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Ms. Mona Zulficar has served as Non-Executive, Independent Chairperson of EFG Hermes since April 2008. Ms. Zulficar is a Founding Partner and Chairperson of Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, a specialized law firm consisting of 13 partners and more than 65 associates. Established in June 2009, Zulficar & Partners has since grown into one of the top ranked law firms in Egypt. Ms. Zulficar was previously Senior Partner at Shalakany Law Firm and Chair of its Executive Committee for many years.
Ms. Zulficar is recognized in local and international legal circles as the precedent setter and one of Egypt’s most prominent corporate, banking, and project finance attorneys. As an M&A and capital markets transactions specialist, Ms. Zulficar has led negotiations on some of Egypt’s and the Middle East’s largest and most complex successful transactions over the past three decades.
Ms. Zulficar also played an instrumental role in modernizing and reforming economic and banking laws and regulations, both in her capacity as former board member of the Central Bank of Egypt during the banking reform program from 2003 to 2011 and as a prominent member of national drafting committees. Ms. Zulficar is a leading human rights activist recognized locally and internationally, and she has initiated several successful campaigns for human rights legislation, including women’s rights, freedom of opinion, and family courts. Ms. Zulficar served as VP of the Constitutional Committee, played a key role in drafting the 2014 Egyptian Constitution, and was a member of the National Council for Human Rights until September 2021.
Ms. Zulficar was recently elected President of the first Egyptian Microfinance Federation, currently the Egyptian Federation for Financing Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises, and she chairs several NGOs active in social development and microfinance for underprivileged women. Internationally, Ms. Zulficar served two terms as an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee until 2011.
Ms. Zulficar holds a BSc in economics and political science from Cairo University and an LLM from Mansoura University, as well as an honorary doctorate degree in law from the University of Zurich.
Mr. Karim Awad is Group Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of EFG Holding S.A.E. With over 23 years of experience, Mr. Awad started his career at EFG Hermes in 1998 in the Investment Banking Department, eventually heading the division in 2007 and leading several high-profile local and regional transactions. He assumed managerial roles in the Firm thereafter, first as CEO of the Investment Bank in 2012 and then as Group CEO in 2013.
Since then, Mr. Awad has led a substantial restructuring of the Firm that included streamlining its expenses and divesting its non-core assets, primarily among which was a majority stake in Lebanese bank Credit Libanais. Working together with the EFG Holding senior management, Mr. Awad spearheaded a major shift in the Firm’s strategy that transformed EFG Hermes from a MENA-based investment bank to a frontier markets financial solutions house. To achieve this vision, the Firm focuses on six pillars: hiring the best people, improving the Firm’s positioning in markets it operates in, selectively expanding its geographical presence, enhancing its product offering, increasing profitability metrics, and ensuring that public responsibility remains front and center to all its operations.
During the past nine years, the Firm was able to enhance its market share in its core sell-side operations of investment banking, brokerage, and research in its key markets of UAE, KSA, and Egypt while expanding its presence to seven new markets that span sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The Buy-side business was completely revamped through the consolidation of its regional asset management business with UAE-based affiliate Frontier Investment Management (FIM) in 2017 and the re-emergence of an active Private Equity division that is becoming a key player in renewables, education, and healthcare. The Firm was also able to significantly increase the suite of products it offers to clients by building a full-fledged non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) platform that currently includes leasing, factoring, microfinance, BNPL, mortgages, payments, and insurance, in addition to fixed income and structured product platforms. In November 2021, EFG Holding finalized an acquisition of a commercial bank in Egypt, thereby completing its transformation into a universal banking platform that will further increase the suite of products that it offers its clients while laying a strong foundation for the Firm’s future growth prospects.
The strategic shift helped drive growth in the Firm’s revenues, which reached EGP 6.1 billion, and profits, which stood at EGP 1.45 billion in 2021, all while maintaining a strong commitment to the communities in which the Firm operates through a vibrant CSR policy and actively adopting progressive ESG standards.
Mr. Awad holds a degree in business administration (BBA) from the American University in Cairo.
Mr. Yasser El Mallawany is the Non-Executive Vice Chairman of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Since his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Firm in 2003, Mr. El Mallawany has played a key role in driving the consolidation of Egypt’s investment banking sector and facilitated the emergence of EFG Hermes as the leading Arab investment bank at the time.
Mr. El Mallawany began his career at Commercial International Bank (CIB), formerly Chase National Bank, and his tenure at CIB spanned over 16 years, last serving as the General Manager of the Corporate Banking Division. He joined EFG Hermes at the time of the Firm’s merger with CIIC.
Mr. El Mallawany holds a BA in Accounting from Cairo University.
Mr. Takis Arapoglou is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. He had an earlier career in International Capital Markets and Corporate and Investment Banking based in London and later in managing, restructuring, and advising publicly listed Financial Institutions and Corporates, primarily in SE Europe and the Middle East.
His most recent executive roles include: Managing Director and Global Head of the Banks and Securities Industry for Citigroup, Chairman and CEO of the National Bank of Greece, as well as, CEO of Commercial Banking at EFG Holding across the Middle East and Africa for the period 2010-2013.
Mr. Arapoglou has broad and extensive experience as a board member, and he currently holds the following non-executive board positions: Chairman of Bank of Cyprus Group, listed in the LSE; Chairman of Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) Ltd, listed in the NYSE; and Board Member of EFG Holding SAE, listed in the Cairo Stock Exchange and the LSE.
Mr. Arapoglou has degrees in mathematics, engineering, and management from Greek and British universities.
