Deutsche Bank has appointed Harold Leenen as regional head of Global Transaction Banking (GTB) for the Middle East and Africa.

In his new role, Leenen will oversee the GTB business activities in the wider region of the Middle East and the whole of Africa, in an effort to further deepen Deutsche Bank's business links with the African continent.

He will be tasked with building on GTB's existing success and actively pursuing further growth opportunities in the region.

Leenen will be based in Dubai and report into Ashok Aram, CEO of Deutsche Bank Mena. He will be a member of Deutsche Bank's Mena Executive Committee.

He takes over from Sriram Iyer, who will relocate to London as global head of Deutsche Bank's Trust & Agency Services group, which provides trustee, agency, escrow and related services to corporate clients, government agencies and financial institutions around the world.

“This fast-growing region is a key focus for Deutsche Bank's GTB business and showed continuous growth over the last years across all its products. Harold's appointment brings to the role a wealth of business experience which will be key in building on the success we have achieved in delivering customized products and services to our clients in the region,” Aram said.

Stefan Bender, head of GTB Europe, Middle East & Africa said: "We see a continuously growing demand for our services in the Mena region where we are well established in supporting our clients. Furthermore, by increasing our focus on Africa, this will allow us to develop new business opportunities.

“Harold will play an important role in positioning GTB as the partner of choice for our new and existing clients. He will build on the ‘best in class’ platform that Sriram and his team have established over the past few years.” – TradeArabia News Service