Tanmiyat appoints Firas Wanli as new CFO

In a statement welcoming the new CFO, Mr Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz Al Majed, Vice President of Tanmiyat, said, "We are delighted to welcome Mr Wanli as CFO of Tanmiyat. We are confident that his rich and varied experience in the finance area will be invaluable in helping Tanmiyat to retain its leading position in the Middle East real estate market."

Prior to his appointment as CFO of Tanmiyat, Mr Wanli was employed as CFO at Investment Dar Co., the largest Islamic investment and finance company in Kuwait, a position he held from 2003 onwards.

His duties as CFO included preparing consolidated financial statements and budgets, financial and account analysis, and monthly management reports (a practise he himself initiated).

In addition to these duties, Mr Wanli supervised 25 accountants at various levels, and was the head of Investment Dar's provisions committee and a member of the assets and liabilities committee.

He also served as a board member and executive committee member of Wared Leasing and Finance Company, an offshoot of Investment Dar.

Between 1994 and 2003, Mr Wanli worked for Deloitte & Touche (Kuwait office) for four years as a staff auditor, before moving to Arthur Andersen's Kuwait office, where he worked as a Senior Auditor and Audit Manager until the company merged with Ernst & Young (Kuwait office) in 2002, upon which he became a Senior Audit Manager. In his time at Andersen, Mr Wanli was the manager in-charge in one of the biggest due diligence assignments in Kuwait - the Arabian Oil Company.

During this time, he was involved in auditing a portfolio of clients in several industries, as well as planning and presenting training for both staff and clients.

Mr Wanli was also Ernst & Young's Insurance office expert on Oil and Gas, and a member of the team that worked on the integration of Andersen and Ernst & Young.

Educated primarily in Kuwait and the USA, Mr Wanli's most recent educational accomplishment was attaining an MBA from Glasgow's University of Strathclyde in 2007.

He is also both a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a Certified Financial Manager (CFM) through the Institute of Management Accountants in the USA. He is also a licensed member of the New Mexico State Board of Public Accountancy Training, and has conducted four full CPA courses and two full CMA/CFM courses in Kuwait.

Speaking of his appointment, Firas Wanli said, "I am pleased to be joining such a distinguished and established company. Tanmiyat's prestigious projects are well-known throughout the region, and I look forward to helping them continue in their expansion. My experience in assisting with the expansion of Investment Dar from a single company to multiple legal entities gives me a particular understanding of what is required for such undertakings, and I am excited at the prospect of working with Tanmiyat as they continue to push the boundaries of the real estate development industry."