Issue 7 2020

16 CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 7 2020 , Kuwait’s King of Insurance Founded in 1960, Kuwait Insurance was one of the first companies of its kind in the country and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Over the course of more than sixty years, the company has enjoyed a strong and stable financial foundation, whilst providing clients everywhere with a vast range of general and life insurance products that are at the top of the industry. Whilst leaders may have come and gone, it is the current CEO that is the focus of this month’s issue; Sami Sharif. A visionary, enthusiastic, and inspiring leader, Mr Sharif serves as the figurehead for this new era of success and prosperity at Kuwait Insurance. Surrounded by a team of professional experts, the firm has grown from strength to strength in recent years, thanks largely to Mr Sharif’s leadership. However, despite his success in this role, insurance was not always his passion. In fact, Mr Sharif’s journey to where is today began more than three and a half decades ago. Mr. Sharif’s career journey began in 1981 when he enrolled at Lycee Janson de Sailly in Paris, France to pursue his studies in the Preparatory Classes to the Superior Schools of Engineering. Here is where he acquired a highly recognizable level in global standard in Mathematics and Physics. In 1983, Mr Sharif enrolled at the University of Houston, where he spent four years studying towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Space Physics. Following his successful graduation, Mr Sharif decided then to stay on with the University of Houston for his Master of Science degree, also in Mathematics and Space Physics. Alongside his subsequent successful graduation, Mr Sharif was also recognized on the National Dean’s List for his outstanding studying, as well a fellowship in the Mathematics Department at the University of Houston where, for a decade, he taught the same subject. In addition to this, he also sat for all of the Actuarial Exams with the Society of Actuaries. Within a short period of six years, he achieved the designations Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). If all of this wasn’t impressive enough, Mr. Sharif was also ranked as one of the top 3% in terms of speed to acquire those designations. Since then, he has fulfilled a number of roles across the world, specializing in management and actuarial services, dealing in the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. Actuarial science is a field that requires no small amount of asset management, liability management, and valuation skills, many of which have come in handy throughout Mr Sharif’s career before arriving at Kuwait Insurance. Immediately following his graduation from the University of Houston, Mr Sharif was brought on board by the team at AIG Life to become Chief Actuary, implementing his skills and playing his trade across Houston, New York, and the Middle East. From there, Mr Sharif slowly but surely enhanced his skills further, taking more and more responsibility within the workplace before moving on to take on new challenges as Management Consultant at the prominent management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and at Booz, Allen, Hamilton (now Strategy&). Being the first American citizen with Lebanese origin to achieve both the FSA designation, as well as a consultant at McKinsey and Company and later on an Advisor on Insurance to McKinsey, Mr, Sharif was recognized by Life Magazine as one of the top 30 most impactful Lebanese Americans in the USA. It wasn’t until 2005 that Mr Sharif achieved his first role as a Regional CEO and Managing Director. Dutifully serving that role for four years, 2009 saw Mr Sharif achieve his role as outright CEO with AIM Consulting, specializing in actuarial and management consulting for the insurance industry. The following seven years were filled with similar roles and even more experience gained, before arriving at Kuwait Insurance in 2016. Since then, Mr Sharif has dedicated himself wholly to the continuation of the mission and values of Kuwait Insurance, providing clients with the most competitive products in terms of benefits, values, and services. In order to continue this provision through distribution channels with state-of-the-art services and an ever-growing team of staff, there is constant focus on the three main values of Kuwait Insurance: achievement, innovation, and people development. What has made, and continues to make Kuwait Insurance successful and distinguished from the competition is the special care that shown to everyone that the firm comes into contact with. Displaying special Mar20002 Insurance is a vitally important part of many people’s lives, not least because it allows them to go on living with some semblance of normality should the worst happen. In Kuwait, there is only one king of insurance; CEO of Kuwait Insurance, Sami Sharif. In this latest issue of CEO Monthly, we have awardedMr Sharif with the title of CEO of the Year, 2020 – Kuwait, and now we profile him to find out more about his exceptional work over a career that spans more than three decades.