JEDDAH, 13 June 2007 — The Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment Co. has announced the appointment of Brad Bourland as head of research and as chief economist.
Bourland, who was chief economist at Samba Financial Group in Riyadh for almost 9 years, will also serve as a member of the Management Committee and as the chairman of the Investment Committee for the proprietary investments of the company.
While at Samba, he published reports regularly on issues related to the Saudi and global economies and the world oil market. He contributes frequently in the domestic and international media and is a regular public speaker. Before joining Samba, Bourland was credited with an 18-year career as diplomat, economist, and manager with the US State Department.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) issued a license to the SR500 million Jadwa Investment Company in August last year to carry out activities such as investment, management and advising in accordance with CMA regulations. Bourland told Arab News that “the key attraction to join Jadwa is because the market is now ready for more equity research as corporate finance area is growing very fast in the region. This has been largely absent from the Saudi market in the past.”
Bourland added: “Jadwa is new company. It has attracted the best talent in the market with years of banking experience. Therefore, I am pleased to be associated with the team Jadwa has built.”
During the last years of his diplomatic career, he was in Riyadh as the American Embassy’s first secretary responsible for financial aspects of US-Saudi relations. He participated in the US negotiating team for Saudi accession to the World Trade Organization.
Bourland has his B.A. and M.A. magna cum laude from the University of Utah, and is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder.
Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the managing director & CEO of Jadwa Investment, said in a press statement, “Bourland brings a wealth of experience to Jadwa. He is widely recognized in the region and beyond for his balanced and accurate insights into economic and market developments. At Jadwa, we and Bourland have committed to building a world-class research team to provide our clients with the best analysis and information available. We see an opportunity to publish more in-depth market and equity research to serve the investing public. This has been an underserved area of the capital markets in Saudi Arabia and the region, and we are committed to filling that void with the work of Bourland and his team.”