Standard Chartered appointed Andreas Meletiou chief executive officer for its Iraq operations effective yesterday, according to a spokesman for the bank.
Meletiou is based in Dubai and will split his time between that city and Baghdad. He was head of transaction banking for banks in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan and previously director of strategy and planning. He worked on developing Standard Chartered’s strategy for entering Iraq in 2013. Gavin Wishart, appointed Iraq CEO in 2013, has left the bank.
Several top managers in the Middle East region including Dubai-based Viswanathan Shankar, chief executive officer for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, have left Standard Chartered or are planning to do so, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The departures follow the appointment of new CEO Bill Winters after earnings declined.
Standard Chartered opened its first office in Baghdad in November 2013 and opened in Erbil in March 2014. The bank has about 20 staff in the country, according to its website.
