CAIRO: Renowned lawyer Mona Zulficar was named non-Executive Chairman to the Board of regional investment bank EFG-Hermes. The bank's general assembly has chosen Zulficar, who's also a member of the Board of Governors of the Human Rights Counsel to the United Nations. The firm s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) concluded with the decision to amend Article 19 of the firm s articles of incorporation to allow for an increase in board members from 10 to 13, the bank said in a statement. The decision has resulted in bringing the percentage of non-Executive Members of the Board to 70 percent. "EFG-Hermes adheres to a strategy of the highest levels of international corporate governance requirements and is preempting changes soon to be implemented by the Egyptian Capital Market regulations that call for the separation of the chairmanship and executive management, said Yasser El Mallawany, CEO of EFG-Hermes. We are delighted that a professional of Mona Zulficar's caliber will be joining EFG-Hermes' board of directors, bringing her extensive regional and international experience on the legal, corporate and social responsibility levels to our firm and has accepted to be a major contributor to EFG-Hermes' future growth and expansion, He added. "It is a great honor to chair the board of directors of such an outstanding firm and a leading regional market leader such as EFG-Hermes, said Zulficar. "With its level of professionalism and commitment to corporate governance, EFG-Hermes has been able to establish itself as the eminent investment bank in the region. "I look forward to being a part of its distinguished board as well as part of the EFG-Hermes family of outstanding professionals. Hassan Heikal, CEO of EFG Hermes, expressed his belief that Zulficar will help with the investment bank's expansion strategy. "In addition, having Sherif Cararah, head of EFG-Hermes' securities business and KSA Country Head, join the Board of Directors with his significant experience in regional markets will prove to be very significant, said Heikal, "New appointments included an additional member representing our largest shareholder, Dubai Financial Group (DFG), bringing their total representation on the Board from two to three. The firm s consolidated revenue has more than doubled over the year 2007 to reach LE 2.6 billion.
