NETWORK INTERNATIONAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( KSA )
- Managing Director for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Al-Dahmash is the Managing Director for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), responsible for implementing the strategy for driving business growth in Saudi Arabia.
He is well-known in the Saudi Payments Industry, having been a member of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and having played a major role in initiatives such as growing the Saudi National Card Payment Network (MADA). He was previously the Head of Digital Banking and Payments at Saudi British Bank (SABB) which he helped build as the largest e-commerce acquirer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was also a former Board Member of Saudi Financial Lease Contract Registry Company (SIJIL).
Abdulaziz has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and a Master's Degree in Business Management (MBA). He has also completed Executive Leadership Programs from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Management and London Business School.
Job Titles:
- Group 's Regional Managing Director
- Regional Managing Director - Processing
Abhinav Nehra is the Group's Regional Managing Director - Processing, for Francophone Africa, responsible for bringing more focus and supporting Network's growth in French-speaking African countries. He has led several digitization initiatives in the digital lending, payments and neo banking domains across Africa, driven by his passion and belief in the potential of the continent and its people.
Abhinav has more than 30 years of experience in banking and payments in markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. He started his career with Citibank India where he spent 18 years, during which he helped set up CitiFinancial India as CEO. He was Deputy CEO (Retail and Private Banking) of Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East.
He joined United Bank of Africa as Group Director (Retail) and set up UBA (RFS) retail financial services and helped expand the UBA franchise from two to 16 countries. Subsequently, he was appointed Group Director (Retail and Commercial) for Ecobank.
Abhinav is an avid golfer who is also passionate about travelling.
Job Titles:
- Regional Managing Director - Acquiring, UA
- Regional Managing Director - Acquiring, UAE
Ahmed is Regional Managing Director - UAE for Network's Acquiring business, responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to drive business growth in the country.
He joined the company in 2014 as Senior Vice President of Administration and has more than 18 years of experience in retail banking, branch operations, customer service, SME banking, sales and relationship management.
Job Titles:
- Regional Managing Director - Acquiring
Ahmed Samir joined Network in January 2017 and is currently responsible for all aspects of the company's Acquiring business in Egypt. He oversees the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to drive business growth.
His previous roles at Network include Issuing GM and Chief of Products and Marketing - both for the Africa business. He has worked for leading multinational and regional institutions including ALEXBANK, Barclays Bank Egypt, Commercial International Bank (CIB), and Citibank Egypt.
Ahmed has more than 20 years of experience in banking and financial services management, with a proven track record in accelerating portfolio growth while boosting revenue and profit margins. His expertise covers retail banking, cards and assets management, portfolio management, profitability enhancement, digital payments, cost control, people management, identifying growth markets, and marketing and sales management.
Job Titles:
- Regional Managing Director - Processing & Country Head, Jordan
Amjad joined Network International in March 2016 and is responsible for all aspects of the Company business in the Levant region. He also oversees the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to drive the growth of the Company's business in the region.
He holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, and another degree in Electrical Engineering.
Amjad brings over 30 years of diverse experience in the payments industry with in-depth knowledge of acquiring, bank processing services, operations, electronic bill payments, e-commerce, mobile payments, EMV, Fintech and security. Amjad played major roles in supporting country Fintech solution through the past year, He has also played a key role in building the main ATM switch in Jordan (JONET). Amjad was previously the Regional Director of Emerging Markets Payments (EMP) Jordan, which was acquired by Network International in March 2016. Prior to working with EMP, he was the Executive Manager for Visa Jordan Card Services (which was fully acquired by EMP in June 2011).
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founding Partner at Gateway
Mr. Dua has extensive experience operating in the pan-African financial services sector. Mr. Dua is Founding Partner at Gateway, a private equity fund specialising in dynamic growth markets including Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to this, Mr. Dua worked for over 35 years with Standard Chartered Bank in Asia, Africa, Europe and US, where he held various roles including Regional CEO West Africa and Regional Head of Origination and Client Coverage, Africa. Mr. Dua currently serves as a Non-Executive Director for Liquid Telecom, African Export Import Bank and Nouvobanq.
