Lamia Merzouki Appointed Chair of WAIFC and Hubertus Väth Named Vice Chair
Following the AGM held in Tokyo on 18 October 2024, Lamia Merzouki, Deputy General Manager at Casablanca Finance City is appointed as the new Chair of the WAIFC's Board of Directors, and Hubertus Väth, Managing Director at Frankfurt Main Finance, as Vice Chair.
The Board of Directors of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) unanimously elected Lamia Merzouki, Deputy General Manager at Casablanca Finance City, as Chair, succeeding Keiichi Aritomo, Executive Director of FinCity.Tokyo. Previously Lamia was the Vice Chair and commences her tenure leading the WAIFC. Hubertus Väth, Managing Director at Frankfurt Main Finance, will be Vice Chair, formerly a co-founder and board member of WAIFC since its inception in 2018.
With a growing member base spanning five continents, the vast experience of this leadership pairing in financial services but also across the WAIFC will be highly important in keeping momentum going. Both are focused on accelerating the vision for the ‘financial centers of the future’ agenda, driving innovation, promoting sustainability, and shaping a more inclusive financial industry.
On her appointment, Lamia Merzouki, Chair of the WAIFC Board, stated:
“Since its inception 6 years ago, the WAIFC has grown significantly uniting 29 global financial centres. This growth reflects our commitment to fostering cooperation between established financial hubs and emerging market centers, enhancing advocating, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building. In the upcoming years, we will intensify our efforts to further elevate the profile of financial centers as instrumental drivers of global economic growth."
Hubertus Väth, Vice Chair of the WAIFC Board, added:
“I am truly honored to be elected as Vice-Chair alongside our inspiring Chair Lamia. Since WAIFC was formed in 2018 it has been a great success. Being a founding member also comes with some added responsibility at a time of great challenges and upheavals. Finance and business have the potential to be forces for peace and prosperity. In that spirit I’d like to serve our members for the next two years.”
Contact:
- Abdulrahim Osman, WAIFC Press Officer,
The World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) is a non-profit association registered in Brussels, Belgium, which represents leading international financial centers and facilitates cooperation and the exchange of best practices. WAIFC members are city governments, associations, and similar institutions developing and promoting their financial centers.
WAIFC facilitates cooperation between its members, the exchange of best practices, and communication with the general public.