Singapore Gulf Bank hires former Goldman Sachs, Sygnum senior executives as CFO, COO

SINGAPORE Gulf Bank (SGB) has appointed former Goldman Sachs executive Ali AlShamma as chief financial officer and ex-Sygnum executive Elaine Leong as chief operating officer, the bank announced in a media statement on Wednesday (Oct 2).

These two hires reinforce the mission of SGB to provide frictionless interaction between digital and traditional finance, said the digital bank.

SGB is backed by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and privately held Singapore-based investment firm Whampoa Group.

AlShamma was formerly the chief financial officer at both Goldman Sachs Saudi Arabia and Citigroup Saudi Arabia, and he will steer SGB’s financial strategy and bridge the markets between Asia and the Middle East and North Africa region.

Leong – who was senior vice-president at Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and chief operating officer digital asset banking group Sygnum – will lead the global operations of SGB.

SGB describes itself as the first fully licensed digital bank in Bahrain that serves global investors, innovators and institutions. The bank is set to be launched by November this year.

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Reporting by Tay Peck Gek