National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), a leading bank in the UAE, has appointed Alan Durrant as the chief investment officer of its asset management group.

Alan Durrant, a British national with a degree in Economics from Loughborough University, has built strong relationships and networks with major investors, corporate and financial institutions and gained experience in all aspects of asset management and banking industry during his professional journey, said a NBAD release.

Before joining NBAD, he was head of asset management at Gulf Finance House in Bahrain and prior to coming to the region, he was chief investment officer and chairman of the Investment Committee at Skandia Investment Management.

During his tenure at Skandia, the group won the coveted Financial Adviser Multi-Manager of the Year Award for three consecutive years and was amongst the fastest growing fund management businesses in Europe.

Durrant had overall responsibility for asset allocation and investment selection across equities, fixed interest, property, private equity and alternative asset classes and personally managed assets of circa $10 billion.

He began his investment with Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK’s leading investment broker, culminated in his appointment as Investment Director.

Commenting on the appointment, Michael Tomalin, NBAD’s group chief executive said: 'I welcome Durrant to the senior executive team at NBAD. The Bank has achieved excellent financial returns for its shareholders over the last several years and Alan joins to strengthen the team to help achieve our growth targets.'

'He will continue the development of a world class asset management business focusing on meeting the needs of investors in the UAE, GCC and round the world,' he stated.

In his new role, Durrant plans to utilize the significant strengths of the NBAD brand to deliver a range of innovative products and services and to focus on staff and customer satisfaction to deliver superior service in the region.

He will tackle the competition by ensuring a clear positioning strategy for NBAD’s asset management, supported by an established and well experienced team.

“I am excited by  the opportunity to build on the existing strengths of NBAD. The UAE is one of the most exciting places in the world to be and NBAD has a special place in banking industry in the region,' said an elated Durrant.

'I look forward to joining a winning team which is committed to growing the asset management businesses at NBAD to be an even greater force in banking and one which will continue to have a great reputation for customer service and innovation.” he added.-TradeArabia News Service