OUR BOARD MEMBERS

JEAN ABOU RACHED:
Jean currently provides administrative and corporate direction for GFIC and sits on the board of various financial and development institutions. He possesses extensive international banking experience, including management roles with Chase Manhattan Bank, Advisory role for J. Henry Schroder Bank-Switzerland, and as Chairman/Managing Director for Private Investment Bank in Washington, D.C. Also Dr. Abou Rached is a major shareholder in an Italian and Norwegian Shipyard involved in the construction and building up of half-sized tankers. In addition to that, he is the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Romania in North Lebanon.

NICHOLAS PHOTIADES:
Nicolas is currently General Manager of Gulf Finance & Investment Company. Prior to that, Nicolas was global head of the corporate finance practice at Blominvest. He previously set up Blominvest Saudi Arabia, where he served as CEO for two years. Also, Nicolas worked as a senior debt and rating advisor at Barclays Capital in the United Kingdom, advising French, South European, Asian and Middle Eastern companies and financial institutions. Prior to this he headed the MENA office of Thomson Bankwatch. Nicolas also worked as a senior corporate finance officer for Schroders, a UK investment bank , covering mergers and acquisitions and advisory activities in the MENA region, as credit risk manager for Lehman Brothers and Hambros Bank and for Nomura International, covering France and parts of the MENA region.

SAMIR MAKDESSI:
Samir is Professor of Economics, Chair of the Economics Department and Director of the Institute of Financial Economics at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He has served as Lebanon's Minister of National Economy in 1992 and as Deputy President of AUB during the period of 1993 to 1998. He has also been a member of the Governing Board of the Global Development Network from 2000 to 2008 and a director of the institute of Financial Economics from 1984 to 2007.

NASSIB CHEDID:
Nassib is an attorney at law with over 30 years of experience in Lebanese and International law. He has been a partner with the Lebanese law firm Abou Hamad, Merheb, Nohra, Chamoun & Chedid (AMNCC) since 1988. Prior to that, he was an Associate at the same law firm from 1981 to 1988. He also held a one year foreign internship at the American law firm of Rogers & Wells in New York following his graduation from university in 1980.