ADIB appoints interim chief executive as group CEO steps down

Sandeep Chouhan, ADIB's current group chief operating officer, will oversee the bank until a permanent replacement is found

ADIB on Sunday said its group chief executive Mazin Manna has stepped down. Dana Smillie / The National

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the biggest Sharia-compliant lender in the emirate, appointed chief operating officer as the interim head of the bank after its group chief executive Mazin Manna stepped down.

The lender made the announcement in a brief statement on Sunday evening to the Abu Dhabi Securities, where its shares trade. ADIB did not provide a reason for Mr Manna's departure. The former chief executive joined the bank in March 2019 and had previous held different positions at Credit Agricole and Citigroup, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“On behalf of ADIB’s board of directors and the bank’s executive management team and workforce, I extend my sincerest appreciation to Mr Mazin for his invaluable contributions and achievements during his tenure with ADIB,” Jawaan Suhail Al Khaili, ADIB’s chairman, said.

Sandeep Chouhan, ADIB's current group chief operating officer, has assumed the role of interim group chief executive until a successor of Mr Manna is appointed. The board has already initiated the process of finding his replacement, according to the statement.

Mr Chouhan, a 25-year banking veteran, joined ADIB in April 2020 from Mashreq where he was the chief operating officer.

At the end of March ADIB secured shareholders’ approval to raise its foreign ownership limit to 40 per cent, up from the current 25 per cent, as the lender consider expanding its investor base.

Shareholders also approved a dividend of 27.38 fils per share for 2019 at its annual general meeting, the bank said in a statement at the time.

It reported a 4 per cent rise in the full-year net profit in 2019, to Dh2.6 billion.