Hitesh Thakkar

Hitesh Thakkar has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (Al Masraf), a strategic move aligned with the bank's newly launched 2025–2028 strategy. As CFO, he will play a critical role in shaping and aligning Al Masraf's financial strategy with its long-term vision, leading financial planning, performance management and capital efficiency initiatives, while supporting the Bank's transition to a more agile, digitally-enabled operating model.

Hitesh brings over 25 years of extensive experience in regional and global financial institutions. He is educated at Harvard Business School. His forward-thinking approach is expected to drive execution of Al Masraf's growth priorities across Corporate, Retail and SME banking segments.

Career history

• Chief Financial Officer, Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (Al Masraf) – 2025–present
• Group Head of Finance, Retail Banking & Wealth Management division, Emirates NBD
• Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy, Emirates Islamic – played a key role in the bank's transformation and financial turnaround
• Leadership roles at ABN Amro, ICICI Bank, and BNP Paribas

What Hitesh Thakkar could bring to Al Masraf CFO role: With a proven track record spanning transformations at Emirates Islamic and leadership of major division finance at Emirates NBD, Thakkar brings demonstrated expertise in financial turnarounds and strategic capital efficiency. His appointment reflects Al Masraf's confidence in his ability to strengthen governance frameworks and drive the bank's digital transformation agenda while managing sustainable revenue growth across its core business segments—capabilities essential to executing the bank's ambitious 2025–2028 strategy in a competitive regional banking landscape.