Fadhel Al Ali takes over as chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank

Summary

• DIB appointed Fadhel Abdulbaqi Al Ali chairman of its board, effective 30 September 2026.
• He replaces Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Shaibani, who stepped down on 20 September for personal reasons.
• The UAE's largest Islamic bank holds more than $115 billion in group assets.

The latest

Dubai Islamic Bank has a new chairman. The lender said Fadhel Abdulbaqi Al Ali took over the board's top seat effective 30 September 2026, succeeding Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Shaibani. Al Ali arrives with more than 30 years across corporate governance, banking, investment, real estate and hospitality, and currently chairs the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The bank did not disclose a tenure length for the new chairman.

Details

• The appointment: DIB said in an official statement that Al Ali assumed the chairmanship of the board of directors effective 30 September 2026. The bank described itself as the world's leading Islamic financial group and the largest of its kind in the UAE.
• The departure: Al-Shaibani stepped down as both chairman and board member effective 20 September 2026 for personal reasons, according to the bank. DIB said his tenure provided strategic leadership that supported the group's continued growth and transformation, without detailing the circumstances of the exit.
• The ten-day gap: The two dates leave a ten-day interval between Al-Shaibani's departure on 20 September and Al Ali's start on 30 September. The bank did not name an interim chairman for that period or explain how the board was chaired in between.
• Current mandates: Al Ali serves as chairman of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and of Majid Al Futtaim Capital, and sits on the board of the Commercial International Bank of Egypt, according to the bank's statement.
• Policy seats: He is also a member of the Higher Committee for the Development of the Economic and Financial Sector and of the Financial Stability Council, placing the new chairman inside the bodies that shape UAE financial-sector policy.
• Previous roles: His earlier leadership positions include chief executive officer of Dubai Holding and deputy chief executive officer and group chief operating officer of First Abu Dhabi Bank, the statement said.
• The scale: DIB reported group assets exceeding $115 billion and market capitalisation above $18 billion. The lender employs roughly 12,000 people and runs more than 540 branches across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
• The institution: Established in 1975, DIB is the largest Islamic bank in the UAE by assets and a public joint stock company listed on the Dubai Financial Market, according to the bank's own description.

Background

DIB was founded in 1975 as an Islamic lender and has since grown into a listed group operating across three continents. Its chairmanship is among the most closely watched board seats in the UAE banking sector, given the bank's size on the Dubai Financial Market.

Between the lines

The profile the bank chose to publish is itself a signal. By leading with Al Ali's chairmanship of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and his seats on the Financial Stability Council and the Higher Committee for the Development of the Economic and Financial Sector, DIB framed the appointment around regulatory and governance weight rather than commercial banking alone — a reading supported by the ordering of the credentials in the statement.

What's next

Watch for DIB's next board disclosure to the Dubai Financial Market, including any filing on the vacant board seat left by Al-Shaibani, and for the group's upcoming results statement under the new chairmanship.

Source: DIB official statement