Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has appointed Ahmed Barakat as United Arab Emirates (UAE) Market Manager with effect from July 25.

Barakat will be based in Dubai, reporting to Tamer Rashad, head of Middle East, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He will be responsible for helping to grow Merrill Lynch’s UAE wealth management business and further enhancing the company’s offering to clients.

Barakat has 11 years experience in the banking industry. He joins from Credit Suisse Abu Dhabi, where he was director of Private Banking and head of Abu Dhabi Representative Office.

Barakat’s hire follows the recent appointments of Leila Alameddine as market manager for Levant, Shereen Ghobrial as regional sales manager, and Utku Balik as business strategy and initiatives execution manager.

“The appointment of Ahmad, with his experience and knowledge of the regional private banking and wealth management sector, will help to build further on Merrill Lynch’s long presence in the Middle East,” said Tamer Rashad, head of Middle East, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

“His appointment follows a number of additional senior hires by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management which together reinforces our long and continuing commitment to bring world leading wealth management solutions to our clients in the region,” Rashad added.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management established its presence in the region 49 years ago, first opening an office in Beirut.  The Middle East team operates in offices located in Bahrain, Beirut, Dubai, Geneva, London, Monte Carlo and Riyadh. – TradeArabia News Service