05 March 22

Announcing the New Chair of the Board of Directors of LIFE

Dear LIFE members and friends,

I hope my email finds you well. As many of you know, my second and final term as Chair of the Board of Directors of LIFE is coming to an end this coming month and in accordance with our governance, the Board has convened and elected a new Chair for the upcoming term. It gives me great pleasure to announce that I will be passing the baton to my fellow Board member, long time active senior member, and good friend, Patrick George. Patrick's Chairmanship will be effective as of mid-April, upon the conclusion of the upcoming Board elections. In the meantime, I will be working closely with Patrick over the next month to seamlessly transition my roles and responsibilities onto his capable hands.
 
For those of you who don't know him, Patrick is Global Head of Markets and Security Services Europe and Americas at HSBC and is based in London. He has been an active member and supporter of LIFE since 2010, and a Board Member for the past 2 years. He is also Chair of the Fundraising Committee and a member of the Connect Committee. Patrick has been a strong advocate, partner and a leader in LIFE and I have no doubts will be a formidable Chairman of this great organisation elevating it to new heights. Please find his full biography below for your reference.

The role of LIFE has continued to grow in effectiveness and prominence over the past years. I am proud of all the accomplishments we have achieved together particularly during the most challenging times that our country has faced in its history. The deeper the economic, financial, humanitarian and geopolitical crisis Lebanon goes through, the more important the role and responsibilities that a formidable organisation like LIFE has. From increasing and diversifying our membership, to growing our support of scholars sixfold, to increasing our effectiveness in job creation and raising our voices to advocate for change, not to mention our quick effective response to the Beirut explosion (I have highlighted these achievements in more detail in my year end letter). A lot has been done and yet a great deal needs to be done. I have no doubts stemming from the strong foundation we have built that LIFE will continue to grow from strength to strength in the years to come under the direction of the great team and leadership we have.
 
On a more personal note, I would like to thank you all for your trust, support, commitment, partnership and friendship over these past four transformative years for LIFE. They have been exceedingly challenging times, but the strength of our resolve and the organisation we grew together gives me a hope for a brighter future for the Lebanese.  As you all know we define ourselves beyond the borders of our troubled country. We are fundamentally global citizens bound together by a common thread of our origins with a deep-rooted interest and resolve in being an engine of hope and change not only for the younger generation, but for all of us more broadly. I am particularly proud to have experienced how our collective global accomplishments and successes have translated to effective local generosity and groundwork with students, institutions, NGOs and local groups resulting in real impact to the lives of many. This is a responsibility I know we don't take lightly but a responsibility that we can never waiver on but need to double down on to increase in the years to come. For this, your continued support, commitment and generosity will be instrumental.
 
I conclude with words I have previously voiced, but continue to resonate:

It is only through working together and supporting one another, both in Lebanon and the diaspora, that we will be able to build a brighter future for our fellow Lebanese, our global community and our country.
 
Thank you again and I look forward to continuing my active involvement and contributions to the organisation now as a member of the Advisory Board and in various initiatives that I will continue to champion in the months and years to come.
 
Warm Regards,

May Nasrallah
 

Patrick George's Biography


Patrick was appointed Global Head of Markets & Securities Services (MSS), Europe and Americas in November 2019, to oversee MSS activities across Western Europe and North America. He is a member of the MSS Executive Committee and based in London. 

Prior to this, Patrick was Head of Global Markets, EMEA, from July 2016, and was responsible for the Global Markets’ business across all product lines in EMEA. At the same time as holding this position, he was also Head of Global Markets Institutional Client Group, where he was responsible for institutional client coverage and sales across all products and geographies in Global Markets.

Before these roles, Patrick was Global Head of Equities, responsible for all Equity-related Sales, Trading and financing activities from 2008-2016. 

Patrick has previously held roles as Global Head of Absolute Return Sales and Head of Equities, EMEA. He has also had responsibilities for Emerging Markets Equities product covering Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa. Patrick joined the Bank in 1996.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree and Master’s Degree in Finance from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in 1993.