Antoun Sehnaoui Explained

Antoun Sehnaoui
Birth Date:3 November 1972
Birth Place:Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation:Banker, Philanthropist, Producer
Organization:Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Ezekiel Film Production
Known For:Banking, Producing, Philanthropy
Children:May Sehnaoui
Mother:Princess May Chehab, great grand-daughter of Emir Bashir Shihab II
Father:Nabil Sehnaoui
Relatives:Nicolas Sehnaoui (Cousin), Khalil Sehnaoui (Cousin), Mouna Bassili Sehnaoui (Aunt)
Awards:Oscar Nominated movie producer

Antoun Sehnaoui is a Lebanese banker and film producer,[1] He is the chairman of the board of the SGBL Group, comprising the Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), the Société Générale de Banque in Jordan (SGBJ) and financial company Fidus Wealth Management.[2] He is also the chairman of the board of the Compagnie Financière Richelieu, a European banking group comprising Banque Richelieu France, Banque Richelieu Monaco and Richelieu Gestion.[3] He is also a member of the board of the Lebanese Banking Association,[4] and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[5]

Early life and education

Sehnaoui was born in Beirut on November 3, 1972, to Nabil Sehnaoui and May Chehab Sehnaoui, the great-granddaughter of Emir Bashir Shihab II, who ruled Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century. He grew up in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War and attended the Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour, then moved on to the United States where he graduated from the University of Southern California.[6]

Banking

Sehnaoui suddenly became chairman of the SGBL Group in October 2007.[7] In 2011 SGBL acquired most of the assets of the Lebanese Canadian Bank[8] [9] and in 2017 it expanded into the United Arab Emirates, opening a fully owned subsidiary within the Abu Dhabi Global Market,[10] and into the USA market by acquiring Pikes Peak National Bank in Colorado.[11] SGBL is the third largest bank in Lebanon in terms of deposits and assets, and the fourth in terms of profitability.[12] Sehnaoui expanded into Europe in 2018 with the acquisition of Banque Richelieu in France and Monaco.[13] [14] [15]

Media

In 1998, Sehnaoui created NewsMedia SAL, a publishing company[16] and then Executive, an independent business magazine for Lebanon and the GCC countries.[17] Executive is a publication concerning economic and financial matters across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.[18] [19] In 2010, Executive became a member of the Business Publications Audit (BPA) Worldwide.[20] Yasser Akkaoui is the editor-in-chief of Executive.

Film production

Sehnaoui is a partner in the production company "Rouge International" in collaboration with French actress and producer Julie Gayet,[21] and founded the production company "Ezekiel Film Production".[22] The movie Clouds of Sils Maria was released in 2014 and went on to receive over 25 awards nominations and 9 wins including the César Award for best supporting actress for Kristen Stewart.[23] The movie The Insult was released in 2017 and was selected as the Lebanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film[24] [25] and was nominated for the Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards.[26]

Philanthropy and sponsorships

Sehnaoui supports the Beirut International Film Festival,[27] the Beirut Art Center, the French Book Fair and more than a dozen arts and cultural festivals a year. He agreed to lend an antique bed bought at auction at Bonhams of London to Ordsall Hall for a duration of five years.[28]

He is also a patron of Lebanese sports through a partnership with the National Basketball Federation[29] and by a US$7 million donation in 2017 for the financing of the new sports center of the Lebanese American University (LAU)[30]

Sehnaoui donated, in the name of his parents,[31] the Saint Charbel Makhlouf Shrine in St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan) in New-York city that was inaugurated on October 28 of 2017. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi as well as Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.[32] The shrine features a mosaic of Saint Charbel Makhlouf along with national Lebanese emblems such as the lebanese cedar and a relic of the Saint.[33] [34]

He is also a patron of animal rights activists.[35]

Controversy

In 2015, Tarek Yatim who is believed to be the bodyguard of Antoun Sahnaoui,[36] [37] [38] stabbed to death a Lebanese citizen George Rif during a roadrage incident.[39] However, Sehnaoui denied any link between him and the case in question.[40] [41] [42]

