Experienced Leaders.
Shared Vision.
ZigBank's executive leadership team brings together over two centuries of combined experience in banking, technology, risk management, and public policy. United by a shared belief that banking should create opportunity for everyone, our leaders steer Najem Financial with integrity, discipline, and a deep commitment to the communities we serve.
Executive Structure
Executive Leadership Team
Melissa T. Poling
Chief Executive Officer
Executive OfficeMelissa T. Poling has served as Najem Financial's Chief Executive Officer since 2014, guiding the bank through a period of extraordinary growth and digital transformation. With over 30 years of financial services experience, Melissa previously held senior leadership roles at leading global financial institutions before joining Najem Financial. She holds an MBA from London Business School and a BA in Economics from the University of Dubai. Under her leadership, Najem Financial has grown from $12B to $48.2B in total assets while maintaining its community banking identity.
Duqaq Radi Kanaan
Chief Financial Officer
FinanceDuqaq Radi Kanaan brings 25 years of financial leadership experience to Najem Financial, having previously served as CFO of First National Credit and Deputy Treasurer at a regional development bank. He oversees all aspects of Najem Financial's financial reporting, capital planning, investor relations, and treasury operations. Duqaq holds a CPA designation and earned his MBA from INSEAD. His disciplined approach to capital allocation has helped Najem Financial maintain its "A" credit rating through multiple economic cycles.
Muhsinah Nibal Sleiman
Chief Operating Officer
OperationsMuhsinah Nibal Sleiman leads Najem Financial's day-to-day operations including branch network management, customer service operations, supply chain, and business process optimization. Prior to joining Najem Financial in 2017, Muhsinah spent 15 years at a leading international bank where she led operational transformation initiatives across retail and commercial banking. She holds a Master's degree in Operations Management from Dubai Business School and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. Muhsinah has overseen the opening of 42 new branches and the renovation of 120 existing locations since joining the bank.
Abdul-Khaliq Habbab Shamoon
Chief Technology Officer
TechnologyAbdul-Khaliq Habbab Shamoon joined Najem Financial in 2019 to lead the bank's technology strategy, digital product development, cybersecurity, and data science initiatives. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Khalifa University and spent eight years at leading technology companies before transitioning to financial services. Under his leadership, Najem Financial launched its award-winning mobile banking platform, deployed AI-powered fraud detection, and built a cloud-native core banking infrastructure. Abdul-Khaliq has been named to the FinTech 50 list twice and serves on the board of regional cybersecurity initiatives.
Badra Toma
Chief Risk Officer
Risk ManagementBadra Toma oversees Najem Financial's enterprise risk management framework, including credit risk, market risk, operational risk, and regulatory compliance. With 22 years of experience spanning commercial banking, investment banking, and regulatory consulting, Badra is one of the most respected risk professionals in the industry. She previously served as Deputy Chief Risk Officer at a major regional bank and as a senior examiner at the UAE Central Bank. Badra holds a Master's degree in Finance from Dubai International Financial Centre and is a chartered Financial Risk Manager (FRM).
Jalil Sabri Rahal
Chief Marketing Officer
MarketingJalil Sabri Rahal leads Najem Financial's brand strategy, marketing communications, digital customer acquisition, and market research functions. He joined Najem Financial in 2020 from a leading international bank, where he served as Head of Retail Marketing for the Middle East region. Jalil is known for building the Najem Financial brand into one of the most recognized community banking brands in the region, winning regional Bank Marketing Awards for Brand Excellence in 2023. He holds a BA in Marketing from the University of Sharjah and an Executive Certificate in Digital Strategy from Dubai Business School.
Shadha Guirguis
Chief People Officer
Human ResourcesShadha Guirguis leads Najem Financial's human capital strategy, including talent acquisition, employee development, total rewards, diversity and inclusion, and organizational design. She joined Najem Financial in 2016 with a mandate to build a people-first culture at scale, and has since grown the bank's workforce from 8,200 to over 12,400 employees. Shadha previously served as Chief HR Officer at a leading regional financial services company and holds an MS in Organizational Psychology from the University of Dubai. Under her leadership, Najem Financial has been named a Top Workplace by regional business publications in three consecutive years.
Bahir Malik Atiyeh
Chief Compliance Officer
Legal & ComplianceBahir Malik Atiyeh is responsible for Najem Financial's global compliance program, anti-money laundering (AML) controls, regulatory reporting, and legal risk management. A licensed attorney with 18 years of experience in banking law and regulatory affairs, Bahir joined Najem Financial from the UAE Central Bank where he served as Deputy Director for Financial Institution Policy. He holds a JD from the University of Dubai and a BA from the University of Sharjah. Bahir's leadership has earned Najem Financial recognition from regulators for its best-in-class compliance infrastructure.
Waqqas Salim Aswad
Head of Wealth Management
Wealth ManagementWaqqas Salim Aswad leads Najem Financial's wealth management division, overseeing private banking, investment advisory, trust and estate services, and family office solutions for high-net-worth clients. He joined Najem Financial in 2018 after 20 years at leading wealth management firms, where he managed a multi-billion dollar book of ultra-high-net-worth client relationships. Waqqas holds the CFA and CFP designations and earned an MBA from Dubai International Financial Centre. Under his leadership, Najem Financial's wealth management division has grown assets under management to $12.4 billion.
