Bank Sohar recently conducted a series of staff promotions, deputing its employees to high-level positions within the ogranisation. The decision comes as part of the bank’s objectives to advance career opportunities for talented and capable Omanis and non-Omanis so that they will be groomed to assume higher roles within the organisation. It also underscores the bank’s efforts at creating an environment of equal opportunity for all, offering career enrichment and employment prospects within the Sultanate’s banking sector.

Commenting on the staff promotions, Mr. Sasi Kumar, Acting CEO Bank Sohar said, “Promoting experienced employees to positions of greater responsibility aligns with our commitment to fulfill the government’s plans on manpower nationalisation. Over the years we have implemented various programmes devoted to the training and development of talented Omanis who have gone on to occupy positions of authority and leadership at the bank and within the industry as whole. Therefore, I would like to congratulate our employees on their recent promotion and wish them the best in handling their new roles with the utmost sincerity, dedication and capability.”

Among the those staff recently promoted were Mr. Mohammed Tahir Mohammed Al Lawati who has been deputed to the position of Deputy General Manager & Head - Large Corporate Banking; Ms. Mahira Saleh Al Raisi who has been promoted to Assistant General Manager & Head - Human Resources; Mr. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Al Anbori as the bank’s been freshly designated Assistant General Manager & Head - Information Technology; Mr. Ahmed Rashid Ahmed Al Salmi is now Assistant General Manager & Head - Product Development & Consumer Lending and Mr. Elsamawal Abdulhadi Idris Mohammed has been promoted to Assistant General Manager & Head – Legal Affairs.

Commenting on the line of promotions, Ms. Munira Abdulnabi Macki, GM – HR and Corporate Support, Bank Sohar, said, “Empowering qualified nationals and staff for higher roles within the organisation has been among the bank’s chief priorities. Over the years, we have undertaken massive training and skills-enhancement drives to source and streamline professionals from national reserves of talent, underscoring our commitment to the government’s goals for optimising home-grown manpower resources. Our initiatives for the optimisation of national human resources have helped the bank achieve 92 percent Omanization. I would like to congratulate the current crop of ambitious Omanis to join this pool of talented professionals in not only helping us surpass national quotas but also to be a place of enhanced opportunity and career growth. Their respective promotions reflect the bank’s continuous efforts towards boosting the career growth of the staff, and in identifying and recognizing high performance, potential and capabilities.”

A glimpse into the professional backgrounds of the promoted employees reveals impressive credentials that attest to their wide experience in banking. Mr. Mohammed Tahir Al Lawati, has over 18 years of experience in Corporate Banking gained within local as well as multinational Banks. In his previous roles, he has been the Head of Local Corporates in an International Bank, Head SME and Mid-Sector in Bank Sohar. He is a Certified Management Accountant and has an MBA Degree in Business from the University of Strathclyde.

Ms. Mahira Saleh Al Raisi is a HR professional with an extensive experience of 18 years in Human Resources Management. She joined Bank Sohar in 2007 and has since then moved up the chain of command within the Bank’s HR function. Her strengths lie in implementation of HR strategies by department accountabilities, leading and supporting of HR policies and best practices across all areas of the organization. She has a Post-graduate degree from the University of Leicester, UK in Human Resources Development.

Mr. Ahmed Al Salmi joined the bank in 2007 and has over 18 years of experience in Branch Banking. A graduate of Business Administration from the University of Luton, UK, in addition High National Diploma in Business and Finance. Mr. Al Salmi has extensive knowledge and experience in Retail Business, Branch Operations, Product Development and Consumer Lending.

Mr. Elsamawal Abdulhadi is a Senior Member of the Executive Management Team. He joined the Bank in 2013 and has been heading its Legal Affairs department since then. He also served as an acting head for the Compliance Department between mid of 2015 and end of 2016. He has over 15 years of experience in the legal profession and has a Master Laws (LL.M) from the University of Khartoum – Sudan.

Mr. Abdullah Al Anbori has over 20 years of professional experience and is a permanent member of the bank’s IT Steering Committee. He has played a key role in strategic IT-Business planning and development, implementation of quality and cost-effective as well as in providing focused and insightful executive leadership in the areas of Operations and Information Technology. Mr. Al Anbori holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems and is a Project Management Professional. His other credentials include Certified Leadership and Management Program Professional by ILM, COBIT Certification and CISCO Certifications.

For more information on Bank Sohar, please visit www.soharinternational.com or call 24730000. You can also follow the Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sohar.intl, on Instagram at www.instagram.com/sohar_intl or join the conversation on Twitter @sohar_intl.