Who hired in the Middle East in April?

While many firms have announced their intentions to hire in the Middle East this month, the majority of new hire announcements were restricted to the senior ranks.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has reportedly hired Christophe Florin, currently chief operating officer for Axa Private Equity, to head its emerging markets private equity team. This is part of an expansion plan that could see 40 people recruited for this division.

Coutts is believed to have hired Gary Dugan, currently chief investment officer for Emirates NBD’s private banking arm.

Deutsche Gulf Finance, the joint venture between Fahad Al Rajhi and Deutsche Bank, has named Doug Naidus as non-executive chairman.

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange has named Gary Anderson, a former Goldman Sachs executive director, as its new chief executive.  He joins from Triniti Financial Group.

Gulf Finance House, the Bahraini institution, has appointed Hisham Alrayes as acting chief executive officer. He is currently chief investment officer at the bank.

HSBC has named Kris Werner as head of retail banking and wealth management for Qatar. He was previously with the bank’s Turkey and India operations.

Jefferies has started a new office in the DIFC and named George Azar as managing director and senior executive officer. Imran Ahmed has also joined as senior vice president and an advisor in the bank’s wealth management division.

J.P. Morgan has promoted Abdulaziz Al Helaissi, its current senior country officer for Saudi Arabia, as head of global corporate banking for the Middle East and Africa. It has also named Declan Hegarty, as a senior banker covering the UAE for its corporate banking division. He was previously with HSBC.

Shuaa Capital has named Colin MacDonald as group chief executive officer following the departure of departure of Michael Philipp.

Swiss Re, the reinsurance firm, has started a new office in the DIFC and relocated Raik Wittowski to head it up.