Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking has appointed Adel Afiouni as Senior Country Manager and Group Regional Head, Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia.
Based in Dubai, Afiouni reports to Bruno Le Saint, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific and Middle East, and joins the Asia Pacific and Middle East Executive Committee. He is responsible for all business across the Middle East and Caucasus and Central Asia regions, including Turkey and Egypt.
He arrives with a thirty-year career in investment banking, global markets and client coverage spanning London, New York and Paris, including nineteen years at Credit Suisse focused on the Middle East and emerging markets. His senior roles there included Head of Emerging Markets Coverage and Head of MENA Global Markets Coverage.
Afiouni also brings an unusual second track. He served as Lebanon's Minister of State for Investments and Technology, and more recently held senior roles on the alternative side of the market, including at Exos as Partner and Head of Europe and Middle East, and as Chief Executive of CME GCC. That combination of markets coverage, government service and principal-side experience is rare in a regional head seat.
Natixis cited his client network across the Gulf Cooperation Council, and relationships with sovereign wealth funds, governments, financial institutions, corporates, family offices and entrepreneurs.
"We are pleased to welcome Adel to Natixis CIB," said Bruno Le Saint, Chief Executive Officer, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Asia Pacific and Middle East. "His significant leadership experience will bolster our growing business in the region and reinforce our ongoing commitment to the Middle East."
Mohammed Kallala, Chief Executive Officer of Natixis, in charge of Corporate & Investment Banking, added: "Adel's appointment underscores our commitment to expanding our presence and capabilities in the Middle East and CCA regions. The region is characterized by its dynamic market evolution and substantial investment potential, and Natixis CIB is strategically investing in its people and resources to meet the sophisticated needs of our clients here."
Natixis CIB covers the region from Dubai and also operates a corporate and investment banking office in Saudi Arabia. The appointment places the Middle East, Turkey, Egypt and Central Asia under a single regional head reporting into the bank's Asia Pacific and Middle East platform, rather than into Europe, which is itself a statement about where the French bank sees the growth.
