Biography

Mr. Ahmad Mohammad Al-Bahar joined Gulf Bank's Board of Directors as an Independent Member in November 2020. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of the Board, he served as the Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He brings extensive experience to his new role, having held several senior leadership positions in well-known organizations. His previous roles include CEO of Gulf Custody Company (Kuwait) and Chairman of Gulf Custody Company (Bahrain & Oman). He has also served as Partner-in-Charge of the Settlement Group at The International Investor, Senior Manager of the Settlement Department at Kuwait Foreign Trading Contracting and Investment Company (KFTCIC), and Manager of the Consumer Loans Department at Arab European Financial Management (AREF). Additionally, he was Chairman of Bahrain Real Estate Company and a Board Member of National Cleaning Company.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from Southern Oregon State University, USA.

Biography

Ali Behbehani was elected as Deputy Chairman of Gulf Bank in March 2013. He joined Gulf Bank as a Board Member in April 2009. Ali started his career by engaging in various departments within the Behbehani Group. In 1977 he became General Manager of Carrier - Kuwait. In 1987, he was made Vice President of the Behebhani Group where he orchestrated major joint ventures with Carrier and Ericsson after which he became a Board Member. He is currently the President of Morad Yousuf Behbehani Group of Companies as well as a Director of Kuwait Insurance Company and National Industries Company. Ali studied at a boarding school in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has a BA in English Literature from Kuwait University.

Biography

Omar Hamad Youssef Al-Essa joined Gulf Bank as a Board Member in April 2009. Prior to that, Omar was a Lawyer at Hamad Yousuf Al Essa Law Firm. He became the Director of the Development and Training Center and Secretary of the Kuwait Bar Association during 2004-2005. He also held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Bar Association. Omar is the Founding Member of Ma'an Family Development Society and the Founding Member of the Kuwait Transparency Society. He is currently the Head of the Kuwaitization Taskforce of the Restructuring Program. Omar graduated from the Faculty of Law, Kuwait University in 1985.

Biography

Abdullah AlSayer joined Gulf Bank as Board Member in March 2021, with over 10 years of experience, largely in finance and investment sectors, he has played a vital role in diversification of AlSayer Group into Education, Health care and Banking sectors. He has been significant in introducing new technologies as part of the digitization process at AlSayer Group. He is currently a Board Member at AlSayer Group (since 2022), Bayan Dental (since 2019), Credit One (since 2018).
He received his BSc degree in Business Administration and MBA (Finance), from Barry University, Miami, Florida (USA) in 2011.

Biography

Dr. Fawaz Mohammad Alawadhi joined Gulf Bank’s Board of Directors in August 2019. He currently serves as Chief Legal Officer and Acting Chief of Audit and Compliance at Alghanim Industries Group. He is also Head of Legal at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), where he teaches as a law professor at the College of Business Studies. Dr. Alawadhi holds a Doctor of the Science of Law (J.S.D.) from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Kuwait University. He is currently completing his MBA at London Business School (LBS).

Biography

Mr. Muath has held multiple leadership positions across various companies. He currently serves as the Deputy CEO of Integrated Holding (since May 2024) and has been overseeing Investor Relations activities at Integrated Holding Company since 2020. Additionally, he has been a Board Member of Integrated Holding Company, representing Quest Enterprises General Trading Company, since 2022.

Beyond his roles at Integrated Holding, Mr. Muath has been the Director of Business Development and Investment at Quest Projects since 2018. Previously, he worked as a Senior Analyst at NBK Capital from 2014 to 2018.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (USA).

Biography

Mrs. Dalal is the CEO and co-founder of Spare, a leading open finance provider in the Middle East. Prior to founding Spare, she served as an investment manager at Global Investment House's private equity fund, where she successfully guided companies across the region in enhancing their value through operational turnarounds, management restructuring, and product innovation. Previously, Dalal worked in hedge fund investing. 

She holds an MBA from London Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Finance and Economics) from Babson College.

Biography

Dr. AbdulRahman Al-Taweel joined Gulf Bank as an Independent Board Member in March 2021. Dr. AbdulRahman is currently an Assistant Professor in the Finance and Financial Institutions department at the College of Business Administration at Kuwait University. He has been very active in the academic and teaching profession for over 7 years, conducting various professional seminars, workshops and development programs during his career. He has made intellectual contributions relating to corporate finance in many working papers. He served as an Advisor to the Director General of State Bureau of Financial Controllers from 2019 to 2020. Dr. AbdulRahman holds a BSc degree in Chemical Engineering, MBA and PhD in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder (USA).

Biography

Mr. Talal AlSayegh joined Gulf Bank as an Independent Board Member in September 2021. He is an expert in banking supervision and fighting financial crime with special focus on AML/CFT. He served as an Advisor to Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait during 2019 on AML/CFT and financial crime issues, capacity building, assessing risks, and tailoring AML/CFT compliance programs. He created the Kuwait Financial Intelligence Unit (KwFIU), and served as the President of KwFIU between January 2014 to March 2018, where he was instrumental in drafting bylaws, policies & procedures, establishing organizational structure, recruitment system, and code of ethics. He represented Kuwait at MENAFATF and FATF Plenaries, acting as MENAFATF President during 2017. Between June 2006 to December 2013, he served as an On-Site Deputy Manager at Central Bank of Kuwait, working in the Examination Section, AML/CFT and Complaints Unit.

Mr. Talal AlSayegh has a BA in Accountancy and Auditing from Kuwait University in January 1990, and an Executive MBA from the American University of Beirut (Lebanon) in July 2012. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since 2005.

Biography

Mr. Majed has held numerous leadership positions, including Chairman of Burgan Bank (2010–2022),Board Member of Burgan Bank -Turkey(2012-2019), Chairman and CEO of United Projects for Aviation Services Company “UPAC” (2004–2010), Managing Director of Kuwait Finance and Investment Company (2002–2004), Head of the Investment Office at the Public Institution for Social Security (1990–2002), Board Member of the Institute of Banking Studies (2010–2022), Board Member of the Kuwait Banking Association (2010–2022), and Board Member of FIM Bank in Malta (2013–2023). He also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Graduate School at Kuwait University.

Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from The Catholic University of America (USA).

Biography

Mr. Eid has been a Board Member of the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development since 2023. He served as a Board Member of Warba Bank (2018–2019) and held the position of Assistant Investment Manager at the Kuwait Investment Authority (2001-2010). Board Member of Unitec - Bosnia (2007-2011), Board Member of the Al Jyal Investment Holding Fund Company in Morocco (2008-2012) and a former Board Member of Al Massaleh Investment Company (2017–2020). He also served as Chairman of Al-Mal Investment Company from 2021 to 2024. Currently, he is the Executive Director of FGA Partners LLC in the USA since 2017.

Holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from West Virginia University (USA) and an MBA from Maastricht School of Management in Kuwait.