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His entry into working life was in the form of an executive trainee with Habib Bank in 1973-74 where he was exposed to many aspects of banking operations. In recognition of his initiative and potential he was appointed in 1975 by American Express as Assistant Manager - Operations in Bahrain, where he served until 1980. In addition to the knowledge of banking operations that this experience provided, he gained exposure to credit analysis and marketing – later to form the platform for much of his banking knowledge.
Arab Banking Corporation
ABC Islamic Bank
The Genesis of Al Baraka Banking Group
Chairman, Union of ARAB Banks
Arab Banking Corporation
Upon the formation of Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) in 1980 he was appointed Manager - Commercial Banking. Thence he witnessed one of the most phenomenal career advancements of his life, becoming First Vice President and Deputy General Manager of the largest branch of ABC in a very short period. His natural penchant for commercial banking resulted in many successes: he managed a diversified loan portfolio of US$ 5 billion and displayed unparalleled zeal by orchestrating the expansion of the offices of ABC in Tripoli (Libya), Houston (USA), Tunis (Tunisia) and Cairo (Egypt). During this period he developed his in-depth expertise in international syndications and financial institutions’ relationships – all valuable assets to his repertoire of skills – serving to position him for the major leadership roles with which he was to be entrusted later in his career.
It was therefore not surprising when in 1988 he was invited to head the Global Marketing and Financial Institutions Division as a natural ambassador for ABC. He responded to this challenge by expanding ABC’s relationships with governments, central banks and financial institutions worldwide, in the course of which he was instrumental in the creation of many representative offices, branches and subsidiaries of ABC. As he excelled in this role he thus raised the profile of ABC in the Arab world, in the process also cementing the bank’s relationships with leaders in many parts of the world.
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ABC Islamic Bank
As an endorsement to his ever-growing stature he was elevated to the position of Head of Arab World Division in 1992, in addition to being as appointed Chairman of ABC’s investment banking subsidiary, then called ABC Investment & Services Company (e.c.).
With the advent of Islamic banking in Bahrain, he quickly recognized the future potential of this unique banking form, converting the conventional ABC Investment & Services Company (e.c.) into an Islamic bank, re-named ABC Islamic Bank (e.c.) – one of the first conversions of a conventional bank into an Islamic bank in the region.
His role with ABC Islamic Bank provided him with a readymade platform on which to experiment with the precepts of Islamic banking, creating many prototypes that were to be followed by other institutions in the future. In 1994-95, upon the departure of the then President and Chief Executive of ABC, he was nominated as one of the 3 members of the managing committee of the ABC Group which oversaw and administrated the banking group until 1995. During this period he continued to upgrade many representative offices of ABC into standalone banks and branches.
Despite a hectic professional life, he found time to upgrade his academic qualifications when he was awarded an MBA from the University of Hull in 1993.
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Genesis of Al Baraka Banking Group
Adnan left ABC in the first quarter of 2000, after an illustrious career to date spanning two decades. For the next 4 years he served as Chief Executive Officer at Bahrain Islamic Bank, one of the premier Islamic banks in Bahrain. At the same time as holding down this important role, Adnan also devoted time to developing the concept of Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), having been chosen for this purpose by the pioneer of Islamic banking, Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, one of the most successful self-made businessmen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Adnan was entrusted with the formidable task of welding together the several individual and separate Islamic financial institutions, spread across 10 different countries, which formed the banking empire of Shaikh Saleh into a single banking group - ABG.
When called by Shaikh Saleh to create a conglomerate destined to be a beacon for Islamic banking worldwide, Adnan stepped up to the challenge and, within a short span of time, created one of most recognizable Islamic financial institutions in the world. It was not easy to bring 10 different institutions – operating for the past 25 – 30 years as standalone units – into one fold and their forging into a single cohesive banking group was a most difficult undertaking from which many lesser men would have shied away.
With the traditional values of forbearance and equanimity that Adnan had developed since a very young age - thanks to the centuries-old regional and international cultural influences of his homeland - he was able successfully to blend the 10 different banking entities into a single group now regarded by many world figures as one of the most successful business models in Islamic banking.
The phenomenal growth of ABG since its formation is well documented. Having successfully created a coherent fabric out of the several, closely held, individual strands that represented the original banking institutions, Adnan took the bold step of converting them into a publicly listed entity, through a US$ 1 billion Initial Public Offering – all in the short space of time of less than 2 years. Under his stewardship the group’s assets grew from US$ 3.5 billion in 2003 to US$ 11 billion in 2008. Moreover, he has been responsible for synergizing the strategies and improving the performance of all the constituent banks to such an extent that in 2007 Standard and Poor’s awarded the group with an investment grade rating – no mean feat for a bank rated for the first time in its history.
Under his stewardship, Al Baraka Banking Group has flourished and grown many fold and is accredited with many successes, the recent ones being the 2007 Initial Public Offering of the shares of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, oversubscribed 32 times and the 2009 Al Baraka Bank Syria Initial Public Offering that was 4.4 times oversubscribed.
His vision for Al Baraka Banking Group is simple, yet far-reaching in terms of business goals, Islamic ideals and social philanthropy: to create a society that would comprise of a fair and equitable financial system- one that rewards effort and contributes to the development of the community.
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Chairman, Union of Arab Banks
Adnan’s stature was further elevated in 2008 when, as a fitting tribute to a champion of the Arab banking cause, he was appointed Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks. Since his appointment he has served as ambassador for the Arab world, establishing the profile of Arab banking and of all Arab banks everywhere.
In May 2009 he was listed in Middle East magazine as one among the top 50 most influential Arabs in the world, bearing testimony to both his international renown and many achievements. In December 2009, he was chosen Islamic Banker of the Year from amongst the world Islamic banking fraternity who voted by secret ballot under the auspices of the World Islamic Banking Conference. He is uniquely the recipient of this honor twice, the first in 2004.
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