Barclays announced today the appointment of Bjorn Holderbeke as MENA Head of Global Investments and Solutions (GIS) for its Private Bank.

Based in Dubai, Holderbeke will certainly be responsible for product and platform growth and will liaise with topic professionals to help in developing and delivering bespoke investment material to clients across the MENA region.

Francesco Grosoli, Barclays' Head of the Private Bank for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said: "This appointment follows Barclays' current statement concerning our growth strategy for the Private Bank and is key to our plans to continue to strengthen and expand our award winning group in the region."

" The MENA region is a priority market with solid opportunities for growth. Bjorn brings a wide range of experience to our existing set-up with his track record guiding and suggesting MENA clients on their global investments approach. We are pleased to welcome him to the team to more broaden the know-how and support our high and ultra high total assets clients in the region."

Over the previous 15 years, Bjorn has actually held a range of senior positions across regional and global banks; these include Head of Investment Therapy at ABN AMRO Private Bank, Head of Financial Investment Counseling for the Middle East Team at Emirates NBD Private Bank, and Financial Investment Consultant at Citi Private Bank. Bjorn holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics and Entrepreneurial Management from Tufts University.