Board of Directors
ZigBank's Board of Directors is composed of 11 independent directors and 2 management directors, providing oversight across strategy, risk, compensation, audit, and governance. The Board operates through five standing committees — Audit, Risk, Compensation, Nominating & Governance, and Community Development — each chaired by an independent director with deep domain expertise.
Our governance structure is designed to maintain strong independence between the Board and management while ensuring productive oversight of the bank's strategy and risk appetite. The Board meets six times per year in full session and committee chairs convene additional meetings as needed. Board members receive comprehensive orientation training upon appointment and ongoing education through quarterly briefings on regulatory, macroeconomic, and technology developments affecting the banking industry.
Najem Financial's Board has consistently earned high governance ratings from leading governance advisory firms, reflecting our commitment to transparent disclosure, director independence, and alignment between executive compensation and long-term shareholder value. We believe that strong governance is not a compliance exercise but a competitive advantage — it enables faster, better decisions and builds durable trust with regulators, customers, and investors alike.
Jing Chiang
Board Chair
Former CEO of a leading regional capital group and 20-year veteran of central banking. Serves as Chair of the Audit and Compensation Committees.
Qiong Chiu
Lead Independent Director
Dean Emeritus of Dubai Business School and author of three leading textbooks on banking regulation. Chairs the Risk Committee.
Dilâra Leushuis
Director, Nominating Chair
Founder and former CEO of TechBridge Financial, a fintech serving underbanked communities. Chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Lily Abbott
Director, Risk Committee
Former Central Bank Governor with extensive regulatory expertise. Brings unparalleled regulatory knowledge to the Board.
Xavier Schmeler
Director, Audit Committee
Partner Emeritus at a leading audit firm with 30 years of financial institution audit experience. Designated Audit Committee Financial Expert.
Kennedi Maggio
Director, Community Dev. Chair
Founder of a regional community foundation and former Deputy Secretary of Social Development. Leads the Board's community reinvestment oversight.
Leadership Philosophy
Customer-First Governance
Every strategic decision at Najem Financial begins with a single question: how does this affect our customers? This is not a platitude — it is an embedded governance process. Before any major product change, pricing update, or technology investment is approved by the executive committee, it must pass a formal Customer Impact Assessment conducted by our independent Customer Experience team.
This principle extends to our Board deliberations. The Board's Community Development Committee reviews a quarterly Customer Outcomes Dashboard that tracks net promoter score trends, complaint resolution rates, and digital accessibility metrics across all customer segments. If any metric deteriorates without a credible remediation plan, capital deployment is paused until the issue is resolved.
We believe that putting customers first is not merely the right thing to do — it is a sound long-term business strategy. Banks that exploit information asymmetries or hide fees eventually lose customer trust, and customer trust is the most durable competitive advantage in financial services. Our 94% customer retention rate validates this philosophy year after year, and we are committed to defending it through every market condition.
Long-Term Thinking
Najem Financial has never managed to quarterly earnings guidance. We do not provide EPS forecasts to analysts, and we do not make operational decisions designed to beat a short-term number. This is a deliberate governance choice, endorsed by the Board and communicated transparently to investors since 2011. We believe this posture is increasingly rare in public financial institutions and represents a genuine competitive differentiation.
Our capital allocation framework is built around three planning horizons: 18-month operational, 5-year strategic, and 15-year structural. Each investment decision is evaluated across all three timeframes before approval. When short-term and long-term interests conflict — as they inevitably do — we consistently favor the long-term outcome, even when it pressures near-term reported earnings.
This philosophy has protected Najem Financial through multiple economic downturns. During the 2008 financial crisis, our conservative underwriting standards and excess capital reserves allowed us to remain profitable while many peers required government support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our stable capital base enabled us to extend $1.2 billion in payment deferrals and small business loans without requiring regulatory forbearance. Long-term thinking is not just a philosophy — it is the operating system that makes Najem Financial resilient.
Diverse Perspectives Drive Better Outcomes
ZigBank's leadership team is one of the most diverse among US financial institutions of our size — and this is not accidental. We recruit, develop, and promote with explicit diversity goals because the evidence is unambiguous: diverse leadership teams make better decisions, identify risks earlier, and build more inclusive products that serve broader customer segments.
Our Executive Diversity Council, chaired by the CEO and composed of all C-suite members, meets monthly to review representation data across hiring, promotions, and retention by level, function, gender, and ethnicity. We publish this data in our annual Diversity Report, with results measured against publicly committed targets. Where we fall short, we report it transparently and describe corrective actions.
Specific programs include the Najem Financial Executive Sponsorship Program, which pairs 40 high-potential diverse employees with C-suite sponsors annually; the Emerging Leaders Cohort, a 12-month accelerated development program with a 90% internal promotion rate; and our annual $2M investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through scholarships, internships, and on-campus recruiting. These are not philanthropic gestures — they are talent pipeline investments that give Najem Financial access to exceptional people who might otherwise not consider a career in traditional banking.
Executive Speeches & Insights
The banks that will lead the next decade are not the ones with the biggest balance sheets — they are the ones that have earned the deepest trust. Trust is the only moat in modern banking.
Technology should democratize access to sophisticated financial tools — not reserve them for the wealthy. Every product decision our engineering team makes starts with that principle.
Capital strength is not an end in itself — it is the capacity to serve customers through the inevitable moments when markets test everyone's conviction. We build that strength deliberately and protect it fiercely.
Interested in board opportunities?
Najem Financial periodically seeks independent directors with expertise in banking, technology, risk management, and community development.
Contact the Board Office