Job Titles:
- Regional Managing Director
- Regional Managing Director - Processing
Bassem Ramzy is Network's Regional Managing Director, Processing- Northern Africa. In this role, Bassem supports the regional teams to grow and establish the company's processing business in multiple sub-regions and countries. His focus is to drive Network's strategy in Northern Africa with the support of the Country Managers and their teams.
Bassem was previously Network's Regional Director - ELS (Egypt, Libya, Sudan) where his responsibilities included Revenue, P&L, Business Development and Client Relationships in the region. Prior to Network, Bassem worked in eFormalites-France, Egyptian Gulf Bank, Mashreq Bank and Citi. His competencies include Financial Accounting, Sales & Account Management and Credit. Bassem has Bachelor degrees in Commerce and Business Administration from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt and the European Network of Information Centres, Paris, France.
Job Titles:
- / DPO 's Regional Managing Director
- Regional Managing Director - Acquiring
Brendon Williamson is Network/DPO's Regional Managing Director for Acquiring in South Africa, and Managing Director of PayFast.
He is a veteran of the payments and e-commerce industry with 20+ years experience in sales, marketing and fraud management. He is passionate about and has a strong track record in growing businesses and has a deep understanding of the world of e-commerce payments. Brendon has been part of DPO's growth for 10+ years as Chief Sales Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and most recently Head of Commercial.
Job Titles:
- Acting Co - Regional Managing Director - Processing
- Co - Regional Managing Director
Carlo Ricci is the Co-Regional Managing Director for Network International in the Southern Africa and Palops region.
He is responsible for managing and growing Network's processing business in the region, with a focus on generating strong revenue streams by way of new financial institution and fintech partnerships.
Job Titles:
- Regional Managing Director
- Regional Managing Director - Processing
Chinwe Uzoho is Network International's Regional Managing Director for West and Central Africa, based in Nigeria.
Chinwe brings nearly 30 years of experience in banking. She was previously the Group Head for Retail Banking at Access Bank PLC, reporting directly to the Executive Director of the Retail Banking Division. She drove both the sales performance of the Sector Heads for Retail Liability and Risk Asset Products and the Loyalty Scheme across various segments in Nigeria.
Chinwe holds a BSc Degree in Economics from the University of Uyo, an MSc in Global Consumer Marketing from the University of Liverpool in the UK, and an MBA with Distinction from the UK's Bangor Business School. A Certified Chartered Banker, she is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland (MCIB) as well as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria (ACIB).
In her free time, Chinwe likes to cook, dance, and involve herself in various charitable works.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Independent Non - Executive Director
Mr. Pope is a qualified accountant with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, Mr. Pope served as CFO and Board Member of TSB Bank plc. Mr. Pope has held a number of other senior positions at Lloyds Banking Group, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Egg plc and Prudential plc. He previously served as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Virgin Money Holdings (UK) plc prior to its acquisition by CYBG plc (now Virgin Money UK plc) in October 2018. At CYBG plc he is currently a member of its Audit Committee. He is also a member of the Virgin Money UK plc boards.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Ms. Radley has specialized in finance, audit and risk related matters having previously led the Transaction Services Group at PwC South Africa and served as Chief Executive Officer at Old Mutual Investment Group. She has held a number of several non-executive and executive roles at major South African businesses and currently serves as a non-executive director at Transaction Capital Limited, Murray and Roberts Holdings Limited, Base Resources Limited and Redefine Properties Limited.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief
- Marketing Officer
Dounia drives the marketing strategy with a focus on brand management and the development of the group product strategy to enable and accelerate growth. Having taken on key customer-facing roles across the Middle East and Africa since joining Network in 2011, she has a deep understanding of the payments value chain and the needs of key partners and stakeholders.
Dounia has over 24 years of experience in the payments industry, including Business Development, Relationship Management, Digital Payments, and Solutions Design. Her various leadership roles in financial services across the MEA region include stints with Visa, Société Maghrébine de Monétique (S2M), and Attijariwafa bank. She was previously in charge of overseeing Network's sales and business development functions to achieve revenue growth across the GCC markets.
