Gulf International Bank B.S.C. (GIB) has appointed Mark Watts as managing director and chief executive officer of Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited (GIB UK). Watts joined GIB UK in the third quarter of 2014.



The appointment comes as part of GIB’s committed focus on expanding its asset management business through GIB UK, its London-based subsidiary providing asset management and treasury services.



Watts is a senior executive with over 27 years of experience in the financial industry in the UK, US and UAE. His expertise includes equities, fixed income, alternatives, structured products, emerging markets, currencies and derivatives as well as real estate. Watts’s most recent employment was with National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) where he worked for four years, latterly as managing director and chief investment officer of the Asset Management Group. During his time at NBAD, he was responsible for the entire asset management business which involved managing liquid assets for sovereign wealth fund portfolios, public and private institutional portfolios and individuals.



Previously Watts worked at Qatar Islamic Bank-owned European Finance House based in London as the head of Asset Management, head of Global Fixed Income at Aviva Investors and spent over 17 years at Baring Asset Management, working in both the UK and the US.



Commenting on his new role, Watts said: “I am delighted to be chosen to lead the future development of GIB UK. The business is well established and already enjoys assets under management in excess of $13 billion, making us one of the largest GCC owned asset managers in the market. I am looking forward to working with the team to further develop our capabilities and offer a wider range of investment solutions to our client base both conventional and Shariah  compliant. I am confident that we can work together to exceed the expectations of our clients and help achieve the strategy and vision of the wider GIB group.”



GIB UK’s total assets under management increased by 32 percent to $13 billion in the 12 months to the end of April 2014. The bank’s flagship hedge fund – the GIB “Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund” (EMOF) continues to outperform all related benchmarks and delivers excellent risk adjusted returns for investors. As of Sept. 30, 2014, the clients’ investment in the fund stood at $340 million. — SG