Published: July 13, 2009
HSBC Bank Middle East has appointed Simon Johnson as regional head of commercial banking. In this role, Johnson will oversee all commercial banking business across the Middle East region, including trade services, payments and cash management services as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
Before taking up his new role, Johnson was senior executive, global commercial banking in Hong Kong, a role he held since August 2007. According to HSBC, Johnson was instrumental in developing and implementing the global commercial banking strategy, working closely with the global commercial banking management committee. He has also previously worked in the UAE and in Oman, establishing an extensive network in the region.
Speaking on his appointment, Simon Cooper, deputy chairman and CEO of HSBC Bank Middle East, says: “The Middle East is strategically critical both for commercial banking and for the group and Simon’s role is a key appointment to ensure that the business is best positioned to maximise growth and shareholder return going forward. Simon has extensive international experience across the group, as well as broad experience of HSBC’s customer groups and functions, including global transaction banking, HSBC private banking and global banking.”