Mr. Marwan Elaraby is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. He is based in Dubai, where
he serves as partner in the Capital Markets, Private Equity, and Mergers and
Acquisitions practices at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. His practice
focuses on advising governments and private capital clients on a variety of
corporate and capital market transactions across several industries. Mr. Elaraby
was previously a partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP and a Managing Director
at Citadel Capital (now Qalaa Holdings), one of the leading private equity
firms in the Middle East and Africa. Mr. ElAraby also served as Executive
Director in EFG Hermes’ investment banking group, where he worked as an
investment banker advising clients on numerous capital markets and M&A
transactions in the Middle East.
Mr. Elaraby is a New
York-qualified lawyer.
Mr. Elaraby holds a BA in economics
from the American University in Cairo and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from
Columbia University School of Law.
Mr. Jean Cheval is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Cheval spent a significant part of his banking career at Credit Agricole lndosuez (1983–2001), where he was successively Chief Economist, Head of Strategic Planning and Budget, Head of Structured Financing, and Head of the Middle East (1994 -2001) and Asia (1998-2001) prior to being appointed General Manager. Mr. Cheval also served as Director of Al Bank Al Saudi Al Fransi in KSA, WAFA Bank in Morocco, and Banque Libano-Française in Lebanon.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Banque Audi France, Chairman of Banque Audi Switzerland (2001–2005), and member of the Board of Audi-Saradar Bank (2002–2006). After 4 years as Head of Bank of Scotland 's Paris branch he joined Natixis in June 2009, leading the Debt and Finance department (Structured Finance) until 2012 and the European area between 2011 and 2012.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Finance and Risk, member of Natixis Senior Management Committee, and Second Senior Manager of Natixis in September 2012, holding said positions until October 2017. Between that date and March 2022, he became Senior Advisor to Natixis' CEO chairing the Credit Risk Committee and acting as Natixis Chief Negotiator for the main operations of financial restructuring.
Mr. Cheval currently chairs the Risk Management Committee of the Board of Alpha Bank (Greece) and the Natixis Foundation for research and innovation. He is also a member of the Board of Natixis Algeria. He is senior advisor to Sycomore Corporate Finance.
Jean Cheval graduated from École Centrale de Paris (Engineering School) and was PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds several degrees in Economics (Paris I) and mathematical statistics (Paris VI). He started his career as an economist and then worked several years for the French ministry of Industry and the French planning agency.
Mr. Abdulla Khalil Al Mutawa is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. He is a competent and dedicated investment professional with more than 39 years of experience and a comprehensive background in finance and administration. He is currently the General Manager of the Private Office of H.E. Sheikh Suroor Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan.
Mr. Al Mutawa has also served on the Board of Directors of Bank Alfalah Limited, Pakistan, since 1997, with membership posts on the bank’s Board Audit Committee (BAC), Remuneration and Nomination Committee (BHR&NC), Board Risk Management Committee (BRMC), Board Compensation Committee (BCC), and Board Information Technology Committee (BITC), in addition to serving as Chairman of the Board Strategy and Finance Committee (BS&FC).
Mr. Al Mutawa is also Chairman of Makhazen Investment PJSC (Private Joint-Stock Company), Abu Dhabi, and Chairman of the Makhazen Executive Committee.
Mr. Al Mutawa holds a BSc in business administration from the University of North Carolina, USA.
Mr. Géraud Brac de la Perrière is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Mr. Brac de la Perrière is the Senior Advisor of Natixis’ CEO and Co-Chairman of Natixis’ Credit Committee since January 2022. He was the Group Chief Risk Officer at BPCE from 2019 to 2021. Before that, he used to be the Group Chief Audit Executive at BPCE from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Brac de la Perrière was also the CEO of Allianz Global Investors France from 1996 to 2010. He had previously held several executive responsibilities at CACIB (Banque Indosuez) in France and Switzerland from 1987 to 1996. At the beginning of his career, he worked as an inspector of finance at French Ministry of Finance from 1983 to 1987.
Mr. Brac de la Perrière graduated from HEC Paris and Ecole Nationale d’Administration.
Mr. Tomas Volpe is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Mr. Volpe is the Founder and Managing Member of Volpe Investments, LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Silicon Valley, CA. Previously, from 2007-2012, he lived in Dubai, U.A.E., and was the CEO and Board member of Dubai Group, LLC, one of the Dubai ruler’s global private investment firms. From 1986-2000, Mr. Volpe was the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Volpe Brown Whelan & Company ("VBW"), an international risk capital, investment management, and investment banking firm focused on rapidly growing entrepreneurial companies in the technology and healthcare industries. VBW was sold to Prudential Securities in 2000, and Mr. Volpe served as Chairman of the renamed Prudential Volpe Technology Group. Before forming VBW, Mr. Volpe was CEO, President, and Board member of Hambrecht & Quist Incorporated (acquired by J.P. Morgan), the world's leading technology and healthcare-focused venture capital and investment banking firm. Throughout his career, Mr. Volpe has served on numerous Boards, including publicly traded, private, and nonprofit entities.
Mr. Volpe received an A.B. degree (cum laude) in economics from Harvard College, a Master of Science in Economics degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he studied on a fellowship from the Rotary International Foundation, and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Volpe also serves as Chairman and CEO of 7th Inning Stretch LLC, a sports-focused investment company which, among other investments, currently owns three minor league baseball teams, the Stockton (CA.) Ports, an Oakland A's affiliate, the Everett (WA.) AquaSox, a Seattle Mariners affiliate, and the Delmarva (MD.) Shorebirds, a Baltimore Orioles affiliate.
