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- Board Composition and Appointment of Directors
Clauses 93 to 114 of the Bank's Articles of Association provide for the manner of appointment and retirement of Directors. Directors hold office from the close of the Annual General Meeting at which they are appointed until the end of the consecutive one, at which meeting they become eligible for re-election. The Articles of Association provide that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are to be appointed by the Directors from amongst their number and shall hold office for a period of one year, unless otherwise decided by a simple majority of the Board. The procedure for election of Directors is governed by the Articles. Any member may nominate an individual in the manner prescribed by the Articles, provided that such nomination is seconded by a member or members who in the aggregate hold at least 20,000 shares between them.
The participation of Directors on Board Committees, as provided for by the Articles, is decided upon by the Board. All such committees include at least one Director.
The current composition of the Board of Directors, is as follows:
Dr. John C. Grech (Chairman)
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Dr John C. Grech is a Maltese National. He graduated from the University of Malta in 1971 and 1974. In 1978 he also obtained a Ph.D. in International Economics from The Graduate Institute for international and Development Studies of the University of Geneva.
He served as Chairman of the Bank of Valletta Group, Middle Sea Valletta Life Assurance Limited, the Malta Tourism Authority, Mizzi Organisation and as President of the Mediterranean Bank Network. He is currently Chairman of the MelitaUnipol Insurance Agency Limited, Chairman of Central Cement Limited and Chairman of the Board of Class Optical Ltd. He also served as visiting professor at the University of Malta.
| Masaud M. J. Hayat (Vice Chairman) |
Mr. Hayat has been appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer of Burgan Bank since April 2019 in addition to his capacity as Vice Chairman of the Board and has been Board Member of Burgan since 2013. Mr. Hayat brings to the Board his extensive experience of 44 years in banking, commercial, investment, and management industries at a local and regional level. Mr. Masoud has attended various professional local and international courses, amongst which is in Leadership & Innovation in Public & Private Sectors at Harvard University in 2004 and a 3 months program in Management and Finance at Wharton Business School – University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia – USA. He started his career in Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait in 1974 where he worked in various fields such as Operations, Local and International Credit until he reached the post of Deputy Chief General Manager and Acting CEO in 1992, and advisor to the Board of Directors until 1996. Mr. Hayat has held key positions and Board memberships in the KIPCO Group since 1997 in banking, telecommunications, investments, and services, including his role as Chief Executive Officer - Banking (2010-2019).
Mr. Masoud M.J. Hayat currently holds the following positions:
• Vice Chairman & GCEO
Burgan Bank
• Chairman
United Gulf Holding Co. – Bahrain; United Gulf Bank – Bahrain; Tunis International Bank - Tunis
• Vice Chairman
Algeria Gulf Bank – Algeria; Bank of Baghdad – Iraq; FIMBank - Malta
• Board Member
Jordan Kuwait Bank – Jordan; North Africa Holding Co.; KAMCO Invest Co.; Masharea AlKhair Charity Foundation; - United Gulf Financial Services
Mr. Hayat holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Kuwait University and a High Diploma in Banking Sciences from the Institute of Banking Studies, Kuwait.
Rabih Soukarieh is the Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Bank Algerie (AGB), Algeria since August 2015 having held previously various senior executive positions at United Gulf Bank (UGB) in Bahrain including the post of Chief Executive Officer between March 2012 and August 2015. During his ten-year tenure at UGB for the years 2003 until 2004 and 2008 until 2015, Mr. Soukarieh also acted as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Private Equity in Dubai and Chief Executive Officer of United Gulf Financial Services in Qatar. Between 2004 and 2007, he occupied the position of Group Chief Financial Officer of Wataniya Telecom Group of companies. He is currently a member of the board of directors of FIMBank Malta, Tunis International Bank and United Gulf Financial Services Company-North Africa, in Tunisia. Mr. Soukarieh has a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston and a Bachelor of Sciences in Finance from Indiana University, Bloomington.
Hussain Lalani is the Chief Executive Officer of United Gulf Bank B.S.C (c) - Bahrain His career extends over 25 years. He has worked extensively with the Board of Directors on advisory transactions in his previous capacity as UGB’s Chief Financial Officer and partnered with business divisions to support growth and business plans.
Mr. Lalani was previously employed by Ernst & Young, Bahrain; and Price Waterhouse Coopers, Pakistan. He is a Board Member of United Gulf Financial Services – North Africa, Tunisia; Assoufid B.V. – Netherlands; and London Forfaiting Company – UK. A Chartered Accountant and a Certified Information Systems Auditor, Mr. Lalani holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Karachi, Pakistan.
Edmond Brincat is a Maltese National. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounts from the University of Malta in 1991 and is a Certified Public Accountant and a Fellow of the Malta Institute of Accountants. After working for a major audit firm, Mr Brincat joined the GO group in 1999, part of the team entrusted to set up and launch Go Mobile, Malta’s second mobile operator and in 2006 he was appointed as the group’s Chief Finance Officer, a position he held until 31 January 2018. In February 2018 Mr Brincat joined SmartCity (Malta), a subsidiary of Dubai Holding LLC, and currently acts as the company's Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Sunny Bhatia has held the position of Group Chief Financial Officer of Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) since April 2022, and as of June 2022 is also a member of the Board of Directors of United Gulf Holding Company.
Mr. Sunny Bhatia is an accomplished financial professional with over thirty years of experience within the financial services industry including investment and asset management, private equity and merchant banking, wholesale and retail banking, and brokerage. Prior to his involvements within Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), and United Gulf Holding Company, Mr. Bhatia held several senior positions including inter alia at NBK Capital, Global Investment House, and the National Bank of Bahrain.
Mr. Bhatia holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University and is both a Chartered Accountant and Cost and Management Accountant.
Mr. Mohammed Louhab has been Financial Advisor at Burgan Bank (Kuwait) since 2021 and was Financial Advisor at UGB (Bahrain) from 2015 to 2020. Mr Louhab is also a Director on the Board of Directors at Tunis International Bank (TIB) and Gulf Insurance Company since 2015. He is also the Chairperson of the TIB Board Audit Committee. Mr. Louhab was chairman of CNEP Bank, Chief Executive Officer of Trust Bank as well as AGBank (KIPCO Group). Before heading various banks, Mr. Louhab was responsible at the BA (Banque d'Algérie: Central Bank) for banking regulation and thereafter for credit control and refinancing.
Mr. Mohammed Louhab holds a License in Economy and a Magister in Management from the Institute of Political Studies, Algiers (1971-1975). In addition, he holds a Master in Banking from the Institut des Techniques Bancaires, Paris (1978-1982) and an academic qualification in High Studies of Banking Economy from FINAFRICA, Milan (1982).
