Barclays names El Dabag, Mezher as Co-CEOs for the Middle East

Barclays is putting together two of its senior bankers as joint chief executives to bolster its growing business in the Middle East.

The London-based lender said it promoted Khaled El Dabag and Walid Mezher to preside over banking activities from its regional headquarters in Dubai. They will report to Stephen Dainton, Head of Investment Bank Management.

“As the Middle East continues to play a bigger role in shaping global capital markets and attracting more wealth, the region is also becoming increasingly important to Barclays’ overall success,” Dainton said in a statement.

Mezher has been head of markets for the MENA region since 2017. El Dabag, who joined the Barclays from Goldman Sachs more than a decade ago, has been leading investment banking locally and was acting as CEO of the broader region, Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, Laura Hinton, a managing partner at PwC in the U.K. is being considered to head the accounting firm’s Middle East operations, the FT reports.