Medino Neo here, but of course pass through through Riyadh. So going back to your question, there is the, it’s no one specific sector, but we we’re looking at every angle from hospitality mm-hmm. To media, to an entertainment, to sports, to of course infrastructure, to again, from oil and gas to.
To the renewable spectrums. And it’s both vertically in terms of the whole supply chain as well, horizontally across sectors, not only and across markets, not only with Saudi GCC, but also through that n Africa, India, Latin America, and of course the us, Europe, and Asia. So it’s very exciting.
Mm-hmm. To, I think it’s we’re very fortunate to be. Mob be part of something, which is really, it’s the making of history as it’s happening. Yeah. Yeah. And in certain, certain cases, like you’re building own, building the bridge you are working on. Yeah. But it’s better to, to do something and, and, and then just and know, talk about it, you know, and then there was good to, do.
Oh man, I love it and I love the excitement for it because I, and this is why, one of the reasons I was excited to have you on the show today, just to see that vantage point, like what you’re seeing on a day to day, because I think it’s exciting. Like I feel like every time I get an update or I hear something, I’m like, wait, what’s going on?
What’s being built? And there’s just, there’s so much like that’s going on there. And so I feel like this is a great, and that’s why one of the things I like about the FII like just. The whole, the institute, the whole thing is that just that, cross of information, right? That exchange of ideas and getting people together to see different projects and what’s working on, and to be in the know right.
Correct. And usually, not to talk bad about some of your, you know, events or conferences. It’s like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometime have different people have, you know, different expectations, you know, people looking to raise money, people looking to pitch something, people looking to, you know, maybe just to socialize.
Here it’s really, you can do all of this, , but it’s actually way beyond that is much, much more, effective and you can really make a change. You’ll see it alongside and you meet with the top, family offices decision makers, not just no executives or managers.
Mm-hmm. And see me with so wealth funds and similar with the industry. And finance leaders and I.
Of a snapshot of what’s happening current in Saudi Arabia. Yeah, because it’s really on a daily basis, not just have lots of conferences. there’s one conference called leap. It’s got 250,000 people. it’s a country in, it is actually done in the north of, Riyadh, but you have the most.
Solutions that, you know, my brain cells are very small. I don’t understand basically three quarters of them, , but , there is so much going on that is really so exciting and this excitement, it’s you don’t just , you know, feel from, , from my voice really is excitement.
You have. in the territory. I mean, it starts even with work ethics. I’ve been witnessing, I’ve been, living you know, in, I think cities around the world. All around, all over. And I mean, I’ve seen from the Crown Prince Roy Highnesses working 25 hours a day.
I don’t even know what the extra hours was able to get. and you write maybe, and I don’t work on social media, but you know, usually, usually WhatsApp or somebody event. And you send maybe a message to somebody at 3:00 AM thinking, okay, maybe they’re gonna see it tomorrow at 3 0 5 is a response. Wow.
Like, I don’t know how they, how they work. And we talking about ministry. Yeah. I’m talking about not people just sitting there on the, drone or on a comfortable, on a comfortable seat. I mean, it, it’s really, there’s a lot of you know KPIs and constant monitoring and constant you know I improvement and adjustment and, so I think this is and this is not just affecting the region by itself. I mean this certainly a value added that we work across, you know, top companies from United States or from Asia from Europe, building more synergies, building bridges and create value for for everyone, for for people even beyond the ones in, around the table.
Yeah. Well this is great karma. I appreciate you. First off, I appreciate you coming on the show and giving us insight into, you know, obviously your participation with FII Institute, but also like all the great work that you’re doing over at Crown Golf. That being said, if somebody was listening to this or watching this and they want to learn more about your work, how do they do that?
Can you hear me? Yep, I can hear you. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Usually I don’t use social media, but happy to send a note on email at carmine@crownm.com. Mm-hmm. And and I think that’s probably something please street to me. And in any event there are, any interest. They can also, you know, come through through you or anyone who’s looking through sharp, you know, let us know more than happy to, help anyone.
particularly when it gets to an areas that, we focus a lot today is localizations in Saudi and the region. And I give you an an example. I mean, today localizing companies, which focus on export. Not just in the local market, but focused to set up shop for export every country around the world.
Starting with us, of course, looking to have localizations. Mm-hmm. And we have a significant program basically of trillion dollars of investment from Saudi into us. And over the next four or five years, going from data centers, going from ai, going from renewable, going from different type , of emission base, but at the same time, look.
In Saudi helped through a lot of support like the in bank for example, that support. And not only will we invest coin messed alongside significantly higher than a much foreign direct investment world will experience. So we can go, you know, as much as 90 10 or 95 5 sometimes. But the most important thing is actually the Exxon Bank will help support the local company to finance not only the export, but also the import.
So not just the export like typical export agencies do in order to export in foreign markets and help the company to grow, but through the import of some very significant portion of your import, which is basically cash flow from an industry perspective and. There are many ways. So there’s programs that we help to build and in creating synergies for companies who are looking to grow internationally, globally.
And also logistically, of course, because you are in a, hub, which is you’re, you’re reaching, let’s say 4 billion people within four hours. I mean, everything’s very, very, you know, logistically. Between Asia to Africa and Europe and you have a very strategic location too. Perfect. Well, Carmine, we’ll put all the contact information, all that good stuff in the show notes so that people can follow up and learn more and connect with you.
And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done it yet. Make sure you hit that subscribe or follow button. This is a daily show. Each and every day we’re bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along the way in your journey as well.
Again, hit that subscribe or follow button. And Carmine man, really appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me here. And wish your best for you and your audience for a healthy and prosperous and year and, life.
Let’s chat.