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- Abhijit Choudhury appointed as acting CEO with immediate effect to lead the bank until merger with FGB completed
- Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi appointed as Managing Director until merger completed
Abu Dhabi - Alex Thursby has stepped down as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) after over three years in the role.
Abhijit Choudhury, NBAD's Group Chief Risk Officer, has been appointed as acting CEO with immediate effect.
"I would like to thank Alex Thursby for his leadership of NBAD. Under his guidance, the bank has transformed into a modern, well regarded, customer-oriented and results-focused financial institution," said H.E. Nasser Ahmed Alsowaidi, Chairman of NBAD.
"NBAD approaches the merger with FGB in a strong financial and risk position, recognised as the safest bank in emerging markets and the highest rated bank in the UAE. I am confident Abhijit Choudhury will lead the bank successfully through the integration planning process in the coming months, drawing on his decade of experience at NBAD," he added.
Mr Choudhury will work closely with Deputy Group CEO Abdulla MS AbdulRaheem to lead the bank until the completion of the proposed merger with FGB, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.
Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, who is currently a member of NBAD's Board of Directors, will take on the newly created position of Managing Director to support the bank through the integration planning process until the merger completes.
Abdulhamid M. Saeed, the current Managing Director of FGB, was announced on July 3 as the CEO designate of NBAD, and is due to take up this position on completion of the merger.
"It has been an honour to have been CEO of NBAD as the bank pursued a path of sustainable growth, which has culminated in the proposed merger with FGB to create the largest bank in the Middle East and North Africa region. I leave the bank in a very strong position to make a success of the merger and thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape," Mr Thursby said.
"With the planning for NBAD's integration with FGB now underway, I believe this is the right moment to hand over the reins to Abhijit Choudhury and a senior team that will plan for the merger. I feel strongly that it is important from now, that there is alignment between the decisions being taken during integration planning, and implementation of these decisions after the merger is legally completed. I would like to wish Abhijit, and all the employees of NBAD well for the exciting period ahead, and thank them for their support and dedication to building a highly successful bank."
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About NBAD
NBAD has one of the largest networks in the UAE, with 108 branches and cash offices and more than 542 ATMs across the country. NBAD's growing international presence consists of 45 branches and offices in 16 countries stretching across five continents from the Far East to the Americas, giving it the largest global network among all UAE banks.
Since 2009, NBAD has been ranked consecutively as one of the World's 50 Safest Banks by the prestigious Global Finance magazine, which also named NBAD the Safest Bank in the Emerging Markets and the Middle East.
NBAD is rated senior long term/short term AA-/A-1+ by Standard & Poor's (S&P), Aa3/P1 by Moody's, AA-/F1+ by Fitch, A+ by Rating and Investment Information Inc (R&I) Japan, and AAA by RAM (Malaysia) , giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any Global financial institution.
A comprehensive financial institution, NBAD offers a range of banking services including retail, investment and Islamic banking. NBAD grows strategically toward its vision to be recognised as the World's Best Arab Bank.
For more information please visit website: www.nbad.com
For further enquiries, please contact:
Michael Miller Fadeela Khamis
Head of Investor, Media & Public Relations Manager, Media & Public Relations
Email: michael.miller@nbad.com Email: fadeela.mohamed@nbad.com
Tel: +971 2 611 2355 Tel: +971 2 611 1511
Mobile: +971 50 619 7116 Mobile: +971 56 616 2265
© Press Release 2016
