ABANA celebrates 25th anniversary honoring Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair, CEO of Mashreq Bank

Mr. Al-Ghurair, was the recipient of the 2008 ABANA Achievement Award for his business acumen, dedication to excellence and substantial achievements.

Addressing the audience, ABANA President Laura Osman praised Al-Ghurair for his accomplishments, describing him as a "most remarkable ... outstanding ... exceptional leader" who is a "pioneer and a visionary and his leadership transformed Mashreq Bank into one of the leading banking institutions in the UAE and the Region".

The Award was presented by the Kuwaiti businessman and friend of the organization, Mr. Faisal Hamad Al-Ayyar, CEO of KIPCO, Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding), who served as the introductory speaker at the event.

Previous recipients of the ABANA Award have included the Lebanese banking system represented by H. E. Riad Salamé, Dr. Mohamed El-Erian, Faisal Hamad Al Ayyar, Lubna Olayan, Dr. Richard Debs and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.

A strategic leader and man of distinction, Mr. Al-Ghurair came to the limelight in the 1980s because he was adamant about distinguishing Mashreq Bank and taking it to new levels of success. Since then, under his leadership, the bank has indeed flourished, continuously being first in launching innovative, unique services and products for the United Arab Emirates market.

Interviewed by public relations strategist Eliana Benador and ABANA member, the honoree said about the award "... [it's] the recognition that an Arab institution has the quality comparable to any other international bank, and this is an encouragement for Arab CEO leaders to excel at what they do. It's like receiving the Nobel Prize -coming from people in your industry. It is a great recognition for any Arab institution."

As the UAE is an open economy, what happens in the world has some impact at times, but, Mr. Al-Ghurair feels his country has been immune from the current huge crisis. "While there was some slowdown in the stock market, some liquidity issue, one can see the economy and the stock market bouncing back and the banking system is getting very stable particularly after the support put in by the government."

As President of the Al Ghurair Group, Mr. Al-Ghurair oversees one of the biggest and most successful business groups that employ 65,000 people. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Dubai International Financial Centre, Emirates Foundation and Dubai Economic Council.

His advice for success: "I think vision and determination to succeed and setting higher goals for yourself and for your organization, if you do that, you achieve it. So people just don't think high enough, they always are scared, what if it does not happen. And I think every CEO and leader always should set up very high ambitions and goals."