Senior Executive Management
Salameh Khalil
Mr. Salameh Khalil is a highly experienced executive with a career spanning over 20 years. His in-depth knowledge includes financial planning and strategy, risk management, treasury, internal controls, auditing, and accounting. Prior to his appointment as CEO of The National Bank (TNB), he was the Chief Financial Officer of Palestine Telecommunication Group (Paltel Group), he was responsible for managing the financial, administrative, human resource and procurement operations of the Group and supervising it, in addition to setting the strategic objectives of the Group within that scope. Mr. Khalil is a board member of various Group subsidiaries such as Jawwal, Jericho Gate Real Estate, Palvest, in addition to his board membership in TNB since 2013.
Before joining Paltel Group, Mr. Khalil was the Vice President of Finance of Bloom Holdings in the United Arab Emirates. His role included defining the Group´s financial strategies, treasury activities, financing the Group’s operations and projects, internal controls and preparing budgets and financial statements. Before working at Bloom Holdings, Mr. Khalil worked at Ernst and Young in Ramallah as the audit manager, where he managed the audit of leading corporates and international institutions including the European Commission, World Bank and USAID. in addition, Mr. Khalil also managed international projects for the Palestinian Ministry of Finance; consulted on audit and internal controls, budgeting, risk management and institutional capacity building for the sovereign institutional infrastructure.
Mr. Khalil obtained a Bachelor of Accounting from Birzeit University in 2000, and holds several additional accounting accreditations, including: Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Project Finance Specialist (CPFS) and Master Financial Controller (MFC).
Senior Executive Management
Anan Zagha
Anan Zagha joined The National Bank’s executive management team in the year of 2020 as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Anan started his career at Ernst & Young (EY) MENA - Palestine, where he was an Audit Senior Manager responsible for managing the audit of the largest companies listed in the Palestine Stock Exchange (PEX). Later, he joined EY’s branch in Belgium to continue in his role as an Audit Senior Manager, where he also managed the audit of large listed companies, in addition to working closely on supervising the audit quality for EY’s branches there.
With an experience extending for over 11 years, Anan has gained a vast knowledge in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), internal control and monitoring systems, and coaching in the relevant fields.
Anan holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Birzeit University, Palestine, in addition to international accounting and finance certifications including Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Senior Executive Management
Haitham Najjar
Haitham Najjar is the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at The National Bank (TNB) with an investment and strategic planning experience extending for more than 14 years. Mr. Najjar joined TNB in the year 2011 and held several positions including the Investment and Financial Institutions Department Manager and Strategic Planning Department Manager. Mr. Najjar played an important role in managing and planning the bank’s M&A transactions; The merger with the Arab Palestinian Investment Bank (APIB) in 2012, acquiring Bank al Etihad in 2015, acquiring Jordan Commercial Bank (JCB) in 2020 and the acquisition of a majority stake in Palestine Islamic Bank (PIB) in 2018, where he also managed building the synergy formula and plans between TNB and its affiliate PIB.
Prior to joining TNB, Mr. Najjar served as the Research Manager at Sahem for Trading and Investment Company and a Finance Management Instructor at An-Najah National University in Nablus.
Mr. Najjar started his career in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as a Senior Financial Analyst at Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO). Prior, he worked as a Certified Investment Advisor at Al-Tanmia Securities Company.
Mr. Najjar holds a Master’s in Finance from New York Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s in Finance and Banking from An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. He is also one of the first individuals in Jordan to obtain the Certified Financial Consultant, Broker, and Investment Manager License by the Jordan Securities Commission.
Senior Executive Management
Ayman Dahadha
Ayman Dahadha is a well-known local banking expert with diversified experience in Palestine spanning more than 24 years. Mr. Dahadha’s areas of expertise include credit facilities for the retail sector, strategic planning, banking product design, the studying and analyzing of markets and customers’ behaviors and sales management. He also has in depth experience of managing a network of branches at a regional level in Palestine.
Mr. Dahadha started his career in 1997 at the Arab Bank in Palestine, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the first banking retail department in the Palestinian banking sector in 2004. He also established the Direct Sales Department in the bank in 2008. Mr. Dahadha also held the positions of Director of Sales and Credit Facilities for the retail group and manager of the bank’s branches in the north, middle and southern districts for several years.
Mr. Dahadha holds a master’s degree in Business from Al-Quds University, and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Birzeit University, Palestine. He also holds international certificates in banking including the Certified Lending Business Banker (CLBB) from the American Federation of Banks, USA.
Senior Executive Management
Mahmoud Nawahda
TNB’s Chief Operations Officer is a banking and financial specialist who has worked for more than 21 years in finance and the Palestinian banking sector. Mr. Nawahda’s experience includes managing and monitoring banking and financial operations, treasury management services, management of administrative affairs and information technology. Additionally, he has expertise in providing banking services to the corporate sector, customer service and financial audit.
Mr. Nawahda worked at the regional offices of the Arab Bank in Palestine for 13 years, where he held several positions including, Director of Banking Operations Control Department, Director of Financial Operations and Deputy Director of the Banking Operations Sector. Subsequently, he moved to the Jordan Commercial Bank (JCB) becoming Chief Operations Officer (COO). Mr. Nawahda began his career at the Ministry of Finance in Palestine, where he occupied the position of Head of Internal Audit, in addition to managing the Internal Control Development Department.
Mr. Nawahda holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from An-Najah National University and specialized qualifications in money markets and treasury, internal audit, information security, anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC).
Senior Executive Management
Adel Hassan
Engineer Adel Hassan has extensive experience in information technology, digital transformation, information security, cyber security, systems management and cloud technology. His diverse practical experience in these fields extends to more than 24 years, during which he held a number of key positions in several leading local banks in Palestine.
Hassan began his professional career in 1998, where he held the position of electrical engineer in the Bethlehem 2000 project and Jacir Palace. He then moved to work for the Cairo Amman Bank / Palestine in 2004 and ended his journey there in 2015 as Manager of the Information Technology Infrastructure Department. Hassan subsequently joined the Bank of Palestine and held the position of Manager of Infrastructure and Information Technology Projects. Hassan’s first footprint at The National Bank (TNB) was in 2020 when he played a key role in the development of the bank’s infrastructure and IT systems and lay the foundation for the bank’s digital transformation journey.
Mr. Hassan had many contributions in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, data and data analysis, in addition to digital currencies and crypto, where he worked on many research projects and articles approved and published in prominent global scientific platforms.
Mr. Hassan holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Birzeit University, and a master’s degree in computer science from the Arab American University, which he obtained in 2019. He them completed his academic journey by entering a PhD program in information technology engineering.