Global Investor Magazine, a leading international magazine published by Euromoney, has named Michael H Tomalin, the group CEO of the National Bank Abu Dhabi (NBAD), as the 'CEO of the Year' in the Middle East.

Tomalin has more than 30 years of experience in international wholesale and private banking spanning Europe, the Caribbean, the Far East, Australia, and the Middle East, a statement from the bank said.

He joined NBAD as chief executive in 1999, and under his leadership, NBAD achieved a milestone for UAE financial services industry when it became the first UAE bank to earn more than Dh1 billion ($0.27 billion) in net profits in 2004 and the first UAE bank to earn net profits of more than $1billion (Dh 3.8 billion) in 2010.

NBAD has consistently been the most profitable bank in the UAE and has also been ranked one of the World’s top 50 Safest Banks in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

In the latest ranking, NBAD was rated the safest in the Middle East. Euromoney named NBAD the Best Bank in the UAE in 2011 for the third consecutive year and for the fifth time in a decade, the statement said.

From 48 branches in 1999, NBAD has grown its network to nearly 116 branches and 380 ATMs by end of Q3 2011.

Tomalin was closely involved in the details of establishing the NBAD Private Bank (Suisse) SA in Geneva where he serves as chairman, and the launch of the UAE private banking arm.

NBAD's Emiratisation ratio increased from 14 percent in 1999 to 39 percent by the end of 2010. Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS) awarded Tomalin its 2009 Best Emiratisation CEO Award in the banking sector.

In 2010, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bankers Middle East, it said. – TradeArabia News Service