Abdulla Abdulrazaq Bukhowa has been named chief executive officer at Standard Chartered in Qatar, succeeding Charles Carlson, who left the bank earlier this year after five and-a-half years in the role, and around 16 altogether with Standard Chartered.
Standard Chartered said Bukhowa’s appointment was considered a milestone for the Bank, as he is the first Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council national to assume the position of Standard Chartered chief executive in Qatar. The bank has been present in the market since 1950.
Standard Chartered said he will be responsible for overseeing the bank’s overall operations in Qatar, as well as managing its international corporate and institutional clients’ business in the country.
Bukhowa joins StanChartered’s Qatar outpost from its Bahrain offices, where he led its corporate and institutional business and financial markets operations.
In its statement announcing Bukhowa’s appointment, Standard Chartered made reference to a “push for senior Arab leaders within the bank”.
Boutros Klink, chief executive officer for Standard Chartered Bank Bahrain and the GCC, said Bukhowa had “played a key role in successfully transforming our business in Bahrain, and I look forward to his leadership and experience in growing and developing our business in Qatar”.
Standard Chartered didn’t say where Carlson, Bukhowa’s predecessor, went, but it’s understood that since January he has been a fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative programme of Harvard University.
Standard Chartered Plc is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges as well as the Bombay and National stock exchanges in India. It employs around 80,000 globally.
