Former minister Raya El-Hassan has moved on to her next professional role as CEO at one of Lebanon’s biggest banks, Bankmed.
In a statement issued on Monday, Bankmed announced that “following the election of a new Board of Directors for Bankmed, Ms. Raya Haffar El-Hassan has been elected to chair the Board of Directors of the Bank, and Mr. Michel Accad has been appointed to lead the Executive Management.”
Her election comes after the resignation of Mohammad Ahmad Mukhtar Hariri, who chaired the board and was the bank’s general manager for more than 15 years.
El-Hassan has a “long and established career in public finance and economic reform,” pointed out the bank.
After pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from AUB, El-Hassan attained an MBA with Honors from The George Washington University in the U.S.
Between 2009-2011, El-Hassan served as Finance Minister 2011 and later as Interior Minister from 2019-2020. In fact, she was the first woman to be appointed as Interior Minister in the entire Middle East.
She has also served as an advisor to the Minister of Economy and Trade, as well as working as a member of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Medbank hopes that with her financial expertise and ability to work within difficult environments, as well as her knowledge of the bank, “will be instrumental in steering Bankmed during these critical times.”