Northern Trust Opens Saudia Arabia Office, Appoints Slater as Head

Northern Trust has opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and has selected Michael Slater as the head of the new office.

A year ago, the Capital Market Authority of Saudia Arabia granted Northern Trust its initial license to operate in the country, and the company expects to receive final approval within a few weeks to start providing custody and other investment services to clients. Northern Trust has been working with clients in the Middle East since 1987 and opened its first office in the region in Abu Dhabi in 2008.

Prior to becoming head of the Riyadh office, Slater served as the lead in Abu Dhabi. He first joined Northern Trust in 2005 to develop the company’s asset servicing business in 2005 in the Middle East. In Riyadh, Slater will continue to report to Sheldon Woldt, head of Northern Trust in the Middle East.

“We are excited to expand our presence in the dynamic Middle East region with a new office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, especially at a time when the Kingdom’s economy is growing and diversifying,” Northern Trust chairman and chief executive officer Frederick H. Waddell said. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the largest economy of the six Gulf Co-operation Council countries, making it strategically important not just to Northern Trust, but also to our clients operating from and doing business there.”