ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Fortress Investment Group has opened an office in Abu Dhabi and appointed a senior executive to build its business in the Gulf region, the U.S. firm said on Wednesday.

Co-CEO Drew McKnight told Reuters in an interview that Charles Spetka has been appointed head of the Middle East and North Africa to lead its regional business. Harry Steel, a managing director at Fortress based in London, will also relocate to Abu Dhabi to lead distribution, he said.

Companies such as Fortress are seeking co-investment opportunities in the Gulf region across private credit, real estate and asset-based strategies as regional economies diversify from oil and gas.

Spetka is on the boards of Fortress portfolio companies, including Mammoth Freighters and Aspire MRO.

The Abu Dhabi office will house two dedicated teams, one focused on consumer finance and the other on Fortress's multi-manager investment business, with staff expected to be hired locally as well as relocated from London, New York and Asia.

Fortress, in which Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has a majority stake, plans to expand its local team to support origination, underwriting and asset management, with a focus on consumer finance and its multi-manager business.

The announcement coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump's four-day tour of the Gulf, marked by lavish ceremonies and a flurry of business deals, including Saudi Arabia's $600 billion pledge to invest in the United States and $142 billion in American arms purchases.

Fortress is eyeing Saudi Arabia as a key growth market, as the kingdom ramps up infrastructure spending under its Vision 2030 programme.

"I think the opportunity in Saudi particularly on the consumer finance side, is immense... if you look at what the kingdom's plans are from an infrastructure perspective, they're probably more capital constrained, and in terms of their banks, really need people like this to come in," McKnight said.

A consortium led by Mubadala Capital, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company, acquired a 68% stake in Fortress last year, though the U.S. firm says it retains full autonomy over investment processes, decision-making, personnel and operations.

Last month, Mubadala Investment Company entered into a $1 billion strategic partnership with Fortress to invest in private credit.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh in Abu Dhabi and Manya Saini; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Muralikumar Anantharaman)