Biographical Summary

Lebanese-born Abdelnour earned an advanced engineering degree and an MBA before entering the banking field in New York, spending a decade at Bankers Trust. He then managed Merrill Lynch's M&A business in Singapore and Hong Kong before joining JP Morgan Chase in 1998. At JP Morgan, Abdelnour managed the bank's Central, Eastern European, and Middle East and North African businesses before being named CEO for JP Morgan's Asia Pacific operations in 2006. He is known for being a "consummate relationship builder" and for his aggressive stance on JP Morgan's China strategy to gain market share and boost revenues from its China business. To this end, he used his relationship building skills to tap into local expertise through joint ventures in services such as securities and asset management. In July 2012, Abdelnour left the bank after 14 years with the firm, reportedly to "pursue personal interests."