Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
Following completion of my PhD, I spent a brief period at Philips Electronics before moving on to ABN AMRO Bank. Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked in various roles within ABN AMRO before moving to Saudi Hollandi Bank in 2006.

Originally, treasurer of the bank I was asked to take on the responsibilities of managing director in May this year.

What does your role involve?
As acting managing director, I am overall responsible to the Board and the shareholders for the performance of the bank. Saudi Hollandi Bank was the first bank in Saudi Arabia and is active in corporate banking, consumer banking, investment banking and treasury, with an insurance business under formation.

The bank operates a Shariah compliant window called `Al Yusr’, and offers a full range of Islamic products across all business lines. The bank employs over 1,600 staff and operates 43 branches, eight ladies sections, 22 preferred banking centers and 217 ATMs providing banking services throughout the kingdom.

What is your greatest achievement to date?
I prefer to think in terms of the journey rather than in terms of individual achievements. The journey has been great so far!

If you would like me to mention one achievement, it would have to be the issue of the first Tier II capital Mudarabah Sukuk at the end of 2008. In very difficult market circumstances, we managed to successfully launch this product, which was a first in the region. Further proof that this was a special achievement is the awards we won for this issue.

Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
All of our products and services are successfully serving the respective customer needs and it is hard to make a selection. If I would have to do so, I would like to mention the full range of Shariah compliant hedging solutions we offer to our clients, covering their exposure to both foreign exchange and to interest rate risk.

Also worth mentioning is the range of investment funds we offer through our investment banking subsidiary, Saudi Hollandi Capital. The Al Yusr Saudi Equity Fund has been the best performing fund in the market during the current year. I believe that this is an excellent achievement in very tough market conditions.

What are the strengths of your business?
The bank stays very close to its clients. We have been operating in Saudi Arabia for over 80 years, through all kinds of times, and pride ourselves on understanding and supporting our clients through good times and less good times.

What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
The key factor in any business is the people you work with. Especially in banking, which is a service industry with very similar products across all companies, where the quality of your people is the key driver for success.

At Saudi Hollandi, we consider ourselves fortunate to have a team of highly qualified, well-motivated staff.

What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
The kingdom has survived the financial crisis better than most countries owing to prudent monetary policy and expansive fiscal policy.

The prime example of the latter is the sizeable investment program committed to by the Saudi government. The bank needs to make sure that it is prepared and equipped to make the most of the opportunities that will present themselves over the coming years.

Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in, say, the next five years or so?
The core principle of Islamic finance is that it is an ethical and equitable mode of finance. The financial crisis as we have experienced it over the past two years has clearly shown the need for such a form of finance.

As such, I expect the Islamic finance industry to continue to grow and prosper over the coming years. The demand for Shariah compliant products will continue to increase, particularly in countries where the industry today is less developed.

Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
I would like to see more research and development in the Islamic finance field. This will help to further develop the industry and help it play a bigger role in the economies of the countries where it has a major share of the financial market.