PwC Middle East has announced the appointment of Pam Jackson as the regional deals leader, based in Dubai.

An M&A specialist, Jackson has actively been engaged advising international clients on complex cross border M&A, tax, deals, IPOs and reorganisations in the Middle East for the past two decades.  

Jackson is acutely aware of the issues facing local businesses through her active involvement with the UAE/UK Business Council and Saudi British Joint Business Council.

Jackson joins PwC as the first female leader in the Middle East.  No stranger to firsts, she was appointed the first female deals partner in PwC UK in 1990 and also founded PwC UK’s female partner and director network in 2000. In 2009, she was appointed as PwC’s UK/Middle East strategic alliance senior relationship partner.

Commenting on her appointment, Hani Ashkar, PwC Middle East’s senior partner said: “Pam has been building trust and delivering solutions for Middle East clients on complex projects over the past two decades. She is highly regarded in the Deals community, not only in the UK, but also here in the region and we are delighted to welcome her as our Middle East Deals Leader. Pam will also continue to play a key role in mentoring, developing and providing a strong role model to the female talent across the region.”

Recognised for her efforts in promoting gender diversity, Pam was named Woman of Achievement by Women in the City, London’s Female Business Network in 2010. She is also responsible and involved in PwC’s award-winning Watani programme that aims to nurture local talent and gives ambitious and talented UAE Nationals the exciting opportunity to work, travel and study with PwC, in both the UAE and the UK.

Jackson said: “I am delighted to be appointed as the regional deals leader in the Middle East.  It’s an exciting time to be working in the region.  We continue to see an increase in the level of deal activity in the market, and based on our conversations with CEOs in the region, which we documented in our Middle East CEO Survey out last week, divestments are high on CEOs’ agendas and higher than in any other region.

"In fact our findings reveal that 30 per cent of business leaders in the region are looking to exit a business or market (against an average of 15 per cent globally),” she said. - TradeArabia News Service