(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top executive in Saudi Arabia is set to leave the bank after nearly a decade running its operations in the Middle East’s biggest economy, people familiar with the matter said.
Khalid Albdah, chief executive officer of the firm’s Saudi operations since 2015, will depart in coming weeks, according to one of the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private.
The executive is also the managing director of the US bank’s asset management division in the country. He joined the firm in 2013 from Al Rajhi Capital, the securities arm of the kingdom’s second biggest lender.
A spokesperson for Goldman declined to comment. Albdah didn’t immediately respond to a message on LinkedIn.
Goldman has been expanding its activities in Saudi Arabia over the past year, and recently became the first Wall Street bank to be granted a so-called regional headquarters license. The government has indicated it will stop working with international financial firms that don’t have a regional base in the country.
The bank is also working on raising a Middle East-focused fund and hired Habib Saikaly from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to be based in Riyadh as head of its fundamental equity business across the Middle East and North Africa. He’s expected to oversee the fund’s development, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News in July.
Goldman ranks as the third-largest adviser on equity offerings in the Middle East so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s worked on deals including Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion secondary offering.
--With assistance from Nicolas Parasie.
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