For some deal makers at now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings, the company’s demise has been far from a career impediment. Barely 72 hours after Lehman declared insolvency, 41-year-old Makram Azar , a star investment banker and Lehman’s first-ever global head of sovereign wealth funds, signed with private equity powerhouse Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. as a managing director and head of its business in the Middle East and North Africa. For the Lebanese-born, French-educated, Arabic-speaking Azar, who spent 18 years at Lehman, the decision was swift and seamless — no headhunters were involved. In the wake of Lehman’s collapse, KKR asked Azar, who has advised KKR on a number of deals, if he would consider joining up. Now he’s keen to extend KKR’s outreach in the Middle East and work with Gulf-based institutions to explore global co-investment prospects. "These markets are going to present great buying opportunities at some point," says Azar. "Sooner or later — and I think the markets could begin to turn in just a few months — it’ll be time to catch the upside."