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Tarun Khanna has been with Nexus since January 2007. He was appointed Deputy CEO in early 2010, and was appointed CEO in mid 2013. Tarun has extensive experience in financial services having spent 25 years in money management and investment banking. He started his career at Merrill Lynch in New York in 1990 in the investment banking group and has worked with Morgan Stanley, Lazard Asset Management, Wellington Management and Copper Arch Capital, a New York based Hedge Fund.
Tarun received an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance and an undergraduate degree from Muskingum College (Honours) with focus on Economics and Accounting in 1990. He also studied at the American University in Paris in 1989. Tarun is a high school graduate of the Doon School in India.
Mahmoud is the founder and Chairman of the Nexus Group. He has 40 years experience in the insurance industry having worked mainly in the UK and the GCC.
Mahmoud started his career at AIG in 1974 and in 1979 he was appointed by AIG as Sales Manager in the UK. In 1982 he relocated to Dubai and was appointed Director of Agencies for the G.C.C. In 1989 Mahmoud established Eagle Star International brokerage in the U.A.E. and Bahrain, which evolved in 1991 into a fully-fledged life insurance company, Eagle Star International Life. In 2004, subsequent to a merger between Eagle Star Group and Zurich Financial Services, the company changed its name from Eagle Star International Life Limited to Zurich International Life Limited (ZIL). At Eagle Star and ZIL Middle East, Mahmoud was the Managing Director for the Middle East and held responsibility for all the company’s Regional Distribution, Administration, Compliance and Governance function. He held this position until 2006, when he took the major step of leading a management buy-out of the ZIL Direct Distribution network in the Middle East and became the Founder and Chairman of Nexus Insurance Brokers and Nexus Financial Services.
Mahmoud’s contribution to the insurance industry has been recognised by the following:
Antoine J. Meyer has held Executive positions in some of the world’s leading financial institutions. Having achieved his MA in Law at the University of Paris he achieved his MBA at the University of Chicago and this was followed by attaining a BA Ecole du Louvre, in Paris.
His business experience has encompassed twelve years with Citigroup (Corporate Sector), ten years with Eagle Star and five years as Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Star International Life (Isle of Man) and then Zurich International Life.
Having graduated with a B.A. in Business Studies from the University of East London and a M.Sc. in Organization Development from Sheffield Hallam University , Peter has worked first as a college lecturer and then in industrial relations and HR in dairy distribution and engineering, in Management Development for Xerox, entering financial services in 1984.
He spent seventeen years with Allied Dunbar in a variety of roles (including Director of Sales Management Development, Training and Development Director and E-Commerce Director and eventually as a main board Director, responsible for Sales Strategy. He was responsible for creating the famous King Edward’s Place Training and Development Centre, generally considered to offer the best training in the industry.
Since 2001, Peter has undertaken a series of consulting roles within financial service companies in the UK, majoring on situations that require distribution and change management expertise and senior line management experience.
Peter held the role of Chief Operating Officer – Middle East, with Nexus between 2011 and 2014.
Ali Makki has over 17 years of experience in providing administrative & regulatory expertise for all legislative aspects across the organization that require compliance with the local government.
Ali has extensive experience in the UAE and joined Nexus from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) where he had worked since 2010 handling government relations, administration, safety & security, facility management and legal matters. Prior to this he spent 4 years with Dubai Holding as a Security & Facility Manager. He also has 7 years of extensive experience working in the Dubai Police Force in various departments.
General Manager – Qatar
Following an early military career, Gary Hines moved into Financial Services 28 years ago, working mainly in direct sales for Aviva and Prudential. After graduating with a degree in Financial Services, he joined Friends Provident in 1998 working as a Business Sales Consultant within the Corporate Pensions market. Between 2007 and 2012, Gary was responsible for the supervision of numerous firms and individual Independent Financial Advisers within various networks.
After several years working as an Independent Financial Adviser himself, he moved to the UAE and joined the Nexus Training and Development team in 2017. As well as being Level 4 qualified, he also has a BA(Hons) Financial Services and a Pension Transfer Specialist qualification. He is also a member of the Personal Finance Society.