Ms. Mona Yassine is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Ms. Yassine had a 40-year banking career, of which 25 were with Citibank N.A. Egypt in corporate banking and risk management; three years with Banque du Caire as Executive Vice Chairman; and 5 years Chairman for the Cairo FarEast Bank and non-executive Board Member of Banque Misr and Banque du Caire; 5 years as Chief Country Officer for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank in Iraq. She was appointed the first chairperson of the Egyptian Competition Authority for five years. Ms. Yassine founded the Egyptian Association for the Protection of Competition; an NGO established in Cairo, Egypt in September 2011 and assumed the post of vice chairperson. She was also non-executive Board Member of Egylease from 2018 to 27 April 2023. She was involved in reforms, restructuring debt, and market repositioning for multiple banks throughout her career.
Ms. Yassine holds a BA in Economics and management from the American University in Cairo. She also obtained an Investment Appraisal and Management Diploma from Harvard University, School of Government, USA.
Mr. Karim Awad is Group Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of EFG Holding S.A.E. With over 23 years of experience, Mr. Awad started his career at EFG Hermes in 1998 in the Investment Banking Department, eventually heading the division in 2007 and leading several high-profile local and regional transactions. He assumed managerial roles in the Firm thereafter, first as CEO of the Investment Bank in 2012 and then as Group CEO in 2013.
Since then, Mr. Awad has led a substantial restructuring of the Firm that included streamlining its expenses and divesting its non-core assets, primarily among which was a majority stake in Lebanese bank Credit Libanais. Working together with the EFG Hermes senior management, Mr. Awad spearheaded a major shift in the Firm’s strategy that transformed EFG Hermes from a MENA-based investment bank to a frontier markets financial solutions house. To achieve this vision, the Firm focuses on six pillars: hiring the best people, improving the Firm’s positioning in markets it operates in, selectively expanding its geographical presence, enhancing its product offering, increasing profitability metrics, and ensuring that public responsibility remains front and center to all its operations.
During the past nine years, the Firm was able to enhance its market share in its core sell-side operations of investment banking, brokerage, and research in its key markets of UAE, KSA, and Egypt while expanding its presence to seven new markets that span sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The Buy-side business was completely revamped through the consolidation of its regional asset management business with UAE-based affiliate Frontier Investment Management (FIM) in 2017 and the re-emergence of an active Private Equity division that is becoming a key player in renewables, education, and healthcare. The Firm was also able to significantly increase the suite of products it offers to clients by building a full-fledged non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) platform that currently includes leasing, factoring, microfinance, BNPL, mortgages, payments, and insurance, in addition to fixed income and structured product platforms. In November 2021, EFG Hermes finalized an acquisition of a commercial bank in Egypt, thereby completing its transformation into a universal banking platform that will further increase the suite of products that it offers its clients while laying a strong foundation for the Firm’s future growth prospects.
The strategic shift helped drive growth in the Firm’s revenues, which reached EGP 6.1 billion, and profits, which stood at EGP 1.45 billion in 2021, all while maintaining a strong commitment to the communities in which the Firm operates through a vibrant CSR policy and actively adopting progressive ESG standards.
Mr. Awad holds a degree in business administration (BBA) from the American University in Cairo.
Mr. Mohamed El Wakeel is the Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) at EFG Holding. Following three years at HSBC, Mr. El Wakeel joined the Firm in 2000 as part of the operations team of the Securities Brokerage division. After succeeding in streamlining the division’s operations to ensure best-in-class practices and efficiency, he moved on to head brokerage operations for Egypt then took on the title of the Securities Brokerage Group’s Head of Operations. As Head of Operations, Mr. El Wakeel played a pivotal role in setting up and integrating the operations of the Firm’s newly launched offices in new markets.
His role also included strengthening the IT infrastructure, upgrading the Firm’s security framework, and enhancing in-house app development to encompass the requirements of all lines of business. Prior to becoming Group COO, he was Group Head of Market Operations at the Firm, where his hands-on experience has been key to the enhancement of EFG Holding’s operations across multiple lines of business.
Mr. Wakeel holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, Faculty of Commerce - Ain Shams University.
Mr. Abdel Wahab Mohamed Gadayel is EFG Holding’s Group Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, a post he has held since 2013. Prior to this, he served as Group Head of Compliance for three years, where he played a key role in setting and refining the Group’s policies and procedures and enhancing the Group’s compliance framework. During his current tenure in Risk Management, Mr. Gadayel revamped the Group’s risk management framework and policies, oversaw the issuance of the Group’s risk appetite framework, and obtained the ISO 22301:2019 certification for the Firm’s Business Continuity Management System and the ISO 31000:2018 certification for the Firm’s Enterprise Risk Management.
Mr. Gadayel joined EFG Hermes in 1998 as an Operations Officer, later being promoted to Deputy Head of Operations, a role he held until 2004. He also held the post of Managing Director of Operations at EFG Hermes UAE between 2004 and 2009, where he integrated newly acquired offices in the lower GCC region, helping the Group rapidly expand into new markets during his tenure.
Mr. Gadayel graduated from Cairo University with a major in economics and a minor in political science.
Ms. Inji Abdoun joined the Human Resources (HR) department at EFG Holding in June 2007 as HR Manager for the UAE with a mandate to establish an HR function for the Group’s operations, while contributing to the department’s Group-wide initiatives with a focus on talent management. Her mandate expanded in 2008, as she played an active role in integrating newly acquired operations in Oman and Kuwait and enhancing the HR function in the Saudi office.
