Morgan Stanley has named Michael Samaha as co-head of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) sales and business development for Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM).

Samaha, based in the Firm’s office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), joins Nicolas Kahale, who has been leading the effort since 2006. He will work with Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia to build MSIM's distribution capabilities there and further develop its joint venture with the National Bank of Kuwait.

“Morgan Stanley opened its office in the DIFC two years ago and since then we have seen strong growth across all parts of our business,” said Morgan Stanley’s Mena president George Makhoul. “We have provided investment management solutions to investors in the region for decades and Samaha’s presence on the ground in Dubai strengthens our ability to better serve this important client base.”

MSIM, Europe, Middle East and Africa head James Dilworth said: “Samaha has solid asset management expertise and extensive knowledge of the Middle East and North Africa. Samaha and Kahale will together bring the leadership to not only enhance MSIM’s ability to deliver investment products and solutions to large and important Mena investors, including sovereign wealth funds and central banks, but will also support MSIM’s growth as we increase local investment through various investment products and deliver mutual fund type products to the burgeoning middle class.”

Samaha joins Morgan Stanley from Lehman Brothers where he was co-head of structuring and marketing in the Fund Derivatives Group in London.

Prior to this, he spent four years in Bahrain with Investcorp.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has nearly 1,000 investment professionals around the world and approximately $577 billion in assets under management or supervision. – TradeArabia News Service