New Middle East Head For Lehman

Lehman Brothers announced its second top-level Middle East appointment in a month, naming Philip Lynch as chief executive officer for the Middle East and North Africa.

Lynch, who co-led Lehman's equities business in Europe and the Middle East, will relocate from London to Dubai. The other equities co-head, Rachid Bouzouba, was named sole head of equities for Europe and the Middle East.

The bank's current Middle East CEO, Jameel Akhrass, becomes vice chairman for the Middle East and North Africa, but will remain Middle East investment banking chief.

The move comes four weeks after Lehman named Makram Azar, a senior investment banker to media and consumer companies, to a new position as global head of sovereign wealth funds, also based in Dubai.

Lynch will report to Jeremy Isaacs, CEO for Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, and Benoit Savoret, chief operating officer for Europe and the Middle East.

"We are witnessing strong growth across all parts of our Middle East franchise," Isaacs said. "It is critical that we have increased depth of resource to deliver the capability of the whole firm and I am confident Philip will strengthen our client relationships with his wealth of experience."