In 2009, Ms. Abdoun became the Group Head of Human Resources, overseeing the full spectrum of the department’s functions across the Group while working closely with the Firm’s management team, providing HR insights into business issues. As of 2017, Ms. Abdoun became the Group’s Chief HR Officer, continuing to oversee the Group’s HR activities and working with the executive team as part of the Executive Committee.
Prior to joining EFG Holding, Ms. Abdoun assumed HR management roles at LINKdotNET (an OT subsidiary) and Fayrouz International (a Heineken subsidiary), as well as a role in career advising and placement at AUC’s Career Advising and Placement office (CAPS), accumulating more than 19 years of experience in the field.
Ms. Abdoun is a certified Myers-Briggs practitioner. She holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Mr. Aladdin ElAfifi is the CEO of the EFG Finance and is responsible for leading its entire portfolio, including leasing, factoring, microfinance, insurance, mortgage, and payments, as well as the addition of new services, whether organically or through acquisitions. He is also a non-executive board member representing the majority shareholder for valU, a board member of EFG Hermes Corp-Solutions, and a board member of EFG Hermes Finance. Additionally, Mr. ElAfifi is an Endeavor mentor, sharing knowledge and expertise with young entrepreneurs heading small and medium-sized businesses.With over 23 years of financial advisory and direct investment experience, Mr. ElAfifi most recently co-founded the Cairo-based real estate investment management and advisory business, 46 Group. He was also the Co-CEO of Pharos Holding, where he overlooked securities brokerage, asset management, and investment banking and advisory activities. In addition, he helped co-found Egypt’s first nano-lending startup, Kashat, and worked on the funding and sponsoring of startups directly and through work with Startupbootcamp as Co-Manager of the first Egyptian fintech accelerator.
Prior to joining Pharos, Mr. ElAfifi led the team managing Qalaa Holding’s investments in mining industries, gold exploration, and the waste management sector through the creation of Tawazon, a local and regional market leader in the field of municipal and agricultural solid waste management. He was also a senior member of the team that established TAQA Arabia, a full-service energy (natural gas and electricity) distribution group, and the initial team that worked on conceptualizing, negotiating, and signing the Framework Agreements for what would later become the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC).
Mr. ElAfifi previously worked in London as an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs’s UK M&A and the Industrials and Natural Resources teams after having begun his career at EFG Hermes Investment Banking. With both Goldman Sachs and EFG Holding, he worked on several high-profile M&A and capital market transactions across a multitude of sectors.
Mr. ElAfifi is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He also holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business with a concentration in Finance, Strategic, and Entrepreneurial Management and is a recipient of the Joseph Wharton fellowship. He holds a BA in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.
Ms. Mona Zulficar has served as Non-Executive, Independent Chairperson of EFG Hermes since April 2008. Ms. Zulficar is a Founding Partner and Chairperson of Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, a specialized law firm consisting of 13 partners and more than 65 associates. Established in June 2009, Zulficar & Partners has since grown into one of the top ranked law firms in Egypt. Ms. Zulficar was previously Senior Partner at Shalakany Law Firm and Chair of its Executive Committee for many years.
Ms. Zulficar is recognized in local and international legal circles as the precedent setter and one of Egypt’s most prominent corporate, banking, and project finance attorneys. As an M&A and capital markets transactions specialist, Ms. Zulficar has led negotiations on some of Egypt’s and the Middle East’s largest and most complex successful transactions over the past three decades.
Ms. Zulficar also played an instrumental role in modernizing and reforming economic and banking laws and regulations, both in her capacity as former board member of the Central Bank of Egypt during the banking reform program from 2003 to 2011 and as a prominent member of national drafting committees. Ms. Zulficar is a leading human rights activist recognized locally and internationally, and she has initiated several successful campaigns for human rights legislation, including women’s rights, freedom of opinion, and family courts. Ms. Zulficar served as VP of the Constitutional Committee, played a key role in drafting the 2014 Egyptian Constitution, and was a member of the National Council for Human Rights until September 2021.
Ms. Zulficar was recently elected President of the first Egyptian Microfinance Federation, currently the Egyptian Federation for Financing Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises, and she chairs several NGOs active in social development and microfinance for underprivileged women. Internationally, Ms. Zulficar served two terms as an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee until 2011.
Ms. Zulficar holds a BSc in economics and political science from Cairo University and an LLM from Mansoura University, as well as an honorary doctorate degree in law from the University of Zurich.
Mr. Ramsay Zaki is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. In 2014, Mr. Zaki founded Wafra Export, a fruit export company that owns a state-of-the-art packing house and grows its produce on a 360-acre plot. Mr. Zaki was part of the EFG Holding team for 18 years, starting as Head of Operations Brokerage in 1995 and ending his tenure as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
As COO, Mr. Zaki was responsible for managing operational matters, including compliance-related functions. Mr. Zaki’s contribution to EFG Holding includes rapidly growing the Firm’s backbone in all countries and lines of business, while maintaining the highest degree of corporate governance and ethics, as well as weathering major economic and political events in the region. He was also member of the Firm’s Board of Directors until 2013.
Prior to joining EFG Holding, Mr. Zaki worked for five years at Commercial International Bank (CIB), where he headed the team responsible for extending credit to the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry. During his time at CIB, Mr. Zaki successfully more than doubled loans to the sector and captured a 70% market share of all private sector pharmaceutical companies operating in Egypt. Mr. Zaki was also heavily involved in the merger negotiations between the two biggest private sector pharmaceutical companies in the country.
