Board Of Directors

Our Board of Directors is composed of 9 members. 1 member is executive while 8 members are non-executive.

Functions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO are fulfilled by different persons.
Basics and principles regarding activities of the Board of Directors and of the committees reporting to the Board of Directors are explained in Regulation of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Alqassim graduated from Higher Colleges of Technology with a Diploma in Business - Banking and Finance in 1995. He started his career at National Bank of Dubai as a Chairman. During his time in National Bank of Dubai, he also attended University of Wollongong and got his master's degree in International Business Management in 2001. He is currently appointed as Vice Chairman and CEO of Wasl Asset Management Group, Vice Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Real Estate Corporation, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD Bank PJSC and Chairman of Emirates Islamic Bank PJSC.

Shayne Nelson has an extensive banking career with experience in various roles. Prior to joining Emirates NBD, he served in Singapore as the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Private Bank. He was also the Chairman of Standard Chartered Saadiq Islamic Advisory Board and a Board member of Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd. Shayne’s previous high profile positions in the banking arena include Regional CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Middle East and North Africa, Chairman of Standard Chartered (Pakistan) Limited, and Chairman of the Banking Advisory Council to the Board of the Dubai International Financial Centre. He also held the position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Malaysia Berhad. Shayne’s solid experience, across various functions and geographies, is a testament to his diverse background within banking. Earlier in his career, his positions included Standard Chartered Chief Risk Officer for Wholesale Banking, Regional Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking Audit in the Asia Pacific Region and India, as well as Regional Head of Credit in Hong Kong, China and North-East Asia. He was also Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking for Westpac Banking Corporation in Western Australia. Shayne is a member of the Board of Directors for Emirates NBD Capital, Emirates Financial Services, DenizBank A.Ş. (Turkey) and a Founding Member of the Higher Colleges of Technology Industry Advisory Council. A Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Shayne is also an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers. Shayne is married to Mariana and has two children. In his leisure time, he enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family. He is also a passionate fisherman, for which he holds a world record.

Recep Baştuğ completed his undergraduate studies at Çukurova University, Department of Economics and started his career at Garanti BBVA Internal Audit Department in 1989 as Auditor. He later served as Corporate Branch Manager between the years of 1995 and 1999, Commercial Regional Manager between the years of 1999 and 2004 and Commercial Banking Marketing Coordinator between the years of 2004 and 2012 before he assumed the duty of Executive Vice President in charge of Commercial Banking and Consumer Finance from 2012 to 2018 at the same institution. After his brief service as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at a private company, he started working at Garanti BBVA in 2019 again. Besides assuming the role of Garanti BBVA CEO and Board Member between the years of 2019 and 2024, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Garanti BBVA Pension and Life. He has been serving as DenizBank CEO and Member of the Board of Directors since January 2025.

Aazar Ali Khwaja is ENBD Group Head of International and Advisor to Group CEO on DenizBank. Having served within the ENBD Group since September 2012, Khwaja has over 30 years of experience in international banking and financial markets across several geographies.

Khwaja joined ENBD in 2012 as Group Treasurer and Head of Global Banking and Markets. Prior to that, he was the Regional Treasurer for Emerging Markets/Africa with Barclays Bank PLC, during which he also served as Chairman of Barclays' regional Assets and Liabilities Management Committee.

Before Barclays Bank PLC, he served as Managing Director and Head of Markets in Citigroup's Central and Eastern European division, Group Treasurer for Saudi Hollandi (ABN AMRO) Bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Managing Director of Treasury for ABN AMRO/K&H Bank in Hungary, General Manager of Treasury for ABN AMRO in Romania, as well as Country Treasurer for Citibank NA in Pakistan.

Aazar Ali Khwaja holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Karachi, a Master of Business Administration with the Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan and a Corporate Governance International Directors Program qualification from INSEAD, France.

Ahmed Al Qassim leads the Corporate and Institutional Banking division of Emirates NBD, serving Corporates, Government departments and entities, Financial Institutions and Sovereigns across the Emirates NBD Group.

With more than 18 years of experience in commercial and investment banking, Al Qassim has championed the adoption of best practices in digital innovation, AI and CX to enhance Emirates NBD’s corporate banking proposition. He has led the product development and implementation of globally recognised trade ﬁnance and cash management solutions, including Islamic products while overseeing the lending strategy for the bank’s corporate and institutional client base. In his earlier role, Al Qassim managed the successful transformation of multiple business units, created synergies in cross-functional teams and inculcated the principles of risk management, while remaining relevant to the client.

Prior to joining Emirates NBD, Al Qassim was the Chief Executive Oﬃcer of Dubai Group - a Dubai Holding entity and has also held senior roles at General Electric and Mubadala - GE Capital. He has previously served on the Boards of Bank Muscat, Shuaa Capital, EFG-Hermes and Sun Hung Kai Properties. Al Qassim is a member of Emirates NBD’s Executive Committee and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Victoria in Canada.

