PE at Abraaj vs. Corporate Development in US

For a bit of background on myself, I am an international and have been working at a BB in NY for over a year. I have the opportunity to join the Abraaj Group, a top tier PE firm in the Middle East, as an analyst but that means giving up opportunities in the US. Additionally I also have the opportunity to do corporate development in NY at a financial services firm or a mid-tier technology/media company. I want to go to business school in 2 or 3 years time and then maybe pursue a role in VC or BD at a start up or a GOOG/FB etc. (though not sure about long term career plans at all).

I wanted to know what would be a better opportunity in terms of exit opps, especially for business school. Abraaj is a huge name in the ME but I don't think many people know about it in the US. How is it perceived here? Any advice would be much appreciated!

3 Comments
 

Also trying to gather more info on Abraaj -- I would imagine business schools would perceive something like this very well, given that it is quite 'different' which seems to be something they are focused on these days, and on its own I would think it would be perceived much better than bus. dev at the companies you listed above.

Edit: I will say that being an international applicant to b-school applying with Abraaj experience is probably discounted compared with someone from the U.S. having gone overseas to work there, if that makes sense. Could be wrong there and also likely depends on where you're from, but might be something to keep in mind.

 

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