BankMuscat Chief Executive declared Middle East 'Banking & Finance CEO' of the Year

The prestigious awards, are part of an annual initiative organized by the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute, to recognize the exceptional vision, direction, and achievements of senior level professionals from across the region.

The Hon. Joschka Fischer, Former Deputy Chancellor and Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany and Hon. Anwar Ibrahim, Former Deputy Prime minister of Malaysia felicitated the winners in the presence of 250 to 300 regional decision makers from across government and business organizations, financial institutions, Diplomats and recognized businessmen as well as regional and international media.

Receiving the award in front of the distinguished gathering, BankMuscat chief executive, AbdulRazak said:

"This is an award that I am especially proud of not only because it is due recognition of my contribution to the Bank and the banking industry as a whole, but because it is a glowing testimony to the fact that BankMuscat today, is very much a force to be reckoned with across the region."

"This award is very much an award of my people, the employees of the bank who tirelessly strive to help the bank forge ahead; the Central Bank of Oman, which guides and monitors the growth and development of the banking industry in the Sultanate; and the vision and progressive policies of the government of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, which are working steadily toward the integration of the country into the global economy.

In his keynote address, the Hon. Joschka Fischer pointed out that the modern marketplace demanded outstanding performance from regional CEOs and invited them to develop innovative leadership styles to meet the challenges of today.

The Hon. Anwar Ibrahim also shared his expectations about the future leadership and the analyzed the new challenges faced by senior level executives around the world. His inspirational thoughts, based on his vivid experience, gave a clear vision to the regional CEOs to prepare themselves for the future.

Speaking at the awards, Ali Al Kamali, Chairman, Middle East Excellence Awards Institute said:

"It is very difficult to quantify an attribute like leadership; it is also difficult to compare leaders from different organizations and different industries. But recognizing leadership is important because not only does it give credit where it is due, the recognition also motivates many others to strive for excellence. The Middle East CEO of the Year Awards was founded with the objective of meriting outstanding CEOs from different fields in the region and also inspiring many other such success stories."

When asked whether the awards would spur BankMuscat on to greater heights, Mr AbdulRazak added:

"BankMuscat, as I have shared in the past, is committed to becoming one of the foremost banks across the region by the turn of the decade. This, God willing, will help strengthen our resolve to realize our goals in the near future."

It is worth mentioning that winners included 4 executives from the UAE, 2 from each of Qatar and Kuwait, and 1 from each of the Sultanate of Oman and KSA.