Mr. Zaki holds a BCom from Cairo University.
Mr. Jean Cheval is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Cheval spent a significant part of his banking career at Credit Agricole lndosuez (1983–2001), where he was successively Chief Economist, Head of Strategic Planning and Budget, Head of Structured Financing, and Head of the Middle East (1994 -2001) and Asia (1998-2001) prior to being appointed General Manager. Mr. Cheval also served as Director of Al Bank Al Saudi Al Fransi in KSA, WAFA Bank in Morocco, and Banque Libano-Française in Lebanon.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Banque Audi France, Chairman of Banque Audi Switzerland (2001–2005), and member of the Board of Audi-Saradar Bank (2002–2006). After 4 years as Head of Bank of Scotland 's Paris branch he joined Natixis in June 2009, leading the Debt and Finance department (Structured Finance) until 2012 and the European area between 2011 and 2012.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Finance and Risk, member of Natixis Senior Management Committee, and Second Senior Manager of Natixis in September 2012, holding said positions until October 2017. Between that date and March 2022, he became Senior Advisor to Natixis' CEO chairing the Credit Risk Committee and acting as Natixis Chief Negotiator for the main operations of financial restructuring.
Mr. Cheval currently chairs the Risk Management Committee of the Board of Alpha Bank (Greece) and the Natixis Foundation for research and innovation. He is also a member of the Board of Natixis Algeria. He is senior advisor to Sycomore Corporate Finance.
Jean Cheval graduated from École Centrale de Paris (Engineering School) and was PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds several degrees in Economics (Paris I) and mathematical statistics (Paris VI). He started his career as an economist and then worked several years for the French ministry of Industry and the French planning agency.
Mr. Tomas Volpe is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Mr. Volpe is the Founder and Managing Member of Volpe Investments, LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Silicon Valley, CA. Previously, from 2007-2012, he lived in Dubai, U.A.E., and was the CEO and Board member of Dubai Group, LLC, one of the Dubai ruler’s global private investment firms. From 1986-2000, Mr. Volpe was the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Volpe Brown Whelan & Company ("VBW"), an international risk capital, investment management, and investment banking firm focused on rapidly growing entrepreneurial companies in the technology and healthcare industries. VBW was sold to Prudential Securities in 2000, and Mr. Volpe served as Chairman of the renamed Prudential Volpe Technology Group. Before forming VBW, Mr. Volpe was CEO, President, and Board member of Hambrecht & Quist Incorporated (acquired by J.P. Morgan), the world's leading technology and healthcare-focused venture capital and investment banking firm. Throughout his career, Mr. Volpe has served on numerous Boards, including publicly traded, private, and nonprofit entities.
Mr. Volpe received an A.B. degree (cum laude) in economics from Harvard College, a Master of Science in Economics degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he studied on a fellowship from the Rotary International Foundation, and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Volpe also serves as Chairman and CEO of 7th Inning Stretch LLC, a sports-focused investment company which, among other investments, currently owns three minor league baseball teams, the Stockton (CA.) Ports, an Oakland A's affiliate, the Everett (WA.) AquaSox, a Seattle Mariners affiliate, and the Delmarva (MD.) Shorebirds, a Baltimore Orioles affiliate.
Ms. Mona Yassine is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Ms. Yassine had a 40-year banking career, of which 25 were with Citibank N.A. Egypt in corporate banking and risk management; three years with Banque du Caire as Executive Vice Chairman; and 5 years Chairman for the Cairo FarEast Bank and non-executive Board Member of Banque Misr and Banque du Caire; 5 years as Chief Country Officer for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank in Iraq. She was appointed the first chairperson of the Egyptian Competition Authority for five years. Ms. Yassine founded the Egyptian Association for the Protection of Competition; an NGO established in Cairo, Egypt in September 2011 and assumed the post of vice chairperson. She was also non-executive Board Member of Egylease from 2018 to 27 April 2023. She was involved in reforms, restructuring debt, and market repositioning for multiple banks throughout her career.
Ms. Yassine holds a BA in Economics and management from the American University in Cairo. She also obtained an Investment Appraisal and Management Diploma from Harvard University, School of Government, USA.
Ms. Mona Zulficar has served as Non-Executive, Independent Chairperson of EFG Hermes since April 2008. Ms. Zulficar is a Founding Partner and Chairperson of Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, a specialized law firm consisting of 13 partners and more than 65 associates. Established in June 2009, Zulficar & Partners has since grown into one of the top ranked law firms in Egypt. Ms. Zulficar was previously Senior Partner at Shalakany Law Firm and Chair of its Executive Committee for many years.
Ms. Zulficar is recognized in local and international legal circles as the precedent setter and one of Egypt’s most prominent corporate, banking, and project finance attorneys. As an M&A and capital markets transactions specialist, Ms. Zulficar has led negotiations on some of Egypt’s and the Middle East’s largest and most complex successful transactions over the past three decades.
Ms. Zulficar also played an instrumental role in modernizing and reforming economic and banking laws and regulations, both in her capacity as former board member of the Central Bank of Egypt during the banking reform program from 2003 to 2011 and as a prominent member of national drafting committees. Ms. Zulficar is a leading human rights activist recognized locally and internationally, and she has initiated several successful campaigns for human rights legislation, including women’s rights, freedom of opinion, and family courts. Ms. Zulficar served as VP of the Constitutional Committee, played a key role in drafting the 2014 Egyptian Constitution, and was a member of the National Council for Human Rights until September 2021.
