Dubai bank Mashreq appoints new chairman, CEO

Dubai bank Mashreq has appointed Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair as the new chairman to replace Abdullah Ahmed Al-Ghurair, who will be stepping down from his role.

Abdullah Ahmed Al-Ghurair, who served in the role for 23 years, will continue as a board member.

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, who resigned as the CEO after nearly 30 years in the role, was elected as the new chairman by the board, a statement said.

The bank has appointed Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaal as the new CEO. Abdelaal served as the head of corporate and investment banking group at Mashreq for the last two years.

As chairman, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair will continue to provide strategic counsel and guidance to the bank’s executive leadership, the statement said.

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, it added.

“We had planned this transition some time ago and Ahmed was brought onto the leadership team two years ago with that in mind,” said Al Ghurair.

“I, as chairman, will continue to provide support and guidance to the leadership team. The board has full confidence in Ahmed’s abilities to deliver on the bank’s strategy and to continue to innovate in the wake of a fast changing landscape.”

Mashreq, the largest privately-owned bank in the UAE, also announced that its net profit during the third quarter fell by around 8.7 per cent to Dhs536m.

Meanwhile net profit during the first nine months of the year reached Dhs1.76bn, up 0.5 per cent year-on-year.

Total assets grew by 5 per cent between January to September to Dhs146.9bn.

The bank is also shifting its focus to digital operations and revealed plans in March to close 50 per cent of its branches this year.

Read: Dubai’s Mashreq to close 12 branches as it shifts online