By 
The UAE’s first digital bank Zand has announced its board of directors as it gears up for “an imminent launch”.
Providing both retail and corporate services, Zand has added “a panel of seasoned business leaders, each bringing a unique approach on building a banking experience for the digital age,” it said.
The Zand chairman is Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties. He said: “Building a new and unique digital banking experience is about more than just technology.
“It requires visionary people with a digital mindset who believe in the power of technology to improve people’s lives while creating a sustainable business model.”
UAE digital bank Zand wins backing from Franklin, Aditya Birla
The new board includes the Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates, Adnan Abdulfattah Kazim Abdulfattah, who joins the board as an independent director.
He leads the airline’s commercial operations across its network of nearly 160 destinations in 86 countries including e-commerce, retail and contact centres.
The Founder and CEO of Al Hail Holding, Hamad Jassim Al Darwish, will also join the board along with the Chairman and Managing Director of the retail conglomerate Lulu Group Yusuff Ali MA.
MA leads the group’s multinational operations of more than 235 shopping malls, hypermarkets and sourcing centres in 23 countries with $7.4 billion in annual global revenue.
Other directors include Gregory Johnson, who is the Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Franklin Resources.
During his 15 years as CEO of Franklin Templeton, Johnson led the company’s rise to become one of the world’s largest global asset managers.
Zand’s co-founder and CEO, Olivier Crespin, said: “With our board’s collective leadership experience, we have all the support that we could ask for.”
While Zand is gearing up for launch, subject to final regulatory approvals, it says it wants to become a digital economic accelerator, providing the foundations for a broader generation of digital services.
Through fully digital offerings, Zand has promised to make banking quicker and simpler, and provide tools that put customers in control of their financial lives.
Comments