Ms. Zulficar was recently elected President of the first Egyptian Microfinance Federation, currently the Egyptian Federation for Financing Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises, and she chairs several NGOs active in social development and microfinance for underprivileged women. Internationally, Ms. Zulficar served two terms as an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee until 2011.
Ms. Zulficar holds a BSc in economics and political science from Cairo University and an LLM from Mansoura University, as well as an honorary doctorate degree in law from the University of Zurich.
Mr. Ramsay Zaki is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. In 2014, Mr. Zaki founded Wafra Export, a fruit export company that owns a state-of-the-art packing house and grows its produce on a 360-acre plot. Mr. Zaki was part of the EFG Holding team for 18 years, starting as Head of Operations Brokerage in 1995 and ending his tenure as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
As COO, Mr. Zaki was responsible for managing operational matters, including compliance-related functions. Mr. Zaki’s contribution to EFG Hermes Holding includes rapidly growing the Firm’s backbone in all countries and lines of business, while maintaining the highest degree of corporate governance and ethics, as well as weathering major economic and political events in the region. He was also member of the Firm’s Board of Directors until 2013.
Prior to joining EFG Hermes Holding, Mr. Zaki worked for five years at Commercial International Bank (CIB), where he headed the team responsible for extending credit to the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry. During his time at CIB, Mr. Zaki successfully more than doubled loans to the sector and captured a 70% market share of all private sector pharmaceutical companies operating in Egypt. Mr. Zaki was also heavily involved in the merger negotiations between the two biggest private sector pharmaceutical companies in the country.
Mr. Zaki holds a BCom from Cairo University.
Mr. Jean Cheval is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Cheval spent a significant part of his banking career at Credit Agricole lndosuez (1983–2001), where he was successively Chief Economist, Head of Strategic Planning and Budget, Head of Structured Financing, and Head of the Middle East (1994 -2001) and Asia (1998-2001) prior to being appointed General Manager. Mr. Cheval also served as Director of Al Bank Al Saudi Al Fransi in KSA, WAFA Bank in Morocco, and Banque Libano-Française in Lebanon.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Banque Audi France, Chairman of Banque Audi Switzerland (2001–2005), and member of the Board of Audi-Saradar Bank (2002–2006). After 4 years as Head of Bank of Scotland 's Paris branch he joined Natixis in June 2009, leading the Debt and Finance department (Structured Finance) until 2012 and the European area between 2011 and 2012.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Finance and Risk, member of Natixis Senior Management Committee, and Second Senior Manager of Natixis in September 2012, holding said positions until October 2017. Between that date and March 2022, he became Senior Advisor to Natixis' CEO chairing the Credit Risk Committee and acting as Natixis Chief Negotiator for the main operations of financial restructuring.
Mr. Cheval currently chairs the Risk Management Committee of the Board of Alpha Bank (Greece) and the Natixis Foundation for research and innovation. He is also a member of the Board of Natixis Algeria. He is senior advisor to Sycomore Corporate Finance.
Jean Cheval graduated from École Centrale de Paris (Engineering School) and was PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds several degrees in Economics (Paris I) and mathematical statistics (Paris VI). He started his career as an economist and then worked several years for the French ministry of Industry and the French planning agency.
Mr. Tomas Volpe is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Mr. Volpe is the Founder and Managing Member of Volpe Investments, LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Silicon Valley, CA. Previously, from 2007-2012, he lived in Dubai, U.A.E., and was the CEO and Board member of Dubai Group, LLC, one of the Dubai ruler’s global private investment firms. From 1986-2000, Mr. Volpe was the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Volpe Brown Whelan & Company ("VBW"), an international risk capital, investment management, and investment banking firm focused on rapidly growing entrepreneurial companies in the technology and healthcare industries. VBW was sold to Prudential Securities in 2000, and Mr. Volpe served as Chairman of the renamed Prudential Volpe Technology Group. Before forming VBW, Mr. Volpe was CEO, President, and Board member of Hambrecht & Quist Incorporated (acquired by J.P. Morgan), the world's leading technology and healthcare-focused venture capital and investment banking firm. Throughout his career, Mr. Volpe has served on numerous Boards, including publicly traded, private, and nonprofit entities.
Mr. Volpe received an A.B. degree (cum laude) in economics from Harvard College, a Master of Science in Economics degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he studied on a fellowship from the Rotary International Foundation, and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Volpe also serves as Chairman and CEO of 7th Inning Stretch LLC, a sports-focused investment company which, among other investments, currently owns three minor league baseball teams, the Stockton (CA.) Ports, an Oakland A's affiliate, the Everett (WA.) AquaSox, a Seattle Mariners affiliate, and the Delmarva (MD.) Shorebirds, a Baltimore Orioles affiliate.
Ms. Mona Yassine is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Ms. Yassine had a 40-year banking career, of which 25 were with Citibank N.A. Egypt in corporate banking and risk management; three years with Banque du Caire as Executive Vice Chairman; and 5 years Chairman for the Cairo FarEast Bank and non-executive Board Member of Banque Misr and Banque du Caire; 5 years as Chief Country Officer for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank in Iraq. She was appointed the first chairperson of the Egyptian Competition Authority for five years. Ms. Yassine founded the Egyptian Association for the Protection of Competition; an NGO established in Cairo, Egypt in September 2011 and assumed the post of vice chairperson. She was also non-executive Board Member of Egylease from 2018 to 27 April 2023. She was involved in reforms, restructuring debt, and market repositioning for multiple banks throughout her career.
