Sael Al Waary
Founder & Managing Director, Chapter 2 Advisory
45+ years leading banking transformation, M&A, and digital innovation across 15 countries. World Economic Forum Agenda Contributor on banking, fintech, and AI. Sael advises boards, investors, and shareholders on the strategic decisions that shape the future of financial services.
Sael Al Waary has spent over four decades at the intersection of banking, technology, and strategic transformation. As Group CEO of Bank ABC (Arab Banking Corporation), he led a comprehensive transformation strategic programme that materially grew the bank's profitability and asset base, embedded a sustainability agenda into the institution's strategic framework, and simultaneously founded ila Bank — Bahrain's first and only digital mobile-only bank, and one of the MENA region's first fully cloud-based digital institutions.
His career spans the world's major financial centres — London, New York, Paris, Amman, and Cairo — where he governed banking subsidiaries and built deep institutional relationships across Western and emerging markets. He has served on the Institute of International Finance Emerging Markets Advisory Council.
What defines Al Waary's career is not titles, but pattern recognition — the ability to see inflection points before they become consensus. When others were optimising branches, he was building digital banks. When the industry debated whether AI was relevant, he was deploying AI-powered corporate platforms. When boards treated fintech as a threat, he launched the region's first fintech conference and invested in digital infrastructure.
"The next chapter of banking will not be written by those who adapt fastest. It will be written by those who see furthest."
The GCC is emerging as one of the world's most dynamic financial ecosystems. New digital banking licences, sovereign AI strategies, and a generation of investors looking beyond traditional asset classes are creating opportunities that did not exist five years ago. At the same time, international investors are looking at the Gulf as a gateway to growth — but need trusted counsel to navigate its regulatory, cultural, and commercial landscape.
Al Waary's deep roots across the GCC — combined with decades of international experience across London, New York, and global financial centres — allow him to bridge these worlds. Whether advising a board on M&A governance, guiding an investor into GCC markets, or helping an institution find its strategic footing, his perspective is always the same: what does this look like in five years, and how do we position for it today?
"The best investment decisions are not about what is happening now. They are about what will be obvious in five years but is invisible today."
A technologist by training, a banker by profession, and a strategist by instinct.
BSc (Honours) Computer Sciences
University of Reading, UK
Executive Management Programme
Harvard Center for Middle East Studies
Executive Management Programme
London Business School
While Al Waary leads every engagement personally, he does not work alone. Over 45 years in global financial services, he has built a curated network of specialists — regulatory experts, technology strategists, M&A advisors, and regional market specialists across the GCC, Europe, and the Americas.
When an engagement requires depth beyond his own expertise, he brings in the right people. Chapter 2 Advisory is not a large firm with layers of consultants. It is a principal-led advisory with access to the right minds at the right time — assembled specifically for the challenge at hand.
The future rewards those who prepare for it.
If your board is navigating M&A, AI, investment, or the strategic reinvention of your institution — a conversation with Sael is the right first step.