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P O W E R

Mena Insurance Review’s 2014 Power 50 highlights the most infl uential individuals in the Mena insurance industry. Compiled by reader nominations, the list is not ranked in order of infl uence, although we have highlighted 15 people who were particularly highly regarded by our readers. Several people also feature in the list for the fi rst timeBY ILONKA OUDENAMPSEN

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INSURERS

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Isam Abdel Khal-iq, CEO of Arab Orient Insurance

Since his appointment as CEO in 2000, Abdel Khaliq has been leading Arab Orient Insurance’s growth story, making it the big-gest insurer in Jordan with a market share of 12.2% in 2012, according to the Jordan Insurance Com-mission. In February, the fi rm’s parent company, Gulf Insurance Group, ap-pointed Abdel Khaliq as its chief operating offi cer, which will surely give him even more infl uence in the insurance market in the future.

Khalifa Al Subaey, group president and CEO of Qa-tar Insurance CompanyQIC is one of the biggest insurance fi rms in the Mena region and as such, Al Subaey is an infl uential man. Earlier this year, QIC announced the acquisi-tion of Antares, a special-ist insurer and reinsurer

operating in the Lloyd’s market. This will provide QIC access to the Lloyd’s market, thus further grow-ing the fi rm’s presence in the region.

Jamal Asfour, CEO of Asia InsuranceAsia Insurance is one of Iraq’s main insurers and a pioneer in health insurance in the country. As its CEO, Asfour is promoting insur-ance awareness and in-ternational standards, and consulting the government in Kurdistan on insurance initiatives.

Michael Bitzer, CEO of DamanAfter having won two awards at this year’s Mena Insurance Awards, Da-man has also met the strict requirements of the Dubai Health Authority to become a participating insurer in the Dubai health insurance scheme. Bitzer continues to expand the health insurer’s business, with the Sharjah offi ce being one of its latest ad-ditions.

Steve Dixon, regional managing director at ACE MENADixon has been instrumen-tal in building up ACE’s reputation across the Mena region, particularly within fi nancial lines, energy and construction. In September 2013, the company opened an offi ce in Tunisia, thus adding further to its wider Mena capabilities.

Jerome Droesch, CEO of AXA InsuranceAs the CEO of one of the main insurance compa-nies in the Gulf, Droesch continues to help shape the industry. Testament to AXA’s success in the re-gion is its recent appoint-ment as one of the seven participating insurers of the Dubai health insurance scheme. AXA Gulf is also pursuing a majority stake in Abu Dhabi-based health insurer Green Crescent, which will further increase its footprint in Mena.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Omer Elamin, president of Orient Group

Described as one of the

most active managers in the region by his peers, El-amin was a popular choice to feature once again on the Power 50 list. As presi-dent, Elamin has grown Orient Group into one of the region’s main insurance companies, with one of its most recent successes the opening of its Turkish subsidiary Orient Sigorta Anomin Sirketi.

Lufti El Zein, CEO of MED-GULFIndustry veteran El Zein is on the list for the third year in a row. The chair-man and CEO of one of the largest private insurance companies in the region has grown MEDGULF into an international company with operations in Leba-non, Bahrain Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UK. In June 2013, Japanese insurer ORIX acquired a 25.7% stake in the fi rm, which recorded a net profi t of $13.55bn in Q1 2014.

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Michel Khalaf, president of EMEA at Metlife Alico

As president of the EMEA

Insurers Imad Abdel Khaleq, CEO of Jordan Insurance

CompanyNominated numerous times by his peers, Abdel Khaleq deservedly made it on the list again this year. As the CEO of one of Jordan’s biggest insurance fi rms, Abdel Khaleq is also at the forefront of driving change in the Jordanian insurance market, as he told Mena IR last month that he is in constant talks with the Ministry and regulator.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Insurers Patrick Choffel, CEO of Oman Insurance

CompanyChoffel was consistently praised by readers for his innovative thinking. His strategy at Oman Insurance Company has paid off, as the fi rm recorded annual growth of 19.5% for 2013. The company has 15 branches and a presence in all seven Emirates, as well as Oman and Qatar, and was selected as one of the seven participating insurers for Dubai’s mandatory health insurance scheme.

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region, Khalaf heads up MetLife Alico in the Mena region. The company has had a presence in the region for more than 50 years, with offi ces in Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Recently MetLife Alico was selected as a partici-pating insurer in Dubai’s health insurance scheme, and with life insurance penetration in Mena expected to increase, Khalaf’s infl uence is likely to grow further.

James Portelli, general manager at United Insur-ance CompanyPortelli makes the list for the second year in a row, thanks to his excellent network of contacts and incisive analysis. His ex-perience in the insurance sector spans more than 25 years. United Insur-ance Company operates in the UAE, with fi ve offi ces across the seven Emirates and a staff of around 100 people.

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Ali Regae, direc-tor and deputy general manager

of Libya Insurance CompanyLibya’s largest insurance company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Regae was nominated by readers as someone who is helping to shape the insurance market in Libya, while the country is going through a diffi cult period.

