Mr. Hisham Ezz Al-Arab
Chairman and Managing Director
Mr. Hisham Ezz Al-Arab directs a team of professionals who have transformed CIB from a wholesale lender into Egypt’s largest private-sector bank, which leads the sector in terms of revenue, profitability, net worth, and market share of deposits. Under his stalwart guidance, CIB has grown into an institution that serves millions of customers throughout the country, from individuals to small- and medium-sized businesses and key corporations among Egypt’s 500 largest firms. Today, the Bank, which consistently holds the largest market capitalization on the Egyptian Exchange, is the global investment community’s preferred proxy for Egypt and a benchmark for the banking industry in emerging markets. CIB’s continuous investment in its people garnered the bank recognition as one of the World’s Best Employers by Forbes in 2019, coming in at 90th place among top 500 employers globally.
Mr. Ezz Al Arab’s term has seen CIB develop a unique culture that balances an innovation-driven entrepreneurial spirit with a commitment to global best practices. Nurtured for over 15 years, the Bank’s corporate culture gives it a natural competitive advantage as an employer in the market, with CIB having established the first-of-its kind employee stock ownership program (ESOP) in 2006. More than 80% of all employees have benefited and continue to benefit from ESOP, thereby aligning the interests of both employees and shareholders.
As part of Mr. Ezz Al-Arab’s drive to see the bank create shared value, in 2010, he launched the CIB Foundation, an Egyptian leader in the provision of universal access to quality healthcare to underprivileged communities. Throughout his tenure with the Bank, Mr. Ezz Al-Arab has also championed educational initiatives and built collaborations between CIB and reputable educational organizations to provide diversified learning opportunities such as the CIB Endowed Professorship of Banking at the American University in Cairo.
Under Mr. Ezz Al-Arab’s direction, CIB has received numerous prestigious international accolades, including being named “World’s Best Emerging Markets Bank” by Global Finance in 2018, a year after being recognized for the same award by Euromoney, making it the first bank in Egypt, North Africa, and Middle East to ever win this award. For his part, Mr. Ezz Al- Arab was named “CEO of the Year” by Global Investor in 2019, recognized in 2016 for his “Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services in the Middle East” and was EMEA Finance’s “Best CEO in Egypt and Africa” at the magazine’s 2014 Banking Awards.
Mr. Ezz Al-Arab leads the Federation of Egyptian Banks as Chairman, is co-chair of the Institute of International Finance’s Emerging Markets Advisory Council, and serves as Director of Mastercard Middle East’s Regional Advisory Board. He is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the CIB Foundation, and is a non-executive Director of the Board at Fairfax Africa and a non-executive Director of the Board at Ripplewood Advisors MENA Holdings Limited.
Mr. Ezz Al-Arab joined CIB from Deutsche Bank and previously served with JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch in postings that took him to Bahrain, New York, and Cairo. He holds a BA in Commerce from Cairo University.
Mr. Hussein Abaza
Chief Executive Officer and Board Member
Mr. Hussein Abaza leads strategy and operations at Commercial International Bank (Egypt), an institution with 6,900 employees serving more than 1.4 million active customers, including Egypt’s 500 largest corporations, online and at 207 branches, 1,012 ATMs and 16,252 points of sale nationwide.
Mr. Abaza has been Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors since March 2017. He assumed this position after a six-year run as CEO Institutional Banking. Prior to this, Hussein was the bank’s Chief Operating Officer and from 2001 until 2010, its Chief Risk Officer responsible for managing credit, market, and operational risk across CIB.
Mr. Abaza is also a member of the bank’s award-winning investor relations program, which has helped CIB grow from a market capitalization of EGP 10.8 billion in 2008 to EGP 120 billion as of December 2019.
Previously, he served as Head of Research and then Managing Director at EFG Hermes Asset Management from 1995 until his return to CIB in 2001.
Mr. Abaza joined CIB after obtaining his BA in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. He has pursued post-graduate training and education in Belgium, Switzerland, London, and New York.
Mr. Mohamed Sultan
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Mohamed Sultan joined CIB as Head of Consumer Operations in 2008, and within six months, was appointed Head of the Operations Group. In September 2014, Mr. Sultan was appointed Head of Operations and IT before assuming his role as COO.
Under his leadership and management, the Operations Group was significantly developed, resulting in major expansions within the operations function. New divisions were established, serving the expansion of the business or merging several operations divisions, including Corporate Services, Alternative Channels, and Real Estate and Facility Management. In his continuous efforts to enhance the Bank’s internal and external customer experience in alignment with CIB’s overall objectives and strategic goals, multiple departments were established, including Treasury Middle Office, Operations Control Management, Retail Operations, Customer Care and Experience, as well as the Sustainable Development Department.
