Swift, a member-owned cooperative and global provider of secure financial messaging services, has appointed  Onur Ozan as head of Middle East, North Africa & Turkey region.

Ozan will lead the nine-strong team out of the Swift office in Dubai and lead the development and execution of Swift’s business strategy in the region. Ozan has been with Swift for seven years during which he held the positions of head of Business Development for the Middle East, Turkey & Africa, and country manager of several of the largest markets in the region. In his new role he will be responsible for driving Swift’s local initiatives and working with the community to provide solutions to regional industry challenges such as financial crime compliance and cyber security.

Sido Bestani, regional director, Middle East, Turkey & Africa, said: “I look forward to working closely with Onur in supporting the financial services community in the region. Onur has a proven track record at Swift and has been instrumental in building SWIFT’s presence in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. His expertise in financial messaging, payment automation and market and standards development add real value to our operations in the region.”

He added: “The financial industry is undergoing great change with new and disruptive technologies entering the market. Swift is at the forefront of the latest technological developments and well placed to assist local financial communities and corporations in confronting the new payments landscape. We remain the catalyst that brings the financial community across continents together to work collaboratively to shape market practice, define standards and provide solutions for industry challenges.” - TradeArabia News Service