She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a double major in Finance and International Trade from Al Akhawayne University in Ifrane, Morocco.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Co - Head of Processing - Africa
Dr. Reda Helal is the Managing Director and Co-Head of Processing - Africa, leading a client-focused business unit serving financial institutions, fintechs and payment partners. Reda has been with Network since 2007 in several roles, including partnering with the KSA team to launch the company's business in the Kingdom as well as being Group Chief Sales Officer - Processing.
He is passionate about payments innovation, financial inclusions and cashless societies, with over 22 years of experience in Digital Payments, Strategic Planning and Execution, New Market Entries and Leadership Practices in multinational payments organisations. He's also held various leadership roles in international banks across the Middle East, Africa and North America including Citibank, United Bank, and Arab Bank.
Reda holds a doctorate degree from the University of Liverpool, UK, and a Master's degree from York University, UK.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Habib has extensive experience in UAE law. Dr. Habib was Chairman of the CIArb (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) UAE Committee and most recently served as Chairman of the board of trustees for the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). Dr. Habib was the architect of the legal framework establishing the Dubai International Financial Centre. He also served as Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Dr. Habib has held numerous government positions, including as a member of the UAE Federal National Council, the federal parliament of the UAE, member of the Legislative Committee, member of the Economic Committee, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal and Judicial Studies, in charge of training judges and prosecutors in the Emirate of Dubai and Chairman of the UAE Jurists Association.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief Auditor
- Group 's Chief Internal Auditor
Ian is the Group's Chief Internal Auditor, responsible for leading Group Internal Audit to provide independent assurance to Executive Management and the Board on the effectiveness of the company's control framework and risk culture.
He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry including investment banking, insurance, payments and retail banking.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Group Managing Director for Merchant Services - Middle East and North Africa ( MENA )
Job Titles:
- Group Managing Director for Merchant Services - Middle East and North Africa ( MENA )
Jamal is Group Managing Director for Merchant Services - Middle East and North Africa (MENA), responsible for strategic planning and execution, business development and value propositions for Merchant and Government Partners across all the Group's MENA markets.
Jamal has shepherded Network for over 18 years in various leadership roles spanning the entire payments value chain and customer journey. He has rich and diverse expertise across business, technology, governance, regulatory compliance, and operations. Prior to his current role, Jamal was Group Chief Operating Officer.
Jamal has an MBA from the University of Wolverhampton, UK, and is currently pursuing his doctorate degree. He has also completed leadership courses from the London Business School, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief Risk Officer
- Group Company Secretary
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Group Risk Officer and Group Company Secretary
Jay is the Group Risk Officer and Group Company Secretary and has overall responsibility for the Risk, Compliance and Legal functions. Her responsibilities include the management and oversight of all risk-related disciplines across the Group, including enterprise risk management, regulatory and compliance, data governance and information security, and the legal and secretariat teams.
She joined the Group in 2017 after working at Elavon, a subsidiary of US Bancorp, where she served as Head of Legal - International Markets. Jay has over 20 years' experience working across a number of major financial institutions including Citigroup and Royal Bank of Scotland Plc. She has advised on legal, regulatory and compliance issues impacting the retail financial services and payments services sectors in particular, across a number of jurisdictions in Europe and Latin America. Jay is a qualified Solicitor in England and Wales.
Job Titles:
- Acting Regional Managing Director
- Group 's Acting Regional Managing Director
John Njoroge is the Group's Acting Regional Managing Director for East Africa. He joined Network in 2021 as Country Manager for Kenya.
John started his banking career of over 20 years with Dinner Club Africa Limited. Before joining Network, he worked for I&M Bank in Kenya as Head of Card Centre and Alternate Banking Channels, a position he held for over 11 years. Prior to that, he was the Head of Transaction Banking at Ecobank Kenya and Cluster Head for Cross Border Transfers (Eastern and Southern Africa) at Ecobank. John was instrumental in launching Card Programs at Stanbic Bank where he served as a Regional Manager, and at NCBA Bank Kenya where he was Head of Card Services.
John is an Executive Committee Member of the Kenya Credit & Debit Card Association (KCDCA) and is the association's current (outgoing) Chairman.
