Kuwait City: Gulf Insurance Group (GIG) announced the formation of a new board on Thursday. The board includes the current directors from Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, the majority shareholder, and two new independent members with expertise in finance, economics, and insurance. The new board members were elected at the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting on July 28.
Last year, Canadian company Fairfax Financial Holdings raised its shareholding in Gulf Insurance Group to 90.01 per cent after buying the 43.62 per cent stake held by Kuwait’s KIPCO. Gulf Insurance Group owns GIG Gulf, one of the biggest names in the UAE and Gulf insurance sector. The former bought the regional operations of French insurance giant AXA in late 2020, which was then renamed GIG Gulf.
“We welcome the new composition and independent Directors onto the Board of GIG as Fairfax’s acquisition of a majority shareholding in our Group has started to take effect,” said Khaled Saoud Al Hasan, Group Vice Chairman and CEO of GIG.
He confirmed that the shareholding and new Board election change does not affect any of the company’s stakeholders and will not change the company's identity and values as a “Kuwait-grown insurance group.”
“Today, GIG is not only benefiting from an international network and extensive experience in the insurance industry through Fairfax’s global presence, but it will also continue to be guided by a diversified Board, offering us unparalleled global expertise and resources, specifically in markets where we operate and lead in. The board composition brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will undoubtedly drive GIG towards greater innovation and growth in the insurance industry,” stated Al Hasan.
The new Board composition is as follows: Bijan Khosrowshahi, Group Chairman; Khaled Saoud Al Hasan, Group Vice Chairman and CEO; Jean Cloutier, Director; and Quinn McLean, Director.
The board also consists of Amin Hesham Ezzalarab, an Independent Director who is also the Chairman of Commercial Intl Bank Egypt, and Abdulkarim Kabariti, an Independent Director who is also the Chairman of Algeria Gulf Bank SPA, Strategy Co.
GIG is among the largest insurance Group in Kuwait in terms of written and retained premiums, with operations in life and non-life insurance as well as Takaful insurance. GIG has become one of the largest insurance networks in the Middle East and North Africa, with companies in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, UAE, KSA, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, and Lebanon. As of March 31 this year, its reported consolidated assets stood at $3.89 billion.