Sanjeev Singh held diversified leadership roles for 25 years in the field of Wealth Management across prominent banks and insurance companies before he joined Nexus in 2024. He started his career in financial sales with Birla Sunlife Insurance in 2000 as Agency Manager and then with Aviva Life Insurance as Sales Manager, managing Bancassurance business of ABN Amro Bank VGPB clients in Delhi and National Capital Region (India). He set up the Bancassurance distribution channel for Citibank GCB in UAE in 2004 as Sales Head – Insurance and later managing its Citigold Wealth Management portfolio as Unit Head in 2007 .Â
Before joining Nexus, he held various positions in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank for 16 years as Sales Head – Bancassurance , Investments and Cross Sell , Sales Head – Mortgages and Head Sales -Retail Banking managing a portfolio of HNI clients across UAE. Sanjeev is an MBA and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Compliance from International Compliance Association , Manchester Business School , UK. He holds an International Certificate in Investments and Wealth Management (ICIWM Level3 ) from the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI), UK. He has been a part of various leadership training programs including a prestigious Executive Education – Enhancing Sales Force Performance Course from Indian Institute of Management , Ahmedabad.
Murad AbuAssal
General Manager Jordan
Murad has been working in the insurance industry for over 27 years. He started his career in the Marine Department in Jordan at Arab Life Insurance Co. in 1993. In 1997, he began his first supervisory post at Arab Jordanian Insurance Group – AJIG, where he built and developed the Marine department. He was then promoted to several senior positions before becoming the Deputy General Manager. In 2011 he moved to KSA as Operation Manager at Arabia Insurance Cooperative Company. Murad then returned to Jordan in 2012 to work as the Deputy General Manager for MedGulf Insurance Company.
Murad graduated from Yarmouk University, with B.A. in Accounting and holds a Master’s degree in finance management from the Arab Academy of Finance. He also has a Diploma in Insurance DIP CII from the Chartered Insurance Institute in the United Kingdom.
Head of General Insurnace
Tony has 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. He started his career in Rome in 1987 at Generali’s HQ in Italy. Soon after he was promoted and moved to the UK as an Underwriter in the London Market and after eleven years he was appointed to a non-life senior underwriting position. He was later appointed Regional Manager in Hong Kong to expand the insurance practice and setup the local underwriters association there.
In 2008 Tony was promoted to Area Manager for the Middle East and Africa operations based at the DIFC in Dubai. Before joining Nexus, Tony was a senior insurance advisor of commercial lines and special risks for Multinationals, Governments and SMEs in the region. Tony has a CPA accounting Degree from Istituto Tecnico Commerciale Rome in Italy.
Sales Director Dubai
R.M. Kumar entered the Financial Services sector in 1993 joining Eagle Star Insurance as a Financial Consultant. He was promoted to Sales Manager in 1998 and appointed Sales Director in 2009. He currently manages a team of several Sales Managers and over 115 Sales Consultants.
He holds the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Award in Financial Planning, Award in Investment Planning & Award in General Insurance (Cert CII). In addition, he is also a member of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management, UK.
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Weldon is CIO (Chief Information Officer) for Nexus Insurance Group, responsible for the overall IT and telecoms function for the Group across the Middle East Region. He has over 20+ years’ of experience and comprehensive hands-on knowledge of cross functional Software Systems Development & Design, Project Management and IT Infrastructure, having worked on, developed and implemented numerous IT platforms across various international insurance organizations such as American Life Insurance, Eagle Star International and Zurich International Life.
Weldon is a Chartered IT Professional of the British Computer Society (UK) and a Certified Computing Professional (USA), in addition to holding a Master of Business Administration degree. He also has several professional IT vendor certifications and has completed LOMA (Life Officers Management Association Level 1).
Reza comes from a legal and asset management background. He started his career at Lehman Brothers in London in 1998. He moved to Dubai in 2006 as the Director of Caspian for the HSBC Private Bank. Before moving to Dubai, he was the Group Counsel and Chief Compliance officer at Gottex Fund Management a Swiss based fund of hedge funds.
Reza received his Bachelors in Law (LLB 1997) & Masters in Law of Banking and Finance (LLM 1999) from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).
Samira started her insurance career by serving an internship with Zurich International Life, Dubai after gaining her BA in Marketing from the American Intercontinental University in London in 2001. She went on to further study at the Inchbald School of Design also in London. Samira joined the Nexus Marketing Department in 2009. Since then she has gained hands on experience in Event Management, Media Communications, PR, and Digital Marketing with emphasis on client communications. Although based in Dubai she is responsible for all Nexus offices throughout the region.
Nathalie Youwakim is the Head of Employee benefits in Nexus . She enjoys 30 years of comprehensive experience in the health insurance industry across several principles, insurance underwriting, brokerage, TPA, Product design, business development and operations. She has a proven ability to negotiate agreements, contracts, developing alternate solutions and providing long and short-term solutions for corporate clients.
