Samir Assaf (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: سمير عساف; born 20 June 1960) is a Lebanese Businessman. He is a senior advisor to
HSBC's Group Chairman, Group CEO and the tank's business, and non-executive chairman of the boards of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited and HSBC Middle East Holdings. He is also a Senior Advisor at
General Atlantic
General Atlantic (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. The firm was founded in 1980 as the captive investment team for ...
and a member of the Advisory Board for BeyondNetZero,
General Atlantic
General Atlantic (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. The firm was founded in 1980 as the captive investment team for ...
's new climate venture.
Biography
Assaf was born into a
Maronite
The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
Lebanese family. He completed his secondary studies at
College La Sagesse St Joseph – Ashrafieh and graduated with a master degree in economics from
Saint Joseph University before moving to France during the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
.
Assaf completed his undergraduate studies at the
Paris Institute of Political Studies
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, accreditation ...
and his graduate studies at the
Pantheon-Sorbonne University.
Assaf is fluent in four languages:
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
.
Career
After leaving academia in 1987, he joined French oil giant
Total in 1987, rising to head of treasury by the time he left in 1994.
In 1994, Assaf joined the French
commercial bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...
Crédit Commercial de France
The ''Crédit Commercial de France'' (CCF, "Commercial Credit ompanyof France") is a commercial bank in France, founded in 1894 as the ''Banque Suisse et Française'' and renamed to CCF in 1917. By the end of the 1920s, it had grown to be the six ...
to run the global market division.
In 2000, Assaf joined HSBC, following the UK bank's acquisition of French
commercial bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...
Crédit Commercial de France
The ''Crédit Commercial de France'' (CCF, "Commercial Credit ompanyof France") is a commercial bank in France, founded in 1894 as the ''Banque Suisse et Française'' and renamed to CCF in 1917. By the end of the 1920s, it had grown to be the six ...
.
[Samir Assaf](_blank)
HSBC At HSBC, he started as head of
fixed income trading
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
, Europe, and head of Global Markets HSBC France. In 2006 he was promoted to head of Global Markets for EMEA and in 2007 became deputy head of Global Markets. Assaf became head of Global Markets in January 2008 and a group general manager in May 2008.
In December 2010, Assaf was appointed
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Global Banking and Markets. Assaf also became a group managing director and joined the group management board with responsibility for Global Banking and Markets.
In December 2019, HSBC announced that two co-heads, Gregory Guyett and Georges Elhedery would succeed Assaf as head of the global banking and markets division.
In March 2020 Assaf stepped down from his executive role in HSBC to become a senior advisor to the chairman and the chief executive officer of HSBC and chairman of the board of HSBC in the Middle East.
In June 2020, Assaf has been appointed Co-Chairman of the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI), which was launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.
In October 2021 Assaf added to his current activities with HSBC a senior advisory role to
General Atlantic
General Atlantic (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. The firm was founded in 1980 as the captive investment team for ...
one of the most successful private growth fund.
Awards
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (31 December 2020)
Chevalier de la L'Ordre national du Merite (30 January 2008)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assaf, Samir
Living people
1960 births
Lebanese Maronites
20th-century Lebanese businesspeople
Lebanese bankers
Pantheon-Sorbonne University alumni
21st-century Lebanese businesspeople