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Brian Reilly, CEO at Zurich General Insurance Middle

EastIn April, Zurich signed a memorandum of under-standing with Dubai SME to provide insurance aware-ness and risk insights to the 100 top performing SMEs in the Emirate. Reilly is a pioneer in the market, as he and his team bring insur-ance and risk management to smaller fi rms who were previously less targeted by the insurance market.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Walid Sidani, CEO of ADNICAs CEO of one

of the top three insurance companies in the UAE, Sidani was voted one of the most active managers in the region by Mena IR

readers. ADNIC’s net profi t grew by 25% year-on-year to stand at $49.3m at 31 December 2013. Sidani recently told Mena IR that the company is looking at regional expansion, which will surely further cement ADNIC’s position in the market.

REINSURERS

Mahomed Akoob, manag-ing director at Hannover ReAkoob was a popular choice to feature in this list. Hannover Re was the fi rst major reinsurance group to focus on retakaful and with Shariah-compliant in-

surance expected to keep growing in future, Akoob’s infl uence in the market is likely to become even greater.

Fahad Al-Hesni, manag-ing director and CEO at Saudi ReAs the CEO of Saudi Ara-bia’s fi rst reinsurance fi rm, Al-Hesni is a powerful fi g-ure in the Mena insurance market. Saudi Re’s success continues, with gross writ-ten premiums for 2013 recorded at $112m and the opening of a Malaysian of-fi ce in late 2013.

Khalil Eid, general manag-er at QBE’s Dubai branch

Reinsurers Christian Kraut, CEO for MEA at Munich Re

As the head of the MEA operations of one of the world’s largest reinsurers, Kraut is a very infl uential fi gure. It is therefore no surprise that he was often mentioned by his peers to feature in this year’s list. Mu-nich Re recorded a profi t of €3.3bn ($4.46bn) last year, up from €3.2bn for 2012, and was voted global reinsurer of the year at the Mena Insurance Awards 2014.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Brokers Wael Khatib, executive chairman of Lockton

(MENA)Renowned for his leadership, Khatib was also described as a good strate-gist with a long-term view and he played a key role in Lockton’s success in the Mena re-gion. The fi rm’s growth story is expected to continue, as Tony Saaba was hired as CEO in November 2013.

Reinsurers Cherif Chentir, CUO for Middle East & South Eastern Europe at SCORA popular choice among Mena IR readers, Chentir was named by one as the

“best Mena reinsurance treaty underwriter”. While SCOR does not have an offi ce in the Middle East aside from Tel Aviv, it is an important reinsurer in the region, with a net income of €549m ($759m) in 2013, compared to €418m for 2012.

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Eid has been leading QBE’s Middle Eastern success since its offi ce opened in Dubai in 2009. Both the Dubai team and its product offerings have expanded signifi cantly in the last year, with a few major new hires and the launch of environmental liability products and an aviation excess liabilities product.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Lukas Müller, director for EMEA at

Swiss ReAs one of the main global reinsurers, Swiss Re is an important player in the Mena insurance market. Müller was nominated by many industry fi gures and deservedly made it on the list again this year. The fi rm earned a profi t of $4.4bn last year, up from $4.2bn in 2012.

Gunther Saacke, CEO of Qatar ReDue to its successes over the last 18 months, Q-Re was recently renamed as Qatar Re. Saacke has been leading these successes for over a year, including the 43% growth in the Janu-ary 2014 renewals. At his appointment as CEO in February 2013, he said the fi rm aims to be one of the top 10 global reinsurers by 2025.

Prem Sagar, CEO of ACR Retakaful MEASagar deserves a place on the list for his dedication to the retakaful market.

ACR Retakaful collected the retakaful provider of the year award at the Mena Insurance Awards 2014 for the fourth con-secutive year.

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Hadj Mohamed Seba, CEO of

CCR AlgeriaSeba was nom-inated several

times for his outstanding personality and for his continuous investment in building the knowledge of the Algerian insurance market. As the country’s national reinsurer, CCR continues to reinsure over 50% of the country’s risks, despite Algeria going through a politically chal-lenging period.

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Christian Vogel, CEO of Gulf ReVogel has been

a key asset of Gulf Re since he joined in Decem-ber 2010. Following his appointment as CEO in November 2013, he has been, as one reader put it, “a steady hand in an oth-erwise crazy market”. Last year the fi rm celebrated its fi fth anniversary, in which time it has grown from a

fi rm with four employees to 22.

BROKERSJoseph Azar, general man-ager of NASCO KaraoglanRenowned for his level of expertise, Azar was often nominated and makes the list for the second year in a row. Founded in Lebanon in 1969, NASCO currently operates in Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Tu-nisia, as well as in the UK, France and Cyprus.

Paul Holmes, managing di-rector of Al Futtaim Willis Middle EastHolmes was appointed managing director of Wil-lis’ Middle Eastern business

in January 2011. With more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, he is lead-ing Willis’ continued suc-cess in the region.

