The Board

Adel is the Non-executive Chairman of the Board of BLME Holdings plc. He has over 30 years of experience in banking. He is currently Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of BLME’s largest shar...

Adel is the Non-executive Chairman of the Board of BLME Holdings plc. He has over 30 years of experience in banking. He is currently Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of BLME’s largest shareholder, Boubyan Bank K.S.C, having previously held the position of Chairman. From 1980 to 2009 Adel worked for National Bank of Kuwait where he held a number of positions including Deputy Chief Executive Officer and General Manager. Adel has played a key role in the development of the Kuwait banking sector including regulation, shared enterprises (Credit Bureau and K-Net Shared Switch) and Islamic Banking

Giles Cunningham joined BLME in October 2016 having previously served as Chief Executive Officer, International at Qatar Islamic Bank. Prior to that appointment Giles was Chief Executive Officer of...

Giles Cunningham joined BLME in October 2016 having previously served as Chief Executive Officer, International at Qatar Islamic Bank. Prior to that appointment Giles was Chief Executive Officer of The Zubair Corporation from 2008 until 2011. He started his career at Kleinwort Benson, the investment bank before moving to Lloyds TSB Bank where he spent 17 years. Giles held a number of senior roles with Lloyds, both in the UK and internationally. This included two years as Chief Financial Officer in Lloyds Bank, Brazil and three years as the Bank's Middle East Chief Executive Officer, based in Dubai. Most recently he was based in London and responsible for the Lloyds TSB International strategy and business. Giles is a mathematics graduate, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, holds an MBA and is an active Harvard Business School alumnus.

Chris graduated from the London School of Economics and he also holds an MBA. He qualified as a chartered accountant at Deloitte in London in 1986 and progressed to become a Senior Manager heading ...

Chris graduated from the London School of Economics and he also holds an MBA. He qualified as a chartered accountant at Deloitte in London in 1986 and progressed to become a Senior Manager heading up the Hong Kong Banking and Securities Group of Deloitte. Chris joined the ABN Amro group in 1994, where he held various positions including working in Thailand and Brazil, culminating in his membership of ABN Amro’s Executive Group as a Corporate Executive Vice President. In 2008 he joined CLS Group Holdings AG (the world’s foreign exchange settlement utility) as the Chief Financial Officer and in 2010 was the Group Finance Director of the Board. He left CLS after the Head Office was relocated to New York.

Michael Williams is the Chairman of the Nominations Committee of BLME Holdings plc. He is a qualified banker with an extensive background in international finance. He has held a number of senior an...

Michael Williams is the Chairman of the Nominations Committee of BLME Holdings plc. He is a qualified banker with an extensive background in international finance. He has held a number of senior and board level positions in the UK and in the Middle East. Prior to this he was Chief Executive Officer of the International Bank of Qatar in Doha before which he was in Dubai as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Fujairah, having previously been the Managing Director of Nomura Bank International Plc for 6 years. Michael started his career with Barclays Bank Group working for them for 25 years holding a number of senior positions including Managing Director of Barclays Global Services and Corporate Banking Director at Barclays Bank PLC.

David Williams joined the Bank in October 2015 as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Risk Committee. He is a senior credit risk professional with 27 years of experience in in...

David Williams joined the Bank in October 2015 as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Risk Committee. He is a senior credit risk professional with 27 years of experience in international banking operating at executive and board level in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Over a career with Barclays PLC his executive roles included Wholesale Credit Risk Director of the Barclays Group and Chief Credit Officer at Barclays Capital. David was a Non-Executive Board Director of LCH Clearnet Group Ltd. David is a former British Army officer and is currently a Trustee of Haig Housing Trust, a major services charity.

Jabra Ghandour is a Non-Executive Board Member of BLME. He has more than 30 years’ of experience in Financial Services. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Boubyan Bank Investment Company, a...

Jabra Ghandour is a Non-Executive Board Member of BLME. He has more than 30 years’ of experience in Financial Services. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Boubyan Bank Investment Company, a subsidiary of BLME's largest shareholder, Boubyan Bank K.S.C. Before joining BLME he was Managing Director and Board Member of International Bank of Qatar. Jabra began his career at Cairo Amman Bank where he was Head of Treasury before moving to Union Bank as Executive Manager responsible for Treasury and Financial Institutions. Jabra joined Jordan National Bank (Ahli Bank) in 1994 as Assistant General Manager followed by four years at Merrill Lynch (Jordan) as General Manager. From 2002 to 2012 he worked at National Bank of Kuwait holding several senior positions including General Manager, Jordan and Head of Private Banking. Jabra has played a key role in developing and growing market leading banks.

Calum Thomson joined the Board of BLME Holdings in April 2017 as Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of both the Board Risk Committee and the Board Credit Committee. He has over 25 years o...

Calum Thomson joined the Board of BLME Holdings in April 2017 as Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of both the Board Risk Committee and the Board Credit Committee. He has over 25 years of experience in the Financial Services industry and was at Deloitte LLP for the past 21 years, specialising in the financial services sector. During his career at Deloitte he has lead the global and UK asset management groups. Calum qualified as an accountant at EY, from there he went on to work at Lloyds of London's Regulatory Review department. His experience includes clients in the Middle East, Malaysia, UK and the US covering wealth management, private banking, private equity and the General Insurance Markets.  Calum is also Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of The Diverse Income Trust plc, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of La Serenissima and a Non-Executive Director of the British Empire Trust plc.

Joanne Hindle joined the Board of BLME Holdings as an Independent Non-Executive Director in June 2018. She has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry having held both execut...

Joanne Hindle joined the Board of BLME Holdings as an Independent Non-Executive Director in June 2018. She has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry having held both executive and board level positions. Over her career Joanne has been Corporate Services Director at Unum Limited and Director of Pensions Development at NatWest Life.  Amongst her portfolio of non-executive board positions, Joanne is Chairman of both Holmesdale Building Society and Shepherd’s Friendly Society, and a legal and compliance consultant for AXA Assistance.

Bader Abdullah Al Kandari joined the Board of BLME Holdings as a Non-Executive Director in March 2019. He is an experienced investment professional. He began his career in 2004 at the Kuwait ...

Bader Abdullah Al Kandari joined the Board of BLME Holdings as a Non-Executive Director in March 2019. He is an experienced investment professional. He began his career in 2004 at the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and held a senior position at Al-Mal Investment Company. Bader is currently Chief Investment Officer at Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security. Prior to this position he was Investment Global Manager at Dimah Capital from 2012 until 2015. Bader has an MBA and also holds a non-executive board position at Wafra International Investment Company, Kuwait.