The appointment of a Middle East head at the US business is subject to regulatory clearance.

PGIM, the $1.3 trillion global investment management business of US-listed Prudential Financial, is expanding into the Middle East, subject to regulatory approvals.

To lead the move, the firm has appointed Mohammed Abdulmalek (main picture), a former senior figure at UBS Asset Management, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank Asset Management, who has worked in the sector for more than three decades. Most recently he ran his own private advisory practice assisting prominent regional institutions and family offices to optimise their investment portfolios. 

Abdulmalek will be senior advisor and chairman of PGIM’s Middle East council. The council has been established to evaluate and advise on the expansion initiative and comprises PGIM’s client teams active in the Middle East. Once the necessary regulatory permissions are granted, he will become Middle East head, PGIM said in a statement.

“PGIM has been investing on behalf of clients across the Middle East for many years and is now looking to establish a meaningful presence in the region to meet clients’ changing needs,” PGIM president and CEO David Hunt (pictured below) said. 



David Hunt

Abdulmalek has a BSc in finance from Bahrain University, an MBA in financial management from Exeter University, and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

The firm has not yet decided where Abdulmalek will be based physically. “As our plans for the region develop over the coming months, we will be in a position to provide further information on this,” a spokesperson told this news service.