His vision brought about the establishment of the Security and Resilience Management Group, with a clear strategic mandate to develop and firmly establish the Bank’s business continuity and cyber security management capabilities. Under his leadership, CIB has obtained ISO22301:2012 Certification in Business Continuity Management, positioning CIB as the pioneer and leader among peer financial institutions in the market.
In 2015 and 2016, Mr. Sultan led a major transformation strategy in the IT Department, adding significant value to existing technology and enhanced infrastructure. The aim was a more solid foundation that provides superior services to customers and allows the business to grow smoothly as the Bank moves forward. Mr. Sultan has also been leading programs under the Bank’s Strategic and Digital Transformational Agenda and has played a significant role in expediting the adoption of digital technologies with the aim of maintaining CIB’s role as market leader in this domain. Prior to joining CIB, Mr. Sultan held the positions of Vice President of Branch Operations and Control Management at Mashreq Bank and Country Operations Head at the National Bank of Oman. He has attended several leadership programs in top business schools and is also an alumnus of INSEAD Business School.
Mr. Amr El Ganainy
Chief Executive Officer, Institutional Banking
Mr. Amr El Ganainy joined CIB as General Manager of the Financial Institutions Group. In January 2010, he assumed his role as President of the Global Customer Relations Department, before taking on his current role.
Mr. El Ganainy is the Chairman of International Securities & Services Co. (Falcon Group), Chairman of the Normalization Committee, Egyptian Football Association, a Board Member of CI Capital Holding Co., Board Member of Misr for Central Clearing, Depositary and Registry Company, Board Member of The Egyptian Holding Co. for Airports and Air Navigation, General Assembly Member of Egyptair Holding Co., Honorary Chairman of both Interarab Cambist Association (ICA) and Egyptian Dealers Association (ACI Egypt) and a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.
Mr. El Ganainy has served as Chairman of CI Asset Management Co., Chairman of Commercial International Brokerage Co., Board Member of TE Data, Executive Board Member of ACI International (The Financial Market Association), Board Member of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co., and the Chairman of Capital Securities Brokerage Co. Prior to joining CIB, Mr. El Ganainy worked at the United Bank of Egypt as General Manager, Treasurer and Head of Correspondent Banking and was Chief Dealer of the Export Development Bank. He began his career as a dealer at Suez Canal Bank.
Mr. Ahmed Issa
Chief Executive Officer, Retail Banking
Mr. Ahmed Issa started his banking career in 1993 at CIB branches and attended CIB’s industry-leading credit course in 1994. He was later promoted through the ranks within CIB’s Corporate and Investment Banking divisions, and his career has seen him take on notable positions such as Head of Financial Institutions Group, CIB’s Group CFO, Head of Strategic Planning in addition to a successful career as a Corporate and Investment Banker at CIB and CI Capital. Mr. Issa was also Chairman of the Board at CORPLEASE and Falcon Group. He chairs the Banking Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, and sits on the board of Egypt’s Internal Trade Development Authority since 2017 and EGYPTAIR Holding Company since 2018. Mr. Issa earned his MBA at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan- Flagler Business School in 2003 and re-joined CIB in the same year. As a Fulbright scholar, Mr. Issa attended the Program on Investment Appraisal and Management at Harvard University in 1997 and subsequently interned at Merrill Lynch in NY, USA. He attended the industry-leading CIB Credit Course in 1994 and more than 25 executive and leadership development programs in LBS, INSEAD, IMD, and others.
Ms. Hanan El Borollossy
Deputy Chief Risk Officer (acting as CRO effective 19 January 2020)
Ms. Hanan El Borollossy started her career at CIB in 1991 in the Corporate Banking department, where she rose in the ranks until becoming Head of Group. Her responsibilities grew to include strategic and managerial functions aimed at growing CIB’s portfolio by identifying lucrative business opportunities. Throughout her career, Ms. Borollossy was chosen to represent the Bank as a Board Member in several affiliates and became the Chairperson for Commercial Life Insurance Company. She was appointed as Deputy Chief Risk Officer with duties including enhancing CIB’s integrated Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework. In her current capacity, Ms. Borollossy is responsible for managing and developing all key risk areas including credit risk in Institutional Consumer and Business Banking, Assets and Liabilities Management Risk including market, liquidity and interest rate risks in addition to non-financial risks including operation, strategic, conduct, vendor management, IT, reputation, and social and environmental risks. She is a senior member of all essential committees at the Bank, including High Lending and Investment Committee, Consumer and Business Banking Risk committees, and Non-Financial Risk and Compliance Committee. Ms. Borollossy received her BA in Political Science from the American University of Cairo in 1983 and has since pursued a number of postgraduate trainings in different corporate, investment, and risk and strategic management areas.