Nathalie is an insurance business graduate and CII certified.
Maria is the Head of Compliance for the Nexus group of companies. She is a member of the International Compliance Association and is certified to Level 4, having completed the ICA Advanced Certificate in International Regulatory Compliance. Maria also holds a Certificate in Insurance and Financial Services (CIFS) from the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK) – Level 3, comprising of the Awards in Financial Planning, Investment planning, General Insurance and Customer Service in Insurance. Maria, a graduate from Delhi University, joined Nexus in 2011, prior to which she managed sales and servicing teams for Citibank UAE, Exxon Mobil Europe, Mastercard Europe and Zurich International Life UAE.
Sales Director Abu Dhabi
NB Raghu has over 19 years of experience, 17 years of which is in the Financial Services Industry. He has earned his Canadian Securities and Life Licenses and has a Bachelors Degree in Commerce with focus on Factory Administration and Costing. NB Raghu started his career in 1990 as a Branch Manager in a leading South Indian Investment Firm. He later moved to the UAE to join Eagle Star (which later became Zurich International Life) as a Financial Advisor and graduated to a Sales Manager. From there he moved to Canada to work with Edward Jones Investments as an Investment Broker and later moved to India to work with ING Vysya Life as a Branch Manager managing a team of 250 Advisors and 16 Sales Managers. In 2007 he returned back to the UAE and joined Al Fara’a Properties as a Business Development Manager and in 2009 joined the Nexus Team as Sales Director.
General Manager – Kuwait
Sunit Arora has over 20 years’ experience in the insurance and financial services industry. He started his career in 1992 with Eagle Star International (subsequently Zurich Life) as a Financial Consultant. He has served as the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Country Chair for Kuwait, Zone Chair for Middle East & Africa and as the Regional Chairman for India, MENA, Europe & UK. He is a MDRT Life Member & on the Honour Role. Sunit holds a degree in Bachelor of Commerce from Delhi University, India and also holds a Financial Advisor International Qualification from the C.I.I, London.
Sunit has lived in the GCC for the last 33 years and was appointed as the General Manager, Nexus Financial Services, Kuwait in 2013.
Sarah Khumanpur is a portfolio manager and investment counselor, with a proven track record for generating superior investment return and increasing assets under management. Sarah has managed portfolios for affluent clients in Dubai, India, Europe and Singapore since 2005, starting her career with JP Morgan Chase and then moving on to roles in equity trading, equity analysis and portfolio management at Suzark Investments and LLB Private Bank. An alumnus of the London School of Economics and the Indian Institute of Management, Sarah also holds several professional qualifications.
Having joined Nexus Group in 2013, she has worked with the sales teams on aligning portfolios to the house view and creating innovative and profitable solutions for clients.
Co-Head of Investment Advisory
Mohamed has been in the financial services and Investments advisory since 1998. He has worked across his career with reputable financial institutions and banks, including HSBC, Citi and Global Investment House. Mohamed currently is the Co-Head of Investment advisory and promotion manager at Nexus financial advisers.
Prior to that and being a fellow member of the Canadian Securities Institute, a holder of the CSI FMA designation, and a Certified financial technician from the IFTA, Mohamed was able to fill various technical and advisory roles between Egypt and the UAE, as Head of research at OSOOL Securities, Head of dealing and technical analysis at GIH, and a Senior Portfolio Counselor at Citi bank in Dubai. Mohamed holds a Bachelor of Commerce, English department from Ain Shams University in Cairo, with a major in accounting.
Member of Advisory Board
Mansoor Nodjoumi has achieved extensive experience in the global financial marketing arena. He has been involved in a series of operational start ups and has specialized in the provision of financial planning and wealth management.
He has worked in New York, Los Angeles, London and has been based in Dubai since 1980.
Before taking his current appointment he managed a team of some 140 Financial Advisers within Nexus and has held the global number one position for sales with Zurich International Life.
Ciro is the General Manager of Nexus Mortgage Brokers, a subsidiary of the Nexus Group of companies. Holding a degree in political science from the Unversity of Naples Dederico.
Ciro built and maintained business partnerships with a variety of real estate agents and banks getting approvals for individuals & corporate clients dealing with complex financing structures. Ciro has over 13 years experience and was previously the Mortgage Manager at Sotheby’s, the largest Real Estate Broker in the Middle East, where he managed a team of brokers servicing the many nationalities and cultures in Dubai.