Vlado Rahal, Ph.D., a native of Germany, grew up and went to school in Lebanon before returning to his home country to study physics and mathematics. He earned his MS degree in theoretical physics from the University of Hamburg in 1987 and pursued graduate studies at Rockefeller University in New York, earning his Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics. He later earned an MBA from Columbia University and worked as a trader and portfolio manager in New York City and London.