MALAYSIA: Managing director Jamelah Jamaluddin resigned from RHB Islamic to return to Kuwait Finance House-Malaysia to become CEO. She is no stranger to RHB and KFH-Malaysia. Before her appointment as CEO of RHB Islamic in August 2007 and managing director two months later, Jamelah was the deputy CEO of KFH-Malaysia. Prior to that, she was the COO of RHB Investment Bank. Sources told Islamic Finance Asia that Jamelah’s latest departure was due to RHB Islamic’s shift in focus to retail banking.

KFH-Malaysia said Jamelah’s role is not restricted to operations in the country as she will also oversee the Asia-Pacific region. She was in the pioneer team of KFH-Malaysia in 2005 as deputy CEO. Sources said RHB Islamic has yet to find a replacement. It is believed that the new CEO would be from outside the organization.

UAE: Al Tamimi & Company has appointed Husam Hourani as its new managing partner. He leads more than 360 staff in 10 offices throughout the Middle East, including the UAE, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In addition, he also heads the firm’s banking and finance department. Hourani, who replaces the retiring Hoda Barakat, has been with the firm for over 12 years and has vast experience in banking and finance related matters in the UAE. Al Tamimi & Company is a law firm which specializes in Islamic finance.

MALAYSIA: Etiqa Takaful has appointed Shahril Azuar Jimin as its new CEO. Shahril, who will concurrently serve as chief sales officer of Etiqa Insurance, has more than 15 years of commercial and strategic planning experience, having held various management positions, including that of executive vice-president and head of corporate planning and strategy.

BAHRAIN: Ernst and Young (Middle East) has appointed Michael Green to lead its regional advisory practice. Currently based in Abu Dhabi, Green has more than 14 years of experience in providing advisory services to companies in the Middle East. Ernst and Young owns the Islamic Financial Services Group which caters to the specific needs of both Islamic and conventional financial institutions requiring Islamic financial advisory services.

MALAYSIA: CIMB Group Holdings has appointed Glenn Muhammad Surya Yusof and Watanan Petersik as independent non-executive directors. With 28 years of experience in the corporate and financial sectors, Glen Muhammad has served on CIMB Group’s international advisory panel since 2006. He was also the first chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency from 1998 to 2000. Petersik is currently the independent director and chairman of the nomination and remuneration committee of CIMB Thai Bank Public Company. CIMB Islamic is a unit of CIMB Group Holdings.

UAE: Abu Dhabi Financial Services (ADFS) has appointed Aymen Samawi as its new managing director. He was previously CEO of National Finance Brokerage Company, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Company. Between 1995 and 2005 and again from 2007 to 2008, he served in a number of senior positions at ICAP, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker. ADFS is a financial brokerage unit of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi which owns Abu Dhabi National Islamic Finance.

HONG KONG: FTSE Group has appointed Jessie Pak as director for the Asia region. She had previously served at NYSE Technologies and ADP Wilco. FTSE is the developer of the FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series.

US: Deutsche Bank Securities has appointed Tim Hooper as managing director and head of its Southeast US cash equity sales in its institution client group division. Hooper, who will be based in Atlanta, Georgia, previously worked at JPMorgan, where he was the managing director in charge of the Southeast and Texas regions.

In addition, the bank has hired Stacey Biggers as vice president for cash equity sales, based in Dallas, Texas. She joins the company from JPMorgan’s Dallas office, where she was responsible for institutional equity sales. Deutsche Bank Securities is the unit of Deutsche Bank which is involved with the issuance of Islamic products.

UK: Financial Services Authority (FSA) CEO Hector Sants is to resign this summer. He began his career at FSA in 2004 as the managing director for wholesale and institutional markets.

Prior to that, he was at Credit Suisse First Boston as the CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa region. FSA said it will embark on the selection process for a successor in due course. Its responsibilities include drawing up and implementing the regulations for Islamic financial institutions in UK.

BAHRAIN: Takaful firm Solidarity Group Holding has appointed Ashraf Bseisu as acting CEO following Sameer Al Wazzan’s decision to retire. The former deputy CEO has been with Solidarity since June 2006, when he joined as general manager in the finance and corporate management department. Al Wazzan has meanwhile been appointed an independent advisor to the Solidarity board of directors. Solidarity is a unit of Ithmaar Bank, which is involved with Islamic banking.

BAHRAIN: Gulf Finance House (GFH) chairman Esam Janahi has resigned from the board of Shariah-based Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB). No details were given. KHCB is 37% owned by GFH, with Janahi holding an additional 10%.

US: Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has hired Gregory Reiter as managing director for its global banking and markets division. Reiter will be responsible for developing investment strategies in the collateralized mortgage obligation agency. He joins RBS from the World Bank where he was a portfolio manager. In addition, RBS has hired Jeanna Curro as vice president of agency mortgage-backed security.

SWITZERLAND: Credit Suisse Group has appointed Edmond Carton as the ultra-high net worth individuals segment head for the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. He will head a team of investment partners in Bahrain, Dubai, Geneva, London and Zurich, and be responsible for providing financial services to wealthy customers in the Middle East. He will be based in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit Suisse Group has an Islamic finance portfolio.

UAE: Nakheel’s chief commercial officer Manal Shaheen has left the company, as it continues to trim its operations, said a spokesman who refused to provide further details. Dubai World staved off default on a US$4.1 billion Islamic bond linked to Nakheel, after a last minute bailout from Abu Dhabi.

US: Morgan Stanley has appointed Jeffrey L Shames as senior advisor for Morgan Stanley investment management (MSIM) and senior advisor of Morgan Stanley’s global research division. Shames, who previously worked at MFS Investment Management, will be in charge of all strategy related to MSIM, across investment management, client service and marketing.

The firm has also appointed Edmond N Moriarty III as chief operating officer of MSIM and chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley’s global research division. Morgan Stanley is the majority shareholder of MSCI Barra which runs the Global Family of Islamic Indices.

UK: HSBC Group has appointed Peter Boyles as chief executive for continental Europe.

He will head the bank’s French operations where he will lead a Paris-based team responsible for businesses in 26 countries across continental Europe, including France, Germany, Turkey and the central and eastern European states.

He will to report to Stuart Gulliver, chairman of Europe and Middle East and global head of investment banking. HSBC Amanah is the subsidiary of HSBC Group.

US: Barclays Wealth has appointed Anthony Valvo as director and head of credit for the Americas.

He is responsible for originating, structuring and managing credit transactions for high net worth individuals as well as developing the firm’s structured lending capabilities in the region.

Prior to this, Valvo has served at Citigroup Global Wealth Management, where he was a senior credit officer in charge of managing structured lending for the high net worth business in the Middle Atlantic and the business finance segment nationally. Barclays Wealth is involved with the UK-based Islamic Finance Council.