NEW YORK, Oct 15 (KUNA) -- The Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA) granted its 2008 Achievement Award to Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al-Ghurair, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MashreqBank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for his for being "a strategic leader and man of distinction".
The prestigious award was presented to him by Faisal Hamad Al-Ayyar, Managing Director and CEO of Kuwait Projects Co (KIPCO) and ABANA's 2005 Achievement Award recipient, during a dinner ceremony attended by some 300 dignitaries representing the Arab and American banking industry at the Pierre Hotel on the city's renowned Fifth Avenue.
Introducing Al-Ghurair to the guests in a ceremony held late Tuesday, Al-Ayyar said he was "proud and honoured" to present this year's award to a remarkable person who richly deserves our congratulations for all ... his tremendous and outstanding achievements".
Each year, ABANA presents its Achievement Award to exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions to the financial services industry in the Arab world, or individuals of Arab descent who have made considerable contributions to the field in general.
Al-Ghurair came into the limelight in the 1980s as the man who was adamant about distinguishing MashreqBank and taking it to new levels of success. He became its CEO in 1990. He carefully planned a strategy to realize his goal of making MashreqBank one of the top banking institutions in the UAE. Since then, it has become a pioneering bank in the country's market.
"The award is a proof that our industry continues to produce worthy leaders with a vision, dedication and skills needed to deliver real changes in the financial services sector and the regional economy as a whole. Without people like him (Al-Ghurair) and the work they do, we would not have been able to achieve all the progress during the last three decades," Al-Ayyar told the audience.
"The extent of the changes," he added, "strikes me when sometimes I find it is hard to remember what our region was like just a generation ago. ... The set of changes set by Mr. Ghurair and his fellow countrymen has produced a miracle comparable to the rise of Singapore and Hong Kong, to become one more destination alongside with London, Paris and New York in less than a generation".
"He is a testimony to the visionary leaders of Dubai and people like Mr. Gurair," he indicated.
Al-Ayyar was quick to note, however, that "it would be wrong to assume that our (Gulf) region is immune to the current turbulence across the waves of the financial market. Many of us believe we will be able to sustain our growth in the foreseeable future. Yes, we also have our bucket of real estate bubbles rooted in excessive construction. We have at times not paused to build a solid regional foundation before venturing out to build a global platform".
Al-Ghurair said, "We have been blessed with a vision, ... leadership ... and foresightedness to divert desert into Oasis," he said, adding that even during this financial turmoil, the UAE financial sector remains "healthy and sound".
He indicated that the UAE is the fastest growing country in the region and is the "land of opportunity and the preferred country to make business with in the Arab world".
Copyright Kuwait News Agency 2008.
