From Denver to Doha

Rashid Almansoori’s résumé reads like a roll call of high-flying success.

Until recently, he was CEO of the Qatar Stock Exchange during a period when it saw unprecedented growth. He also sat on the board of the World Federation of Exchanges, the Qatar Financial Center Board and the Financial Market Development Committee. And he has a string of high-profile leadership roles under his belt — including with the Qatar Olympic Committee and the Qatar Ministry of Interior and Qatar Investment Authority.

But his remarkable business journey began in the sunlit classrooms of what was then Metropolitan State College during the mid-1980s.

“I’d always aspired to have an international education within a multicultural environment,” recalled the 1987 Computer and Management Sciences graduate. “So I worked really hard as a student in Qatar to secure a government higher-education sponsorship, and that brought me to Denver.”

Game-changer

Almansoori says his Mile High education laid solid foundations for his subsequent career success in Qatar.

“It was a game-changer,” he said. “The high-quality education, along with the helpful and knowledgeable professors, really helped me focus and nurture my chosen career path.”

Returning home to Qatar in the late 1980s, the young graduate was determined to put his new knowledge to use by instilling an information-technology culture in the nation. “When I left my country to pursue an education in the U.S., all the processes were still operated manually,” he said.

At his first job back home, with Qatar Petroleum, Almansoori quickly made an impression by transforming the working environment from a manual system to an IT-based one. “My efforts were noticed, and much-appreciated, by the senior management,” he said.

Over the next few years, Almansoori would bring his magic touch to several more companies, modernizing successive workplace environments and accelerating his career trajectory.

Making a difference

That upward career path ultimately led to the top: the Qatar Stock Exchange. Under Almansoori’s leadership from 2011 to 2021, the QSE emerged as a leading regional stock market and helped fuel the country’s economic rise. Qatar was upgraded from frontier market to emerging-market status in 2014.

“It has thrived in almost all sectors and industries, empowering numerous companies to become self-sufficient while also fostering a strong entrepreneurship culture in Qatar,” he said.

In recognition of his success, the College of Business at MSU Denver recently presented him with an honorary Master of Professional Accountancy degree.

“It’s a huge honor,” Almansoori said. “I have so many fond memories of (MSU Denver). I can still clearly recall the campus grounds, the diverse student life and the snowfall.

“But most of all, I remember all the great people there who helped broaden my horizons and contributed to my amazing journey and success.”