ADQ’s unnamed neobank nabs new CEO from Emirates NBD
Investment firm ADQ has found a CEO for its planned neobank in former Emirates NBD man Jayesh Patel.
Patel spent nine years at Emirates NBD
ADQ nabbed a banking licence from compatriot bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), in October 2020.
FAB transferred the legacy licence of 2016-acquired First Gulf Bank to ADQ in exchange for a 10% slice of the new challenger.
FAB will gain “preferential access” to a further 10% stake in ADQ’s neobank upon launch.
Patel arrived at the as-yet-unnamed bank in December 2020. His new firm has plenty of cash backing it, with ADQ stumping up as much as $545 million.
Patel spent nine years at Emirates NBD. He joined as head of innovation strategy in 2011, and left the bank as head of its Liv digital bank.
Liv, which claims around 300,000 users, relaunched itself as a “super app” in July 2020.
It offers a range of third-party partnership integrations. These include restaurant bookings, international flights, event tickets, and an in-app video game.
Prior to Emirates NBD, Patel worked with Qatar Telecom, Global Commodity Finance, Deloitte, and IBM.
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