Samir Assaf
Samir Assaf | |
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| سمير عساف | |
 Assaf at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia in 2012 | |
| Born | June 20, 1960 |
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Samir Assaf (Arabic: سمير عساف; born 20 June 1960) is a prominent Lebanese executive. He holds the position of senior advisor to HSBC’s Group Chairman, Group CEO, and business operations, while also serving as non-executive chairman for HSBC Bank Middle East Limited and HSBC Middle East Holdings. Additionally, he is a senior advisor at General Atlantic and participates on the advisory board for BeyondNetZero, General Atlantic’s climate-focused venture.
Biography
Originating from a Lebanese family affiliated with the Maronite tradition, Assaf completed his secondary schooling at College La Sagesse St Joseph – Ashrafieh. He attained a master’s degree in economics from Saint Joseph University. During the Lebanese Civil War, he relocated to France where he pursued undergraduate studies at the Paris Institute of Political Science and completed graduate education at Pantheon-Sorbonne University. Assaf is proficient in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish.
Career
Assaf launched his professional journey in 1987 with the French energy company Total, advancing to lead its treasury department by 1994. That same year, he transitioned to French commercial bank Crédit Commercial de France, taking charge of its global markets division.
Following HSBC’s acquisition of Crédit Commercial de France in 2000, Assaf joined HSBC as head of fixed income trading across Europe and led Global Markets for HSBC France. He progressed to oversee Global Markets for EMEA in 2006, was appointed deputy head in 2007, then became head of Global Markets in January 2008, attaining group general manager status by May.
In December 2010, Assaf was named CEO of Global Banking and Markets at HSBC and joined the group management board with oversight for this segment. In December 2019, HSBC announced that his role would be succeeded by co-heads Gregory Guyett and Georges Elhedery.
Assaf relinquished executive responsibilities in March 2020 to assume senior advisory duties to HSBC’s chairman and CEO and took on the chairmanship of HSBC Middle East’s board.
In June 2020, he was appointed co-chairman of the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI), an initiative launched during the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit.
By October 2021, Assaf accepted a senior advisory position at General Atlantic, a leading global private growth equity firm.
Awards
Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur (awarded on 31 December 2020)
Chevalier of the National Order of Merit (conferred on 30 January 2008)