05 October 2016
Future Leaders Programme comes to a close

Doha, Qatar: Commercial Bank, Qatar’s first private bank, has recognised the achievements and development of talented staff who completed the Future Leaders Executive Training Programme with a certification ceremony held in the Westin Hotel, Doha.

First launched in 2009, the Future Leaders Programme is one of Commercial Bank’s proprietary educational and professional career advancement programmes, and is delivered in partnership with HEC Paris in Qatar, a member of Qatar Foundation and the region’s leading hub for executive education.

The certification ceremony marks the end of a fourteen-month intensive training programme for twenty-two Commercial Bank employees and two employees from the Bank’s Turkish subsidiary, ABank. The programme was designed specifically for Commercial Bank by HEC Paris in Qatar to identify and accelerate the development and progression of staff with high potential to senior roles. As the third batch employees to have completed the Future Leaders Programme to date, with strong strategic and leadership capabilities to be able to continue Commercial Bank’s and Qatar’s growth journey.

Speaking during the certification ceremony, Commercial Bank CEO, Mr. Joseph Abraham said: “The Future Leaders Programme is an incredibly valuable initiative as it goes to the core of Commercial Bank’s goal of building the best bank in Qatar and to be the employer of choice. People are our most important asset and the Programme realises people potential by empowering them through world-class training to fast-track their careers towards positions of leadership. The best bank in Qatar needs the best people to lead it, and the Future Leaders Programme develops our employees from within to succeed as future leaders of the Bank and spearhead a knowledge-based economy that is firmly in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.”

CEO and Academic Dean of HEC Paris in Qatar, Laoucine Kerbache said: “The Future Leaders Programmenurtures and supports Commercial Bank’s employees by providing them with the encouragement, skills and training they need to succeed in positions of leadership. I congratulate the participants in completing this year’s Programme and HEC Paris in Qatar looks forward to continuing our partnership with Commercial Bank in the future by designing and delivering customised training programmes for home-grown executive talent.”

-Ends-

About Commercial Bank
Commercial Bank has total assets of QAR 127 billion as at 30 June 2016. As a full service commercial bank, the Bank offers a full range of corporate, retail and investment banking services as well as owning and operating exclusive Diners Club franchises in Qatar and Oman. The Bank’s countrywide network includes 31 full service branches and 174 ATMs.

Profitable every year since incorporation in 1974, continual investment in technology and human capital, together with a strong capital base, provides a solid foundation for continued growth. A successful diversification strategy has expanded Commercial Bank’s GCC footprint through strategic partnerships with associated banks, the National Bank of Oman (NBO) in Oman and United Arab Bank (UAB) in the UAE. NBO, the second largest bank in Oman with total assets of OMR 3.5 billion as at 30 June 2016, has 60 conventional branches and 6 Islamic branches in Oman and 1 branch each in Egypt, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. UAB is headquartered in Sharjah, with total assets of AED 22.5 billion as at 30 June 2016, and operates 25 branches across the emirates in the UAE. Building on the successful execution of the Bank’s expansion strategy to date, Commercial Bank completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Alternatifbank in Turkey in July 2013.

Commercial Bank enjoys strong credit ratings of (A2) from Moody’s, (A+) from Fitch, and (BBB+) from Standard & Poor’s. The Bank is listed on the Qatar Exchange and was the first Qatari bank to list its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange. Commercial Bank’s Swiss Franc bond issuance in December 2010, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, was the first public bond issuance by a Qatari bank in Switzerland.  Commercial Bank’s latest bond issuance in June 2014 and June 2016 are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Commercial Bank was awarded “SME Bank of the Year” for 2016 by The Asian Banker based on its wide-ranging achievements over the past three years, specialised team and customer focused products and services for SMEs. Commercial Bank also won the “Best Contact Centre” award at The Gulf Customer Experience Awards 2015 for outstanding customer service. In recognition of its CSR activities benefitting the Qatari community, Commercial Bank was awarded the “Best CSR Report”, at the Corporate Social Responsibility awards ceremony for organisations in Qatar

The Bank is dedicated to supporting Qatar’s community and social infrastructure through Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and sponsorship of various events. Title sponsorship of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters reflects the Bank’s promotion of excellence in sports and its keen interest in enhancing Qatar’s international sporting reputation.

www.cbq.qa

About Alternatifbank (banks)
ABank was established in 1991 and has been listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange since 1995. Commercial Bank became the majority shareholder in ABank in 2013 holding a 74.24% stake, following the acquisition of ABank shares of 70.84% from the Anadolu Group and 3.40% through a public tender offer. Anadolu Group remains a significant shareholder retaining 25% of shares in ABank.  Currently the Bank owns 75% of ABank shares.

ABank is a mid-size Turkish bank that predominately serves medium-sized companies through a country-wide network of 54 branches in 20 cities. ABank provides commercial/corporate banking services and products, with a special focus on the growing segment of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. ABank’s main product ranges cover trade finance instruments, working capital finance, cash management, and portfolio management.

At 30 June 2016, ABank had total assets of TL 14.8 billion, total loans stood at TL 10 billion, customer deposits of TL 7.2 billion and shareholders’ equity of TL 1.2 billion.

http://wwweng.abank.com.tr

HEC Paris
Specializing in management education and research, HEC Paris offers a complete and unique range of educational programs for the leaders of tomorrow: Masters programs, Summer School, MBA, PhD, Executive MBA, TRIUM Global Executive MBA, open-enrolment and custom executive education programs.

Founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HEC Paris is a founding member of the Université Paris-Saclay.  It boasts a faculty of 138 full-time professors, more than 4,400 students and over 8,000 managers and executives in training each year.

In 2010, HEC Paris joined Qatar Foundation and brought world-class Executive Education programs and research activity to Doha and the region. By 2011, HEC Paris launched Qatar’s first international EMBA. The HEC Executive MBA (EMBA) is a part-time program that provides executives with a set of fundamental skills to expand their knowledge and leadership capabilities. In addition to the EMBA, HEC Paris provides in Qatar a Specialized Master’s Degree in Strategic Business Unit Management. The institution also offers non-degree management programs for executives, in the form of open enrolment programs as well as custom-designed programs for individual companies. It has also recently introduced bespoke executive management programs for Family Owned Businesses (FOB) that are designed to meet the specific and individual needs of each client and are aimed at key decision makers, from Board level to middle management. The programs and research activities of HEC Paris in Qatar build corporate competitiveness within the global economy and are fully aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 to support the transformation of Qatar into an advanced, competitive and knowledge-based economy. Accordingly, HEC Paris has opened a Research Office that has resulted in a number of case studies and innovative articles being published in renowned academic journals and presented at international conferences. HEC Paris has been ranked one of the world’s top 3 providers of Executive Education programs for the last 7 years. http://www.qatar.exed.hec.edu/  
 
For more information, please contact:
Qatari media                                                             
Ibrahim Al-Emadi                                                               
Head of Corporate Communications                               
Commercial Bank                                                                
Tel: +974 4475 4748                                                 
Email: ibrahim.alemadi@cbq.qa

© Press Release 2016