Iraq: doing business

27 July 2010

Six executives helping Iraq develop its business potential: Adrian Green, Lawrence Peters, Luay al-Khateeb, William Wakeham, Bishr Ibrahim Baker and Wadee al-Handal

Adrian Green

Position Partner, Upper Quartile

Biography Adrian Green has more than 25 years’ experience working as an economist with governments and development agencies. He currently works with companies based in the UK and Middle East, advising on economic reform, corporate planning, investment promotion and project management. He is advisor to UKAID in the British Embassy in Afghanistan in addition to being Upper Quartile’s Iraq partner. Green previously worked as a project manager for the London School of Economics. He graduated with a master’s degree in economics in 1983 and obtained a second master’s in development in 1991. Scotland-headquartered Upper Quartile played a key role in supporting the Iraqi government’s series of international investment conferences. It managed two trade missions to Basra for oil and gas service companies to meet with officials from Iraq’s South Oil Company, Umm Qasr port and the Iraqi Drilling Company.

Contact Tel: (+44) 131 524 9640

Lawrence Peters

Position Director, Private Security Company Association of Iraq

Biography Lawrence Peters is a foreign affairs and security specialist. A career naval officer, he has served on numerous operational tours with US Special Mission Units tasked with countering terrorism. He obtained a master’s in public administration from Florida Atlantic University, after his graduation from the University of Central Florida. Peters founded the Private Security Company Association of Iraq in 2004, following an assignment with the Coalition Provisional Authority. The non-profit trade organisation, which consists of 40 member companies, works closely with the Iraqi government and coalition forces to promote transparency, legitimacy, and accountability for the private security industry. The association is currently involved in efforts to enforce standard rules and regulations as guidelines for conducting private security operations in Iraq.

Contact Tel: (+964) 7904 466 369

Luay al-Khateeb

Position Founder and executive director, Iraq Energy Institute

Biography Luay al-Khateeb is the director of the Iraq Energy Institute, an independent think-tank for Iraq based in London. Founded in 2008, the non-profit organisation aims to provide policy recommendations for Iraq’s energy sector. Al-Khateeb previously worked as a senior advisor for UK/Dutch energy firm Shell, playing a key role in the development of the oil major’s exploration and production strategy for Iraq between 2004 and 2008. He also worked as Iraq country director for Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum and serves as an advisor to the Iraqi Oil & Gas Parliamentary Committee through the Iraq Energy Institute. He graduated in 1993 with a degree in business information technology from Kingston University in the UK. He was later a researcher on the Iraq Petroleum Industry, Sustainable Development, and Policy Formulation project at Salford University.

Contact Tel: (+44) 20 7245 6967

William Wakeham

Position Managing director, Anglo-Arab Insurance Brokers (AAIB)

Biography William Wakeham is the founder and principle shareholder of AAIB, the only foreign insurance entity registered and with offices in Baghdad. It is known locally in Iraq as Al-Fajer Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers. Headquartered in Amman, Jordan, AAIB was formed in 2004 to provide insurance solutions for high risk countries, with a particular focus on Iraq and Afghanistan. The company has operated offices in Erbil since 2008, Baghdad since late 2009 and opened an office in Basra in May 2010. Wakeham has worked in Iraq since 2004. He also established Alfa Evac, a company specialised in providing evacuation and medical services in high risk locations including Iraq and Afghanistan. Wakeham is certified by the UK’s Financial Services Authority and specialises in accident and health insurance.

Contact Tel:  (+962) 6 550 3222

Bishr Ibrahim Baker

Position Managing partner Iraq, Ernst & Young

Biography As managing partner of Ernst & Young for Jordan and Iraq, Bishr Baker specialises in assurance, advisory and transaction advisory operations. In 2004, he led Ernst & Young’s advisory team to the Ministry of Finance for the Iraq Debt Restructuring plan. He was appointed managing partner in January this year. Baker has a degree in economics and accounting from the University of Bristol in the UK. He began his auditing and advisory career in 1987, working in the UK until 1992, when he moved to Jordan with Ernst & Young. He is a member of the UK’s Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Jordan Association of Certified Public Accountants. Ernst & Young established its Baghdad office in 1923, its first in the Middle East, and has been in the country ever since. It now has more than 20 staff providing audit and business advisory services to clients in various sectors, in addition to tax services.

Contact Tel: (+946) 1 543 0357

Wadee al-Handal

Position Chairman, Ashur Bank

Biography Wadee al-Handal is group chairman of Al-Handal International Group & Ashur International Bank for Investment. He is also chairman of the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees, which is privately owned by eleven Iraqi private banks. He graduated from Baghdad University in 1983. Ashur International Bank for Investment was established in 2005 as the first full-service investment bank in Iraq. Headquartered in Baghdad, the bank now has branches in Iraq’s three major northern cities: Sulaimanya, Erbil and Tikrit. The bank is considering offering Islamic banking services and sub-mitted an application to the Central Bank in January 2010. Al-Handal holds several other positions, including chairman of the board at Iraq’s Al-Thuraya Group and the Gulf Jewel Shipping & Sea Cargo Company in Dubai. He is also a member of the board at the Baghdad-based Iraqi Business Council.

Contact Tel: (+964) 7901 778 899

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