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Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum appointed Ahmed Al Sayegh as the country’s new health minister, according to a statement. Abdulrahman bin Mohamed Al Owais, who previously held the role, will continue serving as State Minister for Federal National Council Affairs.
BACKGROUND- Al Sayegh has served as state minister at the Foreign Affairs Ministry since September 2018, focusing on the ministry’s bilateral trade and investment relations with Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as economic diversification efforts. Al Sayegh also held senior positions at Adnoc and the Abu Dhabi Investment Company.
Depa appoints new group CEO: Nasdaq Dubai-listed interior design and construction firm Depa named Khalil Saket (LinkedIn) as its group CEO as of the start of the month, according to a Nasdaq disclosure (pdf). Former interim group CEO Nader Mardini (LinkedIn) will resume his role as group chief financial officer.
Saket brings with him almost three decades of regional and international experience in institutional building, investment, and strategic management across real estate, hospitality, and financial services.
London’s WFW taps new Dubai counsel: London-based law firm Watson Farley and Williams (WFW) appointed aviation finance consultant Igor Bichenkov (LinkedIn) as the firm’s Dubai office counsel, according to a press release (pdf). Bichenkov previously spent 15 years at international law firm Clifford Chance in London, Moscow, and Dubai. His experience spans the aviation finance and leasing, project finance, general banking, export finance, acquisition finance, and Islamic finance sectors of law. This move comes as WFW seeks to strengthen its aerospace footprint in the MENA region.
More news from London: International law firm Ashurst tapped Clint Dempsey (LinkedIn) to serve as a partner in its Dubai-based global loans team — a move that follows other recent regional partner hires as the London-based firm looks to grow its MENA presence, according to a press release. Dempsey specializes in the financial services sector, with over 12 years of experience in the UAE. He has advised both financial institutions and corporate borrowers on trade, real estate and development, Islamic finance, acquisition, and asset-based lending.
