Takaud, the specialist savings and pensions provider for the MENA region, has strengthened its business with the appointment of an experienced sales management team, which will be based in Bahrain.
The new appointments include Loay Ragheb as Chief Distribution Officer and Jason Reeves and Nabil Karameh both as Senior Managers responsible for regional distribution.
Ragheb has over 20 years of regional and international experience in the financial services industry. Prior to taking up his new role at TAKAUD, he was Head of Wealth Management & Group Benefits for National Bonds Corporation in Dubai, UAE.
In this role, he managed the IDIKHARI initiative with the Dubai Government and its 42 institutions. Previously, he held senior positions at Royal Bank of Canada, Universal Private Asset Management and Investors Group Corporation in Montreal, Canada.
He holds a B.Com degree in International Business from Concordia University.
Reeves has worked in the banking and insurance sector for over 20 years and was previously Private Client Director at Fisher Investments UK, where he advised high net worth individuals on investment solutions and asset allocation. Prior to this he was head of SME banking at BMI Bank (formerly Bank Muscat International).
Earlier in his career, he held senior advisory positions at Barclays Bank and Aviva having also worked at Friends Provident and JP Morgan Chase & Co. He holds a B.Sc in Economic and Social History from the University of Birmingham alongside a number of professional certificates in financial planning, mortgage advice and pensions.
Karameh has 20 years of industry experience in sales, marketing and the underwriting of Individual and Group Life, Health and Employee Benefit Schemes.
He has held senior positions most recently at Medgulf Allianz Takaful in Qatar and previously at Gulf Life Insurance Company (a subsidiary of Gulf Insurance Company) in Kuwait and Libano Suisse Insurance Company in Lebanon. He is a graduate from the Lebanese American University and a holder of a diploma from the Chartered Insurance Institute as well as the Professional Insurance certificate from the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance.
“Our new appointments underpin the on-going growth momentum of our business as we focus on expanding our direct and third party distribution channels (banks, financial intermediaries, professional consultants) to support the on-going rollout of our innovative savings and pension solutions for both Retail and Corporate clients across the region. As we focus on recruiting leading industry talent, we are committed to delivering a best-in-class service to our client base. I would like to welcome Loay, Jason and Nabil on board who are all highly qualified and whose in-depth knowledge and experience will play a key role in our on-going expansion,” Eric Van Biesen, Acting Chief Executive Officer TAKAUD, said.