The founder and Managing Director of abc Transform Management Consulting is Samer Kanj, who carries over 25 years of insurance experience in several markets in the United States and the GCC.
Prior to founding abc Transform, Samer Kanj was also the founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Buruj Cooperative Insurance Company, a public shareholding insurance company listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange Tadawul in Saudi Arabia and one of the subsidiary companies of the GIG Group (Gulf Insurance Group), one of the largest regional insurance groups. At Buruj, and in addition to serving as the Chief Executive Officer, he served as a board executive committee member and a corporate governance committee member.

During his service, Buruj was one of the best performing insurance companies in Saudi Arabia and he was elected as one of the top 100 CEOs in the Middle East and North Africa region by Trends Magazine/ INSEAD.

Samer was also the founder and board member of a third party administrator in Saudi Arabia. Prior to that occupied roles in operations, marketing, and human resources at various companies.

This extensive background in insurance entrepreneurship and his experience in startups, in addition to his risk management and corporate governance qualifications have provided him with unparalleled experience and knowhow that are much needed in many industries in the region today.

Abdul Hamid is a veteran in motor and property and casualty insurance claims, underwriting, audit, and fraud investigation and management in the Middle East.

Heading various underwriting and claims departments for insurance company operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, has provided Abdul Hamid with extensive experience in technical operations, controls, policies and procedures and risks. Combined with his internal audit experience, this valuable experience, along with his qualification as a Certified Fraud Examiner, CFE, makes Abdul Hamid a subject matter expert in designing and implementing technical controls frameworks for underwriting, claims, loss prevention, technical insurance audits, and fraud identification, investigation and management.

Elie is a banking and insurance professional holding a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Audit and a Master in Business Administration degree in Banking and Finance from La Sagesse University in Lebanon. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Governance Risk and Compliance Officer, a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Enterprise Risk Manager, and a Certified Governance Risk Compliance Professional

Elie carries over 14 years’ experience at banks and insurance companies in the areas of external and internal audit, process mapping design, internal control implementation, risk management, corporate governance and training.

His areas of expertise are risk-based internal and external audit, fraud discovery and investigation, application and general control assessment, corporate governance, business process audit and reengineering, credit valuation, risk management, and financial consulting.

Nadine holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the Lebanese American University.

She has years of experience servicing a variety of clients in the tourism, medical, insurance, consulting, and food and beverage industries. Her specialties include marketing communications, market research, strategic planning, branding, content creation, relationship management, and social media management.

She joined the abc Transform team in 2021 as a marketing consultant and has worked on multiple assignments related to digital asset design, web design, copywriting, social media, and brand development and strategy. Her digital marketing certifications and DEI training provide optimized results and total client satisfaction.

Nakhle is a customer-centric change and turnaround agent with over 30 years’ experience in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, working in multinational organizations, especially in the insurance industry, designing IT strategies for companies and groups of companies. He is a senior IT strategy and roadmap planner, focusing on Information technology management, digital transformation, global program project management, customer success, and IT service delivery.

His experience and expertise across all countries in the region (Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal), has enabled the successful deployment of multiple cost-effective, future long-term critical business application and automation solutions, with the adoption of IT best practices, to transition from legacy systems to agile technologies, thereby delivering concrete measurable results in productivity, quality improvement, revenue enhancements, and cost savings with a heavy bias on designing the best customer experience.

He has driven digital agendas for many companies through various applications, managing the delivery of customer-centric and customized solutions such as global and local sales platforms, mobile services, self-service platforms and customer engagement platforms for various customers and partners in the region.

Nakhle also has experience in directing complex merger and acquisition IT projects and joint ventures as well as cybersecurity projects and the setup of data centers in many countries in the region.

Nakhle has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and holds many credentials and certifications in a variety of subjects.

George Andrea holds a doctorate degree and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance and is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

He possesses extensive experience in academia as a finance professor, and in the financial services industry both on the regulatory and the practical sides.

George was engaged in the restructuring of the financial services sector (banking and insurance) in Saudi Arabia with the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) as well as in various other projects with the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in Saudi Arabia, (Finance institute Professional Education Programs), and with the Ministry of Housing in Saudi Arabia (First Time Homebuyer Programs). George was also engaged in projects with the General Organization for Social Insurance of Saudi Arabia (GOSI) in regulatory and compliance assessment of the social insurance function. His experience extends to compliance and risk management as well.

His professional credentials include the following:

• Certified Business Advisor
• Managing Director of a consulting firm
• Director of the Center of Insurance and Financing Studies (Saudi Central Bank)
• Vice President for Strategic Planning and Chief Compliance Officer
• Financial Sector Senior Advisor (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency SAMA – Central Bank)
• Senior Compliance Officer, GM Corporation, United States
• Chief Financial Officer, SYMET Corporation, United States

The academic credentials include:

• Finance Professor
• Director, Undergraduate Web Program
• Director, Certified Financial Planner Program
• Research Chairman
• Executive Member, International Society for Research in Health Financial Management.
• Risk Management Committee member
• Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA – Foundation Certificate

Hala is a seasoned professional and consultant with over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry in compliance, risk management, finance, financial risk reporting, training, and performance analysis.

Hala is a holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the American University in Beirut and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the Lebanese American University. She is also a Certified Financial Crime Specialist and a Certified Financial Risk Manager.

She has extensive experience gained through her role as a Chief Compliance Officer at a leading regional bank and through her leading roles in engagements in various projects relating to standards, accords, and agreements such as IFRS, IAS, BASEL I and II, FATCA, as well as anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. Hala has also conducted training to many levels of management on various topics such as compliance, AML, and CTF.

Mr. Matta is an Attorney at Law and a Senior Advisor with over 30 years of experience in both legal and financial matters.

As an independent attorney and legal advisor, he is deeply knowledgeable and experienced in the various aspects of the financial services business including banking, insurance, compliance, corporate governance, risk management, financial planning, education and training, and educational content, specifically for SMEs.

He has been engaged with many projects with governmental bodies in Saudi Arabia. Joseph acted as a legal expert on a pioneer project to develop an Occupational Hazards/ Work Related Accidents division within the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). He also served as the legal expert with the Ministry of Housing to develop private housing financing to the public.

Joseph acquired deep knowledge of the regulatory and compliance mechanisms in the financial sector throughout his five years term with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the Kingdom´s Central Bank and regulator of the financial sector, thus fulfilling the unprecedented and compelling need for educating local and young university graduates in the financial area through lectures, training presentations and workshops.

Jospeh´s experience and strength is highlighted in the development of insurance course materials by lines of business for the Institute of Finance in Saudi Arabia and in cooperation with the American Institutes for Chartered Property and Casualty underwriters (AICPCU).