Who hired in the Middle East in November?

After a busy period for recruitment in October, most of the hiring within the Middle East financial sector last month was largely restricted to shake ups at the very top of various institutions.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has named Gerry Grimstone as an adviser to its board. He replaces Lord Davies of Abersoch and is also currently chairman of Standard Life.

Ahli Bank, the Qatari institution, has named Mahloud Malkawi as acting CEO.

Alix Partners has taken on Leonard Favre as a director based out of Dubai. He previously worked at Maximus Air, the Abu Dhabi-based aviation firm.

BDO, the accountancy firm, has named Al Jawad Habib Jawad as its new CEO for Bahrain.

Citigroup has hired Dinesh Sharma as its new head of consumer banks for the Middle East & North Africa. He will be based in Dubai.

Dubai’s Professional Trading Group (DPTG) has hired Nikolas West as head of its new global equities trading desk. He was previously at Linear Investments UK.

Pinebridge Investments, the alternative asset manager that set up this year in Bahrain, has hired Dina Kasrawi as managing director for marking and communications.

QInvest, the Qatari investment bank, has named Tamim Hamad Al-Kawari as its new CEO, replacing Shazad Shahbaz. He initially joined from Goldman Sachs’ Qatar operation in October as deputy chief executive.

Q Re, the reinsurance arm of Qatar Insurance Company, has made a series of senior appointments in the Middle East across its underwriting, claims and risk management. They are Gunther Saacke, Willi Schuerch, Alain Chiolero, Manfred Dennler, Peter Frei, Johannes Goebel, Stefano Lorenzini and Karl J. Schneider.

Societe Generale Private Banking has hired Eddy Abramro as global market manager for Middle East clients, and Jean-Paul Rame as global market manager for Africa. Nicolas Metivier has also been appointed head of the bank’s representative office in Abu Dhabi and Gonzague de Cerval becomes head of the Middle East and Africa at Societe Generale Bank & Trust, based in Luxembourg.

Standard Life, the insurance group, has launched a new office in the DIFC, which will be led by regional CEO, Chris Divito.

Zurich, the insurance firm, has named Umron Ahmed as chief executive officer for its global corporate business in the Middle East and Africa. He starts his new role on 1 January 2013.