Samir ASSAF (FSE, 1982)

President of the Board of Directors, Fondation USJ
Chairman of the Board, HSBC Middle East Holdings & Senior Advisor to HSBC’s Group Chairman
President, Middle East & North Africa Region & Senior Advisor, General Atlantic

Samir Assaf is a Lebanese banker and businessman. He studied at Collège de La Sagesse in Achrafieh, run by the Maronite Fathers, before earning a degree from USJ’s Faculty of Economics. He then moved to France, where he completed an MBA in Economics and International Finance at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, followed by studies at Sciences Po.

At HSBC, Mr. Assaf served as Chief Executive of Global Banking and Markets for ten years, until 2020, while also holding the position of Chairman of the Board of HSBC Continental Europe. He currently chairs the Board of Directors of HSBC Middle East Holdings and serves as Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa region at General Atlantic. He is also involved in several financial boards.

In May 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron awarded him the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor in recognition of his contributions to France’s international influence. He also serves as an ambassador for the Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art at the Louvre Museum in Paris.