The Middle East can claim few successes of late, but the banking career of Ibrahim Dabdoub, who recently announced his retirement after more than 30 years at the helm of the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), represents a remarkable achievement, even by international standards.
In a career spanning more than five decades at NBK, starting in 1961, Mr Dabdoub has successfully guided the bank through various financial crises and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the early 1990s. He has also established NBK as a dominant force in its home market as well as the leading Arab bank in international and regional markets.