First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has appointed Lars Kramer as Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO), responsible for overseeing all financial activities, including Group-wide Finance,Treasury, Investor Relations and Strategy. He will report directly to the bank's Group Chief Executive Officer, Hana Al Rostamani, effective on 1 May 2023. Lars joins FAB following the decision of the bank's previous GCFO, James Burdett, to retire and return home to New Zealand. Lars is joining from Netherlands-based ABN AMRO, where he has been CFO since June 2021, and brings with him extensive banking industry experience in senior leadership positions. Previously, he was Group CFO at Hellenic Bank, and for almost 20 years worked with ING, where he was CFO for ING Direct, ING Retail Banking Direct and International, and ING Commercial Bank. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of South Africa and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Cape Town, specialising in finance, markets and strategy. Karim Karoui, Group Head of Mergers and Acquisitions will serve as interim GCFO and will transition to
Lars when he joins FAB in the second quarter. Karim will continue with his current responsibilities, while serving as interim GCFO. Previously, Karim served as CFO at First Gulf Bank (FGB).