Kenneth Maw, president and group CEO of JLT In-sure Direct (brokers)Following JLT’s acquisi-tion of Insure Direct, Maw is now the leading man for JLT Insure Direct (Brokers) in the Mena region. The ac-quisition has strengthened both JLT’s as well as Insure Direct’s position in the market, making Maw an in-fl uential fi gure in the Mena insurance industry.

Chris Pleasant, managing director for Mena at Guy CarpenterFor over 30 years Pleas-ant has been the managing director of Guy Carpenter in Mena. With so much experience and industry knowledge, he deservedly features in the Power 50 list for the third year in a row. Guy Carpenter was founded in 1922 and now has 50 offi ces worldwide, including its Dubai offi ce.

Brokers George Kabban, CEO of UIB (DIFC)Mena IR readers praised

Kabban for driving the agenda for regulatory reform in the Mena region. UIB’s Mena offi ces are based in Dubai, Libya, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iraq. Kabban recently told Mena IR that the fi rm is also looking to ex-pand into sub-Saharan Africa.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Brokers Farid Chedid, chairman and CEO of Chedid ReChedid is known for his

outspoken views on the Mena insur-ance market and it is therefore no surprise that he was often nominated by his peers. Chedid has grown Chedid Re from a small fi rm in Cyprus to a company offering solutions to more than 170 insurers in 22 countries in the Mena region and Europe. Chedid Re recently signed a strategic partner-ship with PartnerRe.

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Ahmed Rajab, CEO for Mena at Aon Benfi eldRajab has been heading up Aon Benfi eld’s growth story since the fi rm opened up offi ce in Dubai in January 2013. Having been in the industry for more than 15 years, he brings a wealth of knowl-edge and experience and successfully restructured Aon Benfi eld’s operations in the region.

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Atish Suri, divi-sional director at Willis Re

Suri was relocated to Dubai in 2011 to establish an on-the-ground presence for Willis Re. He has helped grow the company’s busi-ness in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Ara-bia and Oman ever since.

William Wakeham, CEO of AAIB Insurance BrokersAs founder of AAIB, Wakeham and his team specialise in insurance solutions for emerging and post confl ict locations such as Iraq, Libya and Su-dan. He also promotes the

insurance agenda in these politically volatile markets. Wakeham recently told Mena IR that he believes insurance is just as an in-trinsic part of building up an economy as banking and fi nance are.

OTHERS

Khalid Althieb, director of insurance supervision at the Saudi Arabian Mon-etary Agency (SAMA)Among Mena IR readers, SAMA is renowned for its efforts to enhance the technical level within Saudi Arabia. In the past year, the regulator has announced mandatory liability insur-ance for certain types of

businesses, updated the dispute committee rules, and pushed for a more cautious assessment of insurers’ reserve adequacy, among other things.

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Husain Al Ajmi, assistant director and head of cen-

tre for insurance at BIBFAl Ajmi deserves a spot in the list for his passionate work to improve the quali-fi cations and standards of the Middle Eastern insur-ance market. He has been instrumental in making international qualifi cations available to non-English speaking candidates and has pioneered professional standards in the takaful market.

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Abdullah Rah-man Mohamed Al Baker, execu-

tive director, fi nancial in-stitutions supervision at the Central Bank of BahrainAl Baker is the main man responsible for insurance regulation in Bahrain. In the past year, the CBB has introduced a new takaful framework, incorporating some innovative practices.

In February, Al Baker told Mena IR that the regula-tor also plans to introduce legislation on training and competence.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Ebrahim Al Zaabi, director general at the

UAE Insurance AuthoritySeveral industry fi gures have welcomed the Insur-ance Authority’s harder stance on regulating the plentiful insurance play-ers in the UAE. With the introduction of the new broker regulations and withdrawing licences of a few fi rms earlier this year, the Authority has certainly been busy under Al Zaabi’s leadership.

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Nick Chateris-Black, managing director, market

development & informa-tion services at A.M. BestTogether with the other rating agencies, A.M. Best plays a pivotal role in the Mena insurance industry. Chateris-Black made the list because of his industry knowledge and his insight-ful analysis.

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Walid Genadry, head of the Insur-ance Control

Commission LebanonGenadry was a popular choice for this year’s list, thanks to his promotion of education and training on a worldwide basis. As the head of the insurance regulator in Lebanon, Genadry is an infl uential fi gure in the region.

Others Wayne Jones, partner at Clyde & CoAs a partner at one of the

region’s biggest law fi rms, Jones is described by his clients as outstand-ing, active and very helpful. Jones and his team provide expert advice, insight and information, both to their clients and to Mena IR readers through a quarterly regulation update in the magazine.

HIGHLYREGARDED

Insurers Jawed Barna, CEO of Zurich Global Life Middle East & Africa

Zurich Life has recently launched a fi rst-to-market life insurance proposi-tion for SMEs in the Middle East. SMEs play a key role in the region’s economy but many leave their human capital uninsured. Customised products and education will hopefully increase insurance awareness and penetration among SMEs. As CEO of Zurich Life in the Middle East, Barna is at the head of this innovation.

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