Subroto Som Will Take Over Reins At Mashreq Retail Banking Group

Dubai - UAE, 26th November 2015

After almost five years at the helm of Mashreq's Retail Banking Group, Farhad Irani is leaving the UAE and passing leadership of the retail bank to Subroto Som.

Mr Irani is leaving to rejoin his family in Australia while Mr Som joins the bank. During his time with Mashreq, Mr. Irani brought to bear his extensive global experience and transformed the retail bank operations. He has been instrumental in driving Mashreq's drive to market leadership in banking innovation since the summer of 2011.

During his tenure, the Bank has been voted the Best Retail Bank in the Region for three years and has witnessed major achievements including record profit and revenue growth, massive growth in the customer base and the digital transformation that has put Mashreq at the forefront of this area. Under his leadership, the Bank introduced various breakthroughs such as the  E-Cube Retail Branches, the region's first fully automated branch - i-Mashreq , the PayPort mobile payments solution, the first Selfie Credit Card, Instant Banking at GO branches, and Mashreq Max to name just a few.

Commenting on his departure, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, CEO of Mashreq said, "Farhad has been an extremely valuable member of the Mashreq family. A leader, mentor and friend to many in the bank, Farhad's presence will be greatly missed; but we are fortunate to have as his successor someone like Subroto Som, who joins us as the new Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Banking."

Turning to Mr. Som's arrival, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair continued, "Subroto is an alumnus of the prestigious IIT Delhi and has an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. He has 3 decades of retail banking experience with organizations like Citi Bank and Standard Chartered where he has held several senior business, risk and operations assignments such as Global Head SME

Banking, Head of Consumer Banking, Seoul First Bank South Korea and Regional Head Consumer Banking Middle East & South Asia based in Dubai. His last assignment with Standard Chartered was Regional Head of Consumer Banking, ASEAN based in Singapore where he was responsible for a Retail Business that generated revenue in excess of 2 Billion US Dollars."

Al Ghurair continued, "Subroto Som brings a very similar world view and experience to Farhad's and he will bring his own ideas on innovation to the retail bank. Although the transition is seamless, I think his approach to innovation at RBG will shift us up a gear."

Finally, Mr. Irani added: "I have been blessed with an outstanding team of professionals that have surpassed all my expectations in the last four and a half years. This is the time to welcome new leadership to take Mashreq to its true destiny. I have known and worked with Subroto for over 20 years and I know our future is in great hands."

Subroto Som stated: "I am truly impressed with Mashreq's prowess in the Digital Banking and Payments space. I am excited about the enormous possibilities for building on these achievements to break new ground in the market."

-Ends-

About Mashreq
Mashreq is the oldest bank in the UAE with an extensive branch network across the Emirates. Mashreq is also present in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt and 26 overseas offices in 12 countries spread across Europe, USA, Asia and Africa providing a comprehensive range of international financial services. Established in 1967, Mashreq has established itself as a market leader by delivering award-winning customer experiences and innovative thinking across its financial products and services. Mashreq's various banking divisions cater to its own unique specialisms and expertise and include: Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, International Banking, and Innovative Treasury Services. The bank also allows for customers to experience Sharia'h Compliant financial banking solutions. As a leading financial institution, Mashreq is committed to supporting every community it serves. In the UAE, the bank pays particular attention to recruiting, training, and developing UAE National employees.  Mashreq is the only financial institution in the UAE to have been awarded the CSR Label by Dhabi Chamber for five years in a row.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Huda Ismail      
Public Relations, Mashreq 
Tel: 04 -6083629 
Email: HudaI@mashreq.com 
                                                    
Nssrin Khalil
Public Relations, Mashreq
Tel: 04 - 6083836
Email: NssrinK@mashreq.com                    

© Press Release 2015