Ms. Yassine holds a BA in Economics and management from the American University in Cairo. She also obtained an Investment Appraisal and Management Diploma from Harvard University, School of Government, USA.
Mr. Takis Arapoglou is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. He had an earlier career in International Capital Markets and Corporate and Investment Banking based in London and later in managing, restructuring, and advising publicly listed Financial Institutions and Corporates, primarily in SE Europe and the Middle East.
His most recent executive roles include: Managing Director and Global Head of the Banks and Securities Industry for Citigroup, Chairman and CEO of the National Bank of Greece, as well as, CEO of Commercial Banking at EFG Holding across the Middle East and Africa for the period 2010-2013.
Mr. Arapoglou has broad and extensive experience as a board member, and he currently holds the following non-executive board positions: Chairman of Bank of Cyprus Group, listed in the LSE; Chairman of Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) Ltd, listed in the NYSE; and Board Member of EFG Holding SAE, listed in the Cairo Stock Exchange and the LSE.
Mr. Arapoglou has degrees in mathematics, engineering, and management from Greek and British universities.
Mr. Jean Cheval is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Cheval spent a significant part of his banking career at Credit Agricole lndosuez (1983–2001), where he was successively Chief Economist, Head of Strategic Planning and Budget, Head of Structured Financing, and Head of the Middle East (1994 -2001) and Asia (1998-2001) prior to being appointed General Manager. Mr. Cheval also served as Director of Al Bank Al Saudi Al Fransi in KSA, WAFA Bank in Morocco, and Banque Libano-Française in Lebanon.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Banque Audi France, Chairman of Banque Audi Switzerland (2001–2005), and member of the Board of Audi-Saradar Bank (2002–2006). After 4 years as Head of Bank of Scotland 's Paris branch he joined Natixis in June 2009, leading the Debt and Finance department (Structured Finance) until 2012 and the European area between 2011 and 2012.
Mr. Cheval then became Head of Finance and Risk, member of Natixis Senior Management Committee, and Second Senior Manager of Natixis in September 2012, holding said positions until October 2017. Between that date and March 2022, he became Senior Advisor to Natixis' CEO chairing the Credit Risk Committee and acting as Natixis Chief Negotiator for the main operations of financial restructuring.
Mr. Cheval currently chairs the Risk Management Committee of the Board of Alpha Bank (Greece) and the Natixis Foundation for research and innovation. He is also a member of the Board of Natixis Algeria. He is senior advisor to Sycomore Corporate Finance.
Jean Cheval graduated from École Centrale de Paris (Engineering School) and was PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds several degrees in Economics (Paris I) and mathematical statistics (Paris VI). He started his career as an economist and then worked several years for the French ministry of Industry and the French planning agency.
Mr. Marwan Elaraby is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. He is based in Dubai, where he serves as partner in the Capital Markets, Private Equity, and Mergers and Acquisitions practices at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. His practice focuses on advising governments and private capital clients on a variety of corporate and capital market transactions across several industries. Mr. Elaraby was previously a partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP and a Managing Director at Citadel Capital (now Qalaa Holdings), one of the leading private equity firms in the Middle East and Africa. Mr. ElAraby also served as Executive Director in EFG Hermes’ investment banking group, where he worked as an investment banker advising clients on numerous capital markets and M&A transactions in the Middle East.
Mr. Elaraby is a New York-qualified lawyer.
Mr. Elaraby holds a BA in economics from the American University in Cairo and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia University School of Law.
Mr. Ramsay Zaki is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. In 2014, Mr. Zaki founded Wafra Export, a fruit export company that owns a state-of-the-art packing house and grows its produce on a 360-acre plot. Mr. Zaki was part of the EFG Holding team for 18 years, starting as Head of Operations Brokerage in 1995 and ending his tenure as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
As COO, Mr. Zaki was responsible for managing operational matters, including compliance-related functions. Mr. Zaki’s contribution to EFG Holding includes rapidly growing the Firm’s backbone in all countries and lines of business, while maintaining the highest degree of corporate governance and ethics, as well as weathering major economic and political events in the region. He was also member of the Firm’s Board of Directors until 2013.
Prior to joining EFG Holding, Mr. Zaki worked for five years at Commercial International Bank (CIB), where he headed the team responsible for extending credit to the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry. During his time at CIB, Mr. Zaki successfully more than doubled loans to the sector and captured a 70% market share of all private sector pharmaceutical companies operating in Egypt. Mr. Zaki was also heavily involved in the merger negotiations between the two biggest private sector pharmaceutical companies in the country.
Mr. Zaki holds a BCom from Cairo University.
Mr. Géraud Brac de la Perrière is a Non-Executive member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Mr. Brac de la Perrière is the Senior Advisor of Natixis’ CEO and Co-Chairman of Natixis’ Credit Committee since January 2022. He was the Group Chief Risk Officer at BPCE from 2019 to 2021. Before that, he used to be the Group Chief Audit Executive at BPCE from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Brac de la Perrière was also the CEO of Allianz Global Investors France from 1996 to 2010. He had previously held several executive responsibilities at CACIB (Banque Indosuez) in France and Switzerland from 1987 to 1996. At the beginning of his career, he worked as an inspector of finance at French Ministry of Finance from 1983 to 1987.
Mr. Brac de la Perrière graduated from HEC Paris and Ecole Nationale d’Administration.
Ms. Mona Zulficar has served as Non-Executive, Independent Chairperson of EFG Hermes since April 2008. Ms. Zulficar is a Founding Partner and Chairperson of Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, a specialized law firm consisting of 13 partners and more than 65 associates. Established in June 2009, Zulficar & Partners has since grown into one of the top ranked law firms in Egypt. Ms. Zulficar was previously Senior Partner at Shalakany Law Firm and Chair of its Executive Committee for many years.
