BNP Paribas has announced the appointment of Jacques Michel as head of the MEA for corporate and institutional banking. Michel will take over the role from Jean-Christophe Durand.
Based in Bahrain, Jacques will report to Marc Carlos, head of country management EMEA. He will become country head for Bahrain and will also supervise the operations in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, South Africa and the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) office in Morocco.
Prior to this appointment, Jacques was the country head of BNP Paribas India since December 2009 and a member of the executive committee of BNP Paribas Asia Pacific.
With an international banking career spanning 25 years in Asia after a decade-long career in France, Michel brings with him extensive experience in corporate and institutional banking.
Before he joined BNP Paribas India, Jacques was deputy CEO, Fortis Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong. He worked in Asia for 18 consecutive years, 10 of which have been in Hong Kong. Jacques served with Credit Lyonnais, formerly known as Calyon, from 1996 to 2007, as senior country officer in Thailand and as chief risk officer for Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong.
Carlos stated: “I would like to thank Jean-Christophe for the dedication that he has shown to the group and our clients throughout his 19 years of service in the region. I am confident that with Jacques’ strong expertise in corporate and institutional banking, he will carry on this tradition and continue to shape MEA in line with CIB's strategic ambitions to deliver seamless and integrated solutions for our clients.”
Jacques said: “It is my privilege to have the opportunity to lead BNP Paribas’ corporate and institutional banking franchise in the MEA. In a dynamic region with unique opportunities, I look forward to building on the strong foundation and goodwill that BNP Paribas enjoys here.”
BNP Paribas appoints new MEA head for corporate banking
BNP Paribas appoints new MEA head for corporate banking
ITC Infotech accelerates Vision 2030 through digital hub in Riyadh
ITC Infotech’s commitment to delivering real digital change in the Middle East is reinforced by strengthening collaboration and working more closely with customers on the ground. The establishment of its Digital and AI Engineering Hub in Riyadh brings superior digital engineering and AI skills closer to businesses, allowing for speedier collaboration, localized innovation, and solutions targeted to regional needs. This strategic expansion aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and underscores ITC Infotech’s long-standing emphasis on partnership-led growth and customer-centric innovation.
The hub was officially inaugurated on Jan. 15 by Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director of ITC Ltd. This facility is designed to help enterprises leverage advanced technologies and convert digital ambitions into measurable business outcomes. This move aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build a knowledge-driven economy powered by innovation and technology.
Saudi Arabia’s digital leap
Vision 2030 is more than just economic diversification; it is a clear blueprint for creating a technologically advanced society. This vision is centered on the integration of artificial intelligence and digital engineering, which are transforming industries and enabling long-term, sustainable growth. The strategic importance of AI is clear, with the Saudi Data and AI Authority estimating that it may add $135 billion to the Kingdom’s GDP by 2030. This commitment is supported by significant investments, including $14.9 billion announced at LEAP 2025 to advance digital infrastructure, talent, and next-generation technologies, as well as historic projects like the $2.7 billion Hexagon Data Center in Riyadh. Together, these efforts are laying the foundation for a secure, resilient, and future-ready digital ecosystem that can support AI adoption, data-driven governance, and smart city development at scale.
What the hub offers
ITC Infotech’s Riyadh hub is designed to fuel this momentum by focusing on three core areas:
- AI-powered platforms: Delivering predictive analytics, intelligent automation, and data-driven insights to help businesses transition from reactive operations to proactive strategies.
- Digital engineering solutions: Leveraging Industry 4.0-driven smart manufacturing capabilities, integrating AI-led modeling, connected systems, and advanced analytics to optimize production performance, improve asset utilization, and proactively reduce operational and quality risks across the engineering lifecycle.
- Cloud-native architectures: Building agile, secure, and resilient ecosystems that enable faster innovation and seamless integration across enterprise systems.
These capabilities are designed to enable organizations to innovate, scale, and compete in a rapidly evolving digital economy. Beyond technology, the hub is fundamentally anchored in building a team of the region, from the region, for the region and for global impact. Through structured skill-building programs, deep partnerships with academia, systematic knowledge transfer, and immersive, hands-on delivery models, the hub is creating a future-ready Saudi workforce fully aligned with Vision 2030 and capable of serving both national and international priorities.
Driving enterprise transformation
The ITC Infotech hub aims to enable transformation rather than simply deploy technology. By driving AI adoption, accelerating digital engineering, and building cloud-native ecosystems, ITC Infotech seeks to help businesses:
- develop new business models to meet evolving market needs.
- improve operational efficiency through predictive insights and automation.
- support sustainability goals by optimizing resources and reducing risks.
- build a skilled local workforce capable of leading future innovations.
These outcomes support enterprises as they transition to more resilient, data-driven, and digitally mature operating models.
The road ahead
ITC Infotech is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Limited, one of India’s largest conglomerates, with over 25 years of experience as a trusted technology services partner to enterprises globally. The company focuses on next-generation enterprise transformation, delivering services across infrastructure and application modernization, cloud, cybersecurity, digital engineering, and AI-led innovation.
As Saudi Arabia continues its digital journey, ITC Infotech’s combination of global expertise, strong local presence, and collaborative delivery model positions it as a long-term partner in advancing Vision 2030. ITC Infotech’s hub in Riyadh reflects this commitment, bringing advanced capabilities closer to customers, investing in local talent, and enabling enterprises to adopt AI at scale as they compete in an increasingly digital world.