Dr. Lenzmann graduated from TU Dortmund University with a diploma in Physics and achieved his PHD in 2001 and has 20 years of international experience in risk management, advisory and data analytics in developed and emerging markets. Starting his career as a Research Assistant at the University of Dortmund in 1996 he subsequently worked for Commerzbank leading the Operational Risk Quantification Team from 2001 to 2005 and, as a Senior Market Risk Manager. He worked with KPMG as Associate Director from 2006 to 2008.

Dr. Lenzmann joined Emirates NBD in 2008 as Vice President, Head of Operational Risk before taking on the role of Senior Vice President and Group Head of Operational Risk in August 2010, responsible for operational risk, cyber risk management, business continuity management, reputational risk and outsourcing, fraud prevention and investigations in addition to mergers and digital banking. Dr. Lenzmann is a Member of the Board of Directors and Audit and Risk Committee at DenizBank since March 2021.

Dr. Lenzmann has a proven track record of enterprise wide transformation of operational risk, enterprise risk, market risk, credit risk frameworks and methodologies. He is highly experienced in leading multinational and cross functional teams across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. During his career he has successfully established risk management frameworks for Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Private Banking, Corporate Banking, Capital Markets, Treasury, Digital Banking, Insurance, Asset Management, Financial Brokerage and Payment Services.

Born in 1969, ÇALIKLI received her bachelor’s degree from Middle East Technical University, Department of Statistics in 1992 and completed her MBA studies at Koç University in 2000. Starting her career in 1992 as Partner at Retsam Ltd. Şti., ÇALIKLI later served as Auditor at Dışbank between the years of 1995 and 1997, Corporate Credits Analyst and Market Risk Manager at Citibank A.Ş. between the years of 1997 and 2002. Continuing her works in retail credits from 2002 to 2009, ÇALIKLI then assumed the duty of Consumer Credits Country Head at Citibank A.Ş. She served as Head of Risk Management Centre at TFKB from 2009 to 2014, Head of Corporate Credits at First Abu Dhabi Bank from 2014 to 2018, Chief Credit Officer at Commercial Bank of Dubai from 2018 to 2021 before she assumed the role of Senior Risk Advisor at Emirates NBD in 2021. ÇALIKLI has been nominated as DenizBank Board Member as of January 2022.

Mrs. Eman Abdulrazzaq is Group Chief Operating Officer and Group Chief Human Resources Officer of Emirates NBD.

Mrs. Abdulrazzaq is responsible for leading a dynamic and proactive working culture and driving future skills development to build an agile workforce that can embrace the developing digital landscape. She is also responsible for leading the operational transition to Net Zero and Emirates NBD Group’s enterprise-wide transformation efforts to strengthen back-office operations, digitise and modernize infrastructure and, simplify its operating model with a focus on customer experience, operational excellence, sustainable growth, and workforce efficiency.

Mrs. Abdulrazzaq has many years of experience in strategic human resources and has been instrumental in leading a dynamic and proactive working practice and cultural change at Emirates NBD, as well as driving future skills development to reskill and build out an agile workforce that can embrace the developing digital landscape.

Before joining Emirates NBD, Mrs. Abdulrazzaq worked at HSBC Bank Middle East Limited as Regional Head of Human Resources, Strategy and Planning and Chief of Staff for the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye, working on a number of strategic projects to help drive business and revenue growth. She is also a board member of Emaar Properties, Dubai Insurance and Emirates Institute of Finance and, an HR Committee member of the UAE Banking Federation.

Mrs Abdulrazzaq is a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from HCT Dubai Women’s College, UAE.

Patrick Sullivan is the Group Chief Financial Officer for Emirates NBD. A Chartered Accountant with over 35 years’ experience in banking and capital markets, having worked in multiple geographies, including the UK, Hong Kong, China, Russia, New Zealand and now the UAE.

Patrick Sullivan joined the Group from Standard Chartered where he held a number of senior finance roles, including Group Financial Controller and CFO of Standard Chartered Bank China. Prior to that, he worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Banking & Capital markets in multiple countries.

Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University New Zealand before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant from Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Hesham Al Qassim - Chairman Of The Board Of Directors

Shayne Nelson - Vice Chaırman Of The Board Of Directors

Recep Baştuğ - CEO - Member of the Board of Directors

Aazar Ali Khwaja - Member of the Board of Directors

Ahmed Mohammed Aqil Qassim Alqassım - Member Of The Board Of Directors

Dr. Björn Lenzmann - Chief Risk Officer - Member of the Board of Directors

Burcu Çalıklı - Member of the Board of Directors

Eman Mahmood Amed Abdulrazzaq – Member of the Board of Directors

Patrick John Sullivan – Member of the Board of Directors

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