Philip Thorpe, the recently appointed chairman and CEO of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), is a rare commodity – a high quality and internationally recognised financial regulator. But it is not only the New Zealander’s earlier experience as managing director of the UK’s Financial Services Authority and president of the Washington-based Institute for Financial Markets that marks him out. His 2002-2004 stint as CEO of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) ended in abrupt dismissal.
The unceremonious and undeserved sacking of Dubai’s two top regulators last August badly damaged the DFSA’s credibility but left Mr Thorpe unaffected. Unsurprisingly, the Qatar authorities were keen to snap up a regulator who knows Gulf finances and politics.
