Gala Awards Ceremony Honours Leading Finance Professionals in Saudi Arabia

At the successful completion of the 5th Annual Saudi Trade Finance Summit organized by Dubai based QnA International in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Saudi Arabia, leading finance professionals from the private and government sectors were honoured at a gala awards ceremony.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Saudi Arabia played an important role as a supporting partner for the 5th Annual Saudi Trade Finance Summit that hosted a line-up of decision makers and thought leaders took to the stage to discuss the financial regulations, strategies and trends shaping the Kingdom's economy.

Individual and team awards were distributed to the best c-level and upper management executives. The awards recognized and celebrated outstanding contributions and achievements across the field of finance and its development in Saudi Arabia in line with the country’s policy roadmaps such as Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.  The gala awards ceremony was held on the second day of the annual high-calibre and high-intensity Saudi Trade Finance Summit.

Yassin Saeed Al Suroor, Chairman, ICC Saudi, commented: “ICC Saudi Arabia once again supported this important event in the Kingdom. As the world’s largest business organisation, the ICC works to promote international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation in order to accelerate inclusive and sustainable trade growth for the benefit of all. The discussions and interactions held during the 5th Annual Saudi Trade Finance Summit, will highlight and underpin these goals and pave the way for further achievements in the coming years.”

At the end of the two-day Summit, the ICC Saudi Arabia Chairman had the pleasure of distributing awards to top-quality professionals in Saudi Arabia’s finance industry from both government and public sectors.

Awards were categorized into private and government to recognize and honour exceptional individuals, and teamwork.

The full list of winners are as follows:

1. CFO of the Year (Government Sector)—Khaled Abanmay, CFO, Saudi Railway Company
2. CFO of the Year (Private Sector)—Ammar Al Zubaidi, CFO, Alkhorayef Group
3. CFO of the Year (Publicly Listed)—Dr.Ravish Mohammed Husain Tatli, CFO, United International Transportation Co. (Budget Saudi)
4. Best Finance Strategy Execution—Anwer Mohiuddin, CFO, Jamjoom Pharmaceutical Co.
5. Best Finance Transformation (Government Sector)—Ayoob Aloshan, Finance Controller, Saudi Railway Company
6. Best Finance Transformation (Private Sector)—Moazam A. Shah, CFO, Al Zamil Industry, Trade & Transport
7. Treasurer of the Year - Tie

Ahmed Hussein Abou Shebeka, Deputy CFO - Head of Treasury & Corporate Finance, Al Arrab Contracting Company

Shahid Abdul Razzak, Group Treasury, Tanmiah Food Group

1. Treasury Team of the Year – Tie

SASREF, Team Lead: Muhannad Alnefaie, Treasurer

Al Muhaidib Group, Team Leader: Alex Harris, Group Treasurer

“It was an honour to distribute awards to the people dealing first-hand with the challenges, changes, opportunities and implementing new policies and trend-makers in the finance sector. To honour the individuals and groups of people at the end of this influential Summit gave them the prominence and praise they deserve for their hard work,” said Al Suroor.

Sidh N.C., Director, QnA International, commented, “We have worked in partnership with ICC Saudi on this Summit before and were very pleased to have their support and participation for the fifth edition of this industry defining event. We had the opportunity to hear from experienced and learned professionals at the top of their game on how to tackle the oncoming challenges and how to ensure policy implementation. All in all, it has been an exhausting, yet exhilarating summit, and the award ceremony which honoured the best of the best in Saudi’s finance sector was certainly a great way to bring this year’s edition to an end.”

Over two days of insightful keynotes, presentations, panel discussions and networking opportunities, the Summit heard from: Zubair Shaikh, VP – Head Trade Finance Sales, Riyadh Bank; Mamdouh Alshahran, CFO and Deputy CEO, Saudi Real Estate Company; Gurumurthy Palani, Head of Global Transaction Banking, Gulf International Bank; Anjum Noman Mirza, Head of Trade Finance Sales and Solutions, Banque Saudi Fransi; Shady Shaher Elborno, Head of Macro Strategy Research, Emirates NBD; and Massimiliano Leopardi, CFO, Sadara Chemical Company.

This year was the first time the Summit was held in the Kingdom’s industrial capital, Al Khobar, after three editions in the capital, Riyadh and one in the commercial hub of Jeddah.