(20 July 2009 – Australia) Former NAB executive, first selected as chief of the Federal Government’s Rudd Bank, has now found his place as CEO of an Islamic Investment bank in Bahrain.After missing out on the top job at NAB, Ahmed Fahour left the big four bank to become the CEO of the Federal Government’s, Australian Business Investment Partnership.
But, the Rudd Bank was defeated in the senate, before it even got off the ground. The partnership was designed to fund commercial property projects jeopardised by the withdrawal of foreign lenders from the Australian market, but its future is now up in the air.
Fahour has been appointed as the chief executive officer of Middle Eastern Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH), to be based in Bahrain.
GFH, which has a market capitalisation of US$709.2 million (A$886.9 million), observes Sharia law in its banking practices.
Gulf Finance House chairman, Dr. Esam Janahi, said that Fahour will apply the most exacting standards of institutional governance, process and oversight throughout the organisation and play an important role in the evolution of Islamic banking practices.
Furthermore, his arrival will significantly enhance the bank’s exposure to those international markets critical to ensuring GFH takes the next important step towards its primary goal – to become a truly global Islamic financial institution, Janahi added.
As a Muslim, Fahour has an inherent appreciation of the Islamic values that underpin the GFH’s work and the philosophy woven into all GFH’s key initiatives, Janahi said.
GFH was founded 10 years ago specialising in a spectrum of financial products, including private equity, venture capital and asset management.