Faisal Al Ayyar, managing director and chief executive officer of Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco), was presented with the Arab Bankers Association of North America (Abana) 2005 Achievement Award in a ceremony attended by more than 300 international dignitaries, bankers and business leaders at the New York Palace, on the city’s famed Madison Avenue.

The Kipco group controls or holds substantial stakes in some 55 companies throughout the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, with core activities in financial services and media & telecommunications.  It also has companies engaged in real estate, industry, management and advisory, medical services, aviation and education. Kipco’s holdings and interests also extend to the US Europe, and India.
The prestigious Abana Achievement Award is granted annually to an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution in the field of banking and financial services in the Arab world, or to an individual of Arab descent who has made similar contribution to banking and financial services in general.
Al Ayyar joined Kipco in 1990, when it was a local investment company. It has grown to become one of the leading diversified investment holding groups in the Mena region, with more than $15 billion in group assets.