Gulf Bank has appointed Meshal Al-Wazzan as Head of the Strategic Planning and Follow-Up Unit, following the approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait. This comes as part of the Bank's policy to enable national talents to advance and obtain leadership positions, with the aim of contributing towards the growth and prosperity of the Bank's business, and to empower national talents, which is an essential part of Gulf Bank's 2025 strategy.

Al-Wazzan will be given the responsibility of developing and implementing the Bank's long-term strategy, in addition to working with various sectors to develop their annual plans and handle several strategic projects.

It is worth mentioning that Gulf Bank established the unit independently, in line with the recommendations issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait in 2020, in order to ensure that the Kuwaiti banking sector is well equipped and prepared to face any challenges that may be imposed by global economic conditions in the future.  The unit provides the Bank with the necessary capabilities and tools to predict any internal and external challenges that may arise as a result of any developments in the global economy.

Meshal Al-Wazzan has 17 years of experience in the banking industry and held many leadership and executive positions within the bank and abroad. He began his career at Wafra Financial Consulting Company in New York, and then worked and progressed in several departments in the Corporate Banking Group at Gulf Bank from 2006 to 2017. Al-Wazzan then resumed to work at the Bank from 2019 to 2022, before being assigned as Acting Head of Strategic Planning Unit. Additionally, Al-Wazzan was the Executive Vice Chairman at The National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises Development and the Executive Director at the Competition Protection Agency.

Academically, Al-Wazzan holds an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, with a specialization in Information Systems and E-Commerce, from the University of Toledo in Ohio.​​ He also holds several courses in leadership and strategy from Harvard University and University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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