He is an ardent supporter of activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Technology Leader
Ms. Shivanandan is a recognised technology leader with over 30 years of experience within the Telecommunications, Banking and Insurance sectors. Most recently she served as Group Chief Information Officer at the global insurer, Chubb, before which she held the same position at FTSE100 insurer Aviva plc where she delivered a large scale digital transformation. Monique has also held senior positions at BT Group and Capital One Financial and has previously served as a Non-Executive Director for JP Morgan Securities in the UK.
Job Titles:
- Group Managing Director for Merchant Services - Africa ( Excl. Egypt )
Mpho is Group Managing Director for Merchant Services - Africa, responsible for strategic planning and execution, business development and value propositions for Merchant partners across the continent excluding Egypt.
A Payments industry veteran with over 15 years of executive management experience in Financial Services, he has extensive expertise in the management and leadership of product and sales teams and the delivery of payments solutions to wholesale and consumer clients.
Prior to joining Network, Mpho was with BankservAfrica where he served as Chief Product Officer and was a Member of the Executive team with executive leadership across a number of product verticals including Card, EFT, Realtime Payments, Fraud and Cash management services. He also previously worked at Nedbank and Deloitte.
Mpho holds a Bachelor's Degree in Science from the University of Witwatersrand and an MBA from Wits Business School. He has attended leadership development programs at INSEAD and Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer of the Group
Nandan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Group, working closely with the Chairman and Board members to set strategic expansion goals for the organisation and lead the Executive Management Team in the accomplishment of these objectives.
He also serves as Chairman/Director of Network International subsidiary companies for the Middle East and Africa.
Nandan holds a strong background in payments, consumer finance and corporate banking with a deep understanding of the Middle East and Africa as well as experience in India, Czech Republic, Israel, Russia and U.K markets.
His more than 30-year track record of successfully building and growing businesses to profitable scale and dominant market-share spans several markets globally, at leading financial institutions including American Express, Citigroup, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and most recently at Mastercard.
During his 11-year career at Mastercard, Nandan was Strategy Head for International Markets, President for the Japanese business and Head of Global Consumer Credit and Loyalty Solutions. Prior to that, Nandan was Head of UBA - International Corporate and Investment Banking. Before UBA, Nandan built and led consumer banking businesses for two decades with Citigroup in India, Czech Republic, Israel, Russia and the U.K. Nandan began his career at American Express Cards.
When not passionately engaged in business building, he enjoys playing golf and tennis.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director & Co - Head of Processing - Middle East
Navneet is Managing Director and Co-Head of Processing - Middle East, leading a client-focused business unit serving financial institutions, fintechs and payment partners. Prior to this, Navneet was Network's Regional Managing Director for Processing in the GCC.
He joined the company in 2022 and has over three decades of experience in retail banking with domain expertise in cards, payments, partnerships, unsecured loans, digital, sales and distribution. Navneet previously served as Senior Vice President for Market Development - MENA at Mastercard.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief
- Human Resources Officer
- Group 's Chief Human Resources Officer
Nelly is the Group's Chief Human Resources Officer, leading the human resourcing functions and strategy across the Middle East and Africa.
She is an accomplished HR Executive, with 20 years of leadership experience for global companies in the MENA region, namely Siemens, Nokia Networks and SAP, during periods of business transformation, strategic expansion, optimisation and M&As.
Nelly previously led the HR Value Advisory team for the EMEA South operations of SAP, the world leader in Enterprise Application Software. Prior to this, she was the HR Director for SAP across the MENA region, responsible for ensuring business success through developing and executing on its people strategy, while leading the business as well as HR organisation's transformations in the region.
Nelly is recognized as a thought leader and public speaker on the topics of the future of work and HR digital transformation. She is passionate about enabling business transformation through people and technology. She strongly believes in the power of a diverse and inclusive culture as the foundation for organizations to thrive and sustain their success.
She also sponsored a series of talent development and women empowerment programmes while with SAP.
Nelly holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and a Masters in Business Administration.
