Iman Abdel Khalek

Iman Abdel Khalek brings an illustrious career spanning over 25 years in global banking and capital markets to her new role at SMBC. She was instrumental in leading high-impact transactions and fostering robust relationships with a diverse portfolio of clients, including sovereign entities, corporations, and financial institutions across the Middle East and emerging markets. Khalek holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.

Her expertise encompasses loans, bonds, securitization, acquisition finance, project finance, and Sukuk financing. Khalek was one of the beneficiaries of Citi's 2024 restructuring, when her co-head departed and she became sole head of Citi's CEEMEA DCM business.

Career History

• Head of CEEMEA Debt Capital Markets at Citi (April 2024 - August 2025)
• Co-Head of CEEMEA Debt Capital Markets at Citi (June 2021 - April 2024)
• Head of MENA Debt Capital Markets at Citigroup (October 2015 - June 2021)
• Executive Director, MENA DCM at JPMorgan
• Senior roles at First Abu Dhabi Bank and Goldman Sachs

What Khalek could bring to her Managing Director role at SMBC: With her deep institutional knowledge of CEEMEA debt markets, proven relationship management with sovereign and corporate issuers, and recent restructuring experience at Citi, she is positioned to significantly expand SMBC's client coverage and origination capabilities across the META region. Her two-decade track record in emerging markets bond and sukuk issuance, combined with her previous leadership at JPMorgan and first-hand exposure to global investment banking practices, positions her to drive business development and strengthen client relationships in these dynamic markets.