Board of Directors

The Gatehouse board comprises eight directors who contribute a variety of relevant skills, including senior management and international banking experience, and includes three independent non-executive directors based in the UK.

Non-Executive Chairman

Richard Thomas

Richard is a veteran in the field of Shariah-compliant finance, with over 28 years of experience in the sector. Richard is currently Managing Director of GSH (UK) Ltd and prior to joining the Securities House group of companies was Head of Islamic Financial Services at Arab Banking Corporation in London (ABCIB), as well as Chief Executive Officer of ABCIB Islamic Asset Management Limited and alburaq. He also held senior positions related to Islamic financial services at United Bank of Kuwait and Saudi International Bank in London. In addition, Richard is also a member of the UK Trade & Investment Financial Services Sector Advisory Board, where he chairs the Sub-Committee on Islamic Financial Services, and has served on the Board of Governors of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance.

Non-Executive Directors

Fahed Faisal Boodai - Vice Chairman

Fahed is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Securities House (GSH), Kuwait. He was based in the United States for the period 1997-2002, where he oversaw all international investments pertaining to The Securities House, GSH and their clientele. Fahed has extensive experience in the global real-estate market and has been responsible for structuring and placing more than USD1 billion worth of real-estate assets in the US, France and the UK. Fahed is Vice Chairman of MENA Real-Estate Development Company KSCC, a Board member of First Hotels Company KSCC and is a member/Director of several other reputable boards of Directors of international funds and US/European companies. He has extensive experience in Shariah principles, particularly as all investments of The Securities House and GSH have been and are required to be Shariah-compliant. Fahed holds a Masters degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on Finance from Loyola Marymont University, Los Angeles, Calfornia and a BS in International Business from the University of San Diego, California.

 Mohamad Tawfik Al-Tahawy

Mohamad is currently the Assistant Managing Director - Corporate Finance at The Securities House, where he has been working since 1998. During his employment with the company, he has served in various capacities, including financial control, internal audit and corporate finance, in addition to being an active member in all committees of the company, including the executive, investment and credit, information systems, and human resources committees. He actively supervised and participated in the major investment and corporate restructuring deals entered into by the company.

Prior to joining The Securities House, Mohamad worked for KPMG and Ernst & Young and has an extensive accounting knowledge of a diversified set of activities including investment, finance, trading, contracting and manufacturing. Mohamad holds a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) in addition to designations for Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM).

Independent Non-Executive Directors

Brandon Davies – Chairman of Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Brandon is an experienced banker with over thirty years experience, having worked for Barclays Bank in roles including Head of Financial Engineering at BZW and subsequently Managing Director and Head of Structured Products. Brandon subsequently became Corporate Banking Treasurer, Deputy Group Treasurer and Head of Retail Market Risk, reporting to the Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer. He has also recently served on a UK Treasury advisory group covering Solvency II and is a member of the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics.

Brandon is currently the Managing Director for the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Risk Academy and a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee at GARP. As the head of GARP’s Risk Academy, he has written a number of books for the International Certificate in Banking Risk and Regulation, a programme that has been adopted by, amongst others, the Central Bank of Indonesia and the China Banking Association. He is currently writing a programme especially for senior bankers which covers Governance and Supervision, Enterprise Wide Risk Management & Economic Capital and Business Risk & Strategy Development.

Matthew Carrington – Deputy Chairman and Chairman of Remuneration Committee

Matthew is an experienced Non-Executive Director, with a strong track record of providing leadership and strategic thinking in areas such as finance and pensions, as well as lobbying and public relations. Matthew is a former Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, with particular experience in the Middle East. His previous role was Group Chief Executive of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), a major trade association for the motor industry. Matthew holds a MSc Economics from the London Business School as well as a BSc in Physics from Imperial College London.

Stella Cox - Chair of the Strategy & Business Development Committee

Stella Cox became a Managing Director with the Dawnay Day Group in January 1998. Stella has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the UK Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance and worked as a member in support of the Islamic product and sector development committees formed by the Bahrain Monetary Agency (now the Central Bank of Bahrain) and the Dubai International Financial Centre. Stella continues to serve as a member of the Islamic Financial Services Board Task Force on Markets and Instruments for Shariah-compliant Liquidity Management and the Islamic Finance Experts Group, which is described by HM Treasury as “acting as an industry sounding board for HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority”.

Executive Directors

David Testa - Chief Executive Officer

David Testa worked for WestLB from June 1997 until joining Gatehouse in July 2007. He has had extensive experience since 1999 of originating and arranging a wide variety of both conventional and Islamic transactions in the GCC. Recent highlights include the ground-breaking £225m Shariah-compliant leveraged buy-out in the UK of Aston Martin from the Ford Motor Company, as well as a string of high profile transactions in the GCC. These include the US$850m syndicated facility for Kuwait Finance House, the US$500m facility for Al Rajhi Bank and, in April 2007, the highly successful US$1.1bn syndicated commodity murabaha financing for Arcapita Bank in Bahrain. Recent capital market issues include the Sukuk al Musharaka deals for A’ayan Leasing and The Investment Dar, both closing in September 2006, as well as the innovative Sukuk al Ijara issue for Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company, which closed in March 2007 and was the first offshore Sukuk issue out of Saudi Arabia.

Prior to joining WestLB, David spent 9 years working as a corporate and banking solicitor in London and Tokyo with law firms Slaughter and May and Ashurst Morris Crisp. David has a BA in Modern History from Oxford University.

James Bagshawe – Chief Financial Officer

James Bagshawe has over 25 years of experience having previously worked for Arab Bank, JP Morgan, Robert Fleming, KPMG and Deloitte including international finance positions in London, Paris, Johannesburg and Dubai. James’ professional training has had a focus on financial services and he also has a solid grounding in audit which aligns with a good understanding of controls and best practice. His academic background includes a BSc (Econ) from LSE and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.