Ms. Zulficar is recognized in local and international legal circles as the precedent setter and one of Egypt’s most prominent corporate, banking, and project finance attorneys. As an M&A and capital markets transactions specialist, Ms. Zulficar has led negotiations on some of Egypt’s and the Middle East’s largest and most complex successful transactions over the past three decades.
Ms. Zulficar also played an instrumental role in modernizing and reforming economic and banking laws and regulations, both in her capacity as former board member of the Central Bank of Egypt during the banking reform program from 2003 to 2011 and as a prominent member of national drafting committees. Ms. Zulficar is a leading human rights activist recognized locally and internationally, and she has initiated several successful campaigns for human rights legislation, including women’s rights, freedom of opinion, and family courts. Ms. Zulficar served as VP of the Constitutional Committee, played a key role in drafting the 2014 Egyptian Constitution, and was a member of the National Council for Human Rights until September 2021.
Ms. Zulficar was recently elected President of the first Egyptian Microfinance Federation, currently the Egyptian Federation for Financing Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises, and she chairs several NGOs active in social development and microfinance for underprivileged women. Internationally, Ms. Zulficar served two terms as an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee until 2011.
Ms. Zulficar holds a BSc in economics and political science from Cairo University and an LLM from Mansoura University, as well as an honorary doctorate degree in law from the University of Zurich.
Mr. Takis Arapoglou is a Non-Executive member of EFGHolding’s Board of Directors. He had an earlier career in International Capital Markets and Corporate and Investment Banking based in London and later in managing, restructuring, and advising publicly listed Financial Institutions and Corporates, primarily in SE Europe and the Middle East.
His most recent executive roles include: Managing Director and Global Head of the Banks and Securities Industry for Citigroup, Chairman and CEO of the National Bank of Greece, as well as, CEO of Commercial Banking at EFG Holding across the Middle East and Africa for the period 2010-2013.
Mr. Arapoglou has broad and extensive experience as a board member, and he currently holds the following non-executive board positions: Chairman of Bank of Cyprus Group, listed in the LSE; Chairman of Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) Ltd, listed in the NYSE; and Board Member of EFG Holding SAE, listed in the Cairo Stock Exchange and the LSE.
Mr. Arapoglou has degrees in mathematics, engineering, and management from Greek and British universities.
Mr. Karim Awad is Group Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of EFG Holding S.A.E. With over 23 years of experience, Mr. Awad started his career at EFG Hermes in 1998 in the Investment Banking Department, eventually heading the division in 2007 and leading several high-profile local and regional transactions. He assumed managerial roles in the Firm thereafter, first as CEO of the Investment Bank in 2012 and then as Group CEO in 2013.
Since then, Mr. Awad has led a substantial restructuring of the Firm that included streamlining its expenses and divesting its non-core assets, primarily among which was a majority stake in Lebanese bank Credit Libanais. Working together with the EFG Holding senior management, Mr. Awad spearheaded a major shift in the Firm’s strategy that transformed EFG Hermes from a MENA-based investment bank to a frontier markets financial solutions house. To achieve this vision, the Firm focuses on six pillars: hiring the best people, improving the Firm’s positioning in markets it operates in, selectively expanding its geographical presence, enhancing its product offering, increasing profitability metrics, and ensuring that public responsibility remains front and center to all its operations.
During the past nine years, the Firm was able to enhance its market share in its core sell-side operations of investment banking, brokerage, and research in its key markets of UAE, KSA, and Egypt while expanding its presence to seven new markets that span sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The Buy-side business was completely revamped through the consolidation of its regional asset management business with UAE-based affiliate Frontier Investment Management (FIM) in 2017 and the re-emergence of an active Private Equity division that is becoming a key player in renewables, education, and healthcare. The Firm was also able to significantly increase the suite of products it offers to clients by building a full-fledged non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) platform that currently includes leasing, factoring, microfinance, BNPL, mortgages, payments, and insurance, in addition to fixed income and structured product platforms. In November 2021, EFG Holding finalized an acquisition of a commercial bank in Egypt, thereby completing its transformation into a universal banking platform that will further increase the suite of products that it offers its clients while laying a strong foundation for the Firm’s future growth prospects.
The strategic shift helped drive growth in the Firm’s revenues, which reached EGP 6.1 billion, and profits, which stood at EGP 1.45 billion in 2021, all while maintaining a strong commitment to the communities in which the Firm operates through a vibrant CSR policy and actively adopting progressive ESG standards.
Mr. Awad holds a degree in business administration (BBA) from the American University in Cairo.
Mr. Khalid Mana Saeed Al Otaiba is a Non-Executive, Independent member of EFG Holding’s Board of Directors. Mr. Al Otaiba has been Office Manager for His Excellency Dr. Mana Saeed Al Otaiba, Personal Advisor to H. H. President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan since 2000. Mr. Al Otaiba also holds the post of Deputy Chairman of Al Otaiba Group of Companies. Mr. Al Otaiba leverages his over 22-year career, spanning numerous industries, to serve as Director of Alfalah Insurance Company Limited, Pakistan; Chairman of Liwa International Investment Tourism and Royal Mirage Hotel & Resort Ltd, Morocco; and Chairman of Ghantout International and Bank Alfalah, as well as Director of Royal Mirage Masdar, Abu Dhabi.
Mr. Al Otaiba holds a BA in International Economics from Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts.