Change At Top Of Dubai's Mashreq Bank

Tom Burroughes

17 October 2019

Dubai-based banking group has appointed a new chairman, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair. He is taking over from Abdullah Ahmed Al-Ghurair who is stepping down after 23 years in the post.

After accepting his resignation as CEO, His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair has subsequently been elected chairman of the board of directors of the bank. Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaal has been appointed as the new chief executive of the bank, Mashreq said in a statement earlier this week.

His Excellency Abdul Aziz had been the CEO of Mashreq for nearly last 30 years. He will remain active in other leadership roles in the UAE financial and business sector and will focus more on philanthropic initiatives, including the Abdulla Al-Ghurair Foundation for Education.

The new CEO has been with the bank for the last two years as head of corporate and investment banking group. Ahmed has a management degree from the London Business School. He has over 25 years of banking experience and has had senior leadership roles with several international banks in the region.

The banking group recently reported an 8.7 per cent year-on-year fall in its net income in Q3 2019 as operating costs climbed.