HRH Prince Amr, who said the appointment follows a meeting of the Ithmaar Board of Directors in Bahrain, congratulated Bucheerei on his new role and wished him continued success.

“Mohammed Bucheerei has been a close, long-time associate of the Group,” said HRH Prince Amr. “He was appointed to the Ithmaar Board of Directors following the Bank’s reorganisation with our then wholly-owned subsidiary, Shamil Bank, where he was a Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Executive Committee. He currently also serves on the Board of Directors of the Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf (Bahamas) Limited, Faysal Bank Limited (Pakistan), the Overland Capital Group (USA) and Solidarity Group (Bahrain),” he said.

“In addition to his intimate understanding of the Group’s global operations, Mohammed Bucheerei also brings a wealth of international, and much diversified, banking experience to his new assignment,” said HRH Prince Amr. “We are confident that he will contribute, directly, to Ithmaar’s continuing development as an Islamic, retail-focused bank,” he said.

HRH Prince Amr also thanked Mohamed Hussain for his contributions in writing the Ithmaar Bank success story and, in particular, for helping guide the Bank through the recent global financial crisis.

“Mohamed Hussain has played a pivotal role within the Group, first as the Chief Executive and Member of the Board of Ithmaar Bank’s then wholly-owned subsidiary, Shamil Bank and then, more recently, as the Ithmaar Chief Executive Officer, prior the reorganisation, ” said HRH Prince Amr. “He will continue to serve on the boards of some of the Bank’s strategic investments,” he said.

Following the Ithmaar-Shamil reorganisation in April 2010, Mohamed Hussain was asked to continue serving, in an acting capacity, as the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer until a formal appointment was made.

Bucheerei thanked HRH the Chairman and the Board of Directors for the opportunity to play a more involved role in the Bank, and said he is looking forward to the unique challenges that lie ahead.

“This is an exciting juncture for us at Ithmaar Bank, and I am privileged to have been invited to lead the Bank’s day-to-day operations,” said Bucheerei. “Ithmaar Bank heads one of the most diversified financial services groups in the Middle East. It is a formula that has worked exceptionally well for the Group, but we cannot afford to get complacent and, following the Ithmaar-Shamil reorganisation, our focus moving forward must be on the efficient implementation of the Bank’s new three-year strategic plan 2010-2012,” he said.

In announcing its transformation into an Islamic retail-focused bank in April, Ithmaar had said it would work on developing its retail operations by expanding its products and services range as well as its delivery channels. As part of its new strategic plan, the Bank also said it will work on expanding its geographical reach across the GCC region by offering a wide range of corporate banking services.

Ithmaar has since already rolled out new, customer-focused products – including a first of its kind online mobile banking solution.