Job Titles:
- Acting Co - Regional Managing Director - Processing
- Acting Co - Regional Managing Director for South Africa
Richard Kadiaka is Network International's Acting Co-Regional Managing Director for South Africa, responsible for driving the growth of the processing business across the Southern Africa market, including Portuguese-speaking countries. He drives the localisation of capabilities to align better with regional markets and offering regulatory-compliant processing services as well as market-relevant products.
A seasoned payments professional with over 18 years of banking and consulting experience across the African continent focusing on technology modernization, transformation, and program delivery, Richard brings together experience from different markets and different Financial Services Providers.
His passion for digital payments is in the life-changing impact of financial inclusion and accelerated distribution and access to modern payment methods. The role that Network International plays in enabling Banking institutions, MNOs and Fintechs to scale payments is directly aligned to this passion.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Group 's Chief Financial Officer
- Group 's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer
- Group Chief Financial Officer and Group Chief Strategy Officer
Rohit Malhotra is the Group's Chief Financial Officer. Having joined the Group in 2010, Rohit has held responsibilities in finance for many years and was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in 2015. Rohit has 20 years of experience in finance across the financial services and FMCG sectors. Prior to joining Network International, he was the Head of Financial Policy and Processes at Emirates NBD, where he led finance systems implementation across the Group. Prior to that, he led finance functions at both American Express and Nestlé in the South Asia Region. Rohit is a Chartered Financial Analyst from the CFA Institute of the United States of America and a Chartered Accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Rohit is the Group's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for overseeing financial activities across the Group as well as Corporate Development, including M&A. Having joined the Company in October 2010, Rohit has been actively involved in the growth of the business for many years, including the acquisition of Emerging Markets Payments Holdings in 2016.
He has 20+ years of experience in the financial services and FMCG sectors and prior to joining Network, was the Head of Financial Policy and Processes at Emirates NBD, where he led Finance systems implementation across the Group. Prior to that, Rohit was one of the senior team leads in the Global Balance Sheet Reporting function of American Express, working closely with the Investor Relations team and before that he managed the Financial Planning activities for Nestlé's South Asia Region.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief Operating Officer
- Group 's Chief Operating Officer
Sandeep is the Group's Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the transformation of groupwide Technology, Operations and Facilities across all markets. He is a global business transformation leader with an exceptional track record of performance acceleration, business turnaround, digitisation and cost efficiency with over 35 years' experience at blue-chip banks and payment companies across mature and emerging markets.
Prior to his current role at Network, Sandeep was Group Chief Business Transformation & Technology Officer. He has also held C-suite roles at multinational and regional banks and payment companies.
Sandeep has successfully led organizations from vision through execution. He has spearheaded several digital transformations, launching award-winning digital banks in partnership with FinTechs and Startups in Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, and the Open Banking ecosystem.
Sandeep holds a Masters Degree in Management & Systems from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Bachelors of Technology Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology India.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Independent Chairman
Sir Ron Kalifa has significant experience in the payments industry. He was Chief Executive Officer of Worldpay for over 10 years, building and leading Worldpay into a premier global payments company. He is also an operating partner to Advent International and its advisers. Sir Kalifa also sits on the boards of the England & Wales Cricket Board and is a member of the Council of Imperial College, London. He was awarded an OBE in 2018 and was knighted in 2022 in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Honours list for his work supporting the financial services and technology industries.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Ms. Hull is a former Executive Director of Invensys plc, a FTSE 100 global industrial and software company, and former Executive Director of Telewest Communications plc. Ms. Hull has experience across many diverse sectors, including an extensive Corporate Governance and Remuneration Committee background. Her legal career commenced at Clifford Chance LLP in 1986 where she gained knowledge and experience working internationally on M&A for both public and private companies.
Job Titles:
- Regional Managing Director - Acquiring, Jordan
Yazan Kharouf joined Network in December 2000 and is currently responsible for all aspects of the company's Acquiring business in the Levant region. He oversees the delivery of revenue targets, the management of Merchant relationships (new and existing) and ensures the product development roadmap meets market needs.
Yazan was previously Chief Financial Officer for Network's Jordan operations and was the CFO of Othman Nasif Co. prior to joining Network