News emerged about Antoun Sehnaoui, who is the chairman of the Société Générale de Banque au Liban group, that alleges that he had affiliation with the right-wing Christian Jnoud al Rab as well as providing funds for the group. Though he did not directly denying funding or sponsoring the group, he called the news in a statement that they were "fabrications and false news".[43]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Doueiri, Joelle Touma and Antoun Sehnaoui Receive Oscar Membership Invitations . 29 June 2018 . NaharNet News Desk . NaharNet . 13 March 2019.
  2. Web site: Banking on the Best . 2017 . The Business Year . The Business Year, LLC . 13 March 2019 . 4 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190404172151/https://www.thebusinessyear.com/lebanon-2017/banking-on-the-best/interview . dead .
  3. Web site: La Banque Privée KBL Richelieu Change De Mains . 4 December 2017 . Solenn Poullennec . Les Echos . 15 March 2019.
  4. Web site: Association of Banks in Lebanon Board members . 30 July 2017 . ABL . Association of Banks in Lebanon . 15 March 2019.
  5. Web site: 10 Arab Filmmakers Become Oscar members . 6 July 2018 . Egypt Today Staff . Egypt Today . 13 March 2019.
  6. Web site: Executive Profile Antoun Nabil Sehnaoui . 12 March 2009 . Bloomberg . Bloomberg L.P. . 13 March 2019.
  7. Web site: SGBL – A new horizon . 1 June 2008 . Executive Staff . NewsMedia SAL . 13 March 2019.
  8. Web site: SGBL buys LCB assets . 23 June 2011 . BusinessNews Staff . InfoPro SAL . 13 March 2019.
  9. Web site: Beirut Bank Seen as a Hub of Hezbollah's Financing . 13 December 2011 . Jo Becker . The New York Times Company . 13 March 2019.
  10. Web site: Antoun Sehnaoui and SGBL expand in U.S. and UAE . 16 May 2017 . BusinessNews . InfoPro SAL . 13 March 2019.
  11. Web site: Lebanese banker buying Colorado Springs bank as launching point for U.S. expansion . 12 May 2017 . Wayne Heilman . Colorado Springs Gazette . 13 March 2019.
  12. Web site: SGBL ranking rises to third in terms of assets in 2018 . 23 March 2019 . The Daily Star . The Daily Star . 24 March 2019 . 2 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190502054514/http://www.dailystar.com.lb//Business/Local/2019/Mar-23/479518-sgbl-ranking-rises-to-third-in-terms-of-assets-in-2018.ashx . dead .
  13. Web site: SGBL Completes Acquisition of Banque Richelieu in France and Monaco . 11 July 2018 . NaharNet NewsDesk . NaharNet . 13 March 2019.
  14. Web site: Compagnie Financière Richelieu: Creation of a new major player . 17 July 2018 . GBAF NewsDesk . GBAF Publications Ltd . 13 March 2019.
  15. Web site: La SGBL va acquérir deux établissements bancaires en Europe . 5 December 2017 . OLJ . Commerce Du Levant . 15 March 2019.
  16. Web site: Why Antoun Sehnaoui is at the Center of the Talk of Lebanon . 29 August 2016 . Medium . Medium Corporation US . 13 March 2019.
  17. Web site: Once Upon A Magazine . 9 March 2016 . Thomas Schellen . NewsMedia SAL . 13 March 2019.
  18. News: Executive magazine awarded for auditing transparency . Simona Sikimic . 2 April 2010 . The Daily Star . 7 June 2015 . Beirut.
  19. News: What to read on Lebanon . 4 December 2013 . The Economist . 7 June 2015.
  20. News: Simona Sikimic . Executive magazine awarded for auditing transparency . 7 June 2015 . The Daily Star . 2 April 2010 . Beirut.
  21. Web site: Julie Gayet A l'Orient-Le-Jour . 21 June 2016 . Michel Hajji Georgiou . L'Orient Le Jour . 13 March 2019.
  22. Web site: Les Promesses de L'Insulte . 3 October 2017 . E.K . Le Commerce Du Levant . 13 March 2019.
  23. [Clouds of Sils Maria|Clouds Of Sils Maria]
  24. Web site: الـ"قضية رقم 23" مرشحاً إلى الـ"أوسكار"... "يستحق أن يُسمّى لتمثيل لبنان" . 6 September 2017 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170907212840/https://www.annahar.com/article/655929-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%85-23-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B4%D8%AD%D8%A7-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82-%D8%A3%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%89-%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86 . 7 September 2017 . dead . 7 September 2017.
  25. Web site: 'The Insult' Director Ziad Doueiri Detained in Lebanon After Venice Win . Tartaglione . Nancy . 11 September 2017 . . . 11 September 2017.
  26. Web site: Oscars 2018: The list of nominees in full . 23 January 2018 . . . 4 December 2004.
  27. Web site: The 2017 Beirut International Film Festival . 13 October 2017 . wbuser . Beyond Art . 13 March 2019 . 4 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190404183541/http://www.beyondartisculture.com/the-2017-beirut-international-film-festival/ . dead .
  28. Web site: Elizabethan bed 'bought for a princess' comes back to Ordsall Hall after 300 years . 13 September 2018 . Naeal Keeling . M.E.N. Media . 13 March 2019.
  29. Web site: SGBL and Lebanese Basketball Federation Sign Partnership Agreement . 13 September 2018 . NaharNet NewsDesk . NaharNet . 13 March 2019.
  30. Web site: LAU Breaks Ground On $7 Million Sports Center . 26 April 2017 . LAU . Lebanese American University . 13 March 2019.
  31. Web site: Dedication of the Chapel of Saint Charbel . 24 October 2017 . Joseph Zwilling and Mercedes Lopez Blancov . Saint Patrick's . 13 March 2019.
  32. Web site: Inauguration Historique Et Solennelle De La Chapelle Saint Charbel . 30 October 2017 . Sylviane Zehil . L'Orient Le Jour . 13 March 2019.
  33. Web site: Saint Charbel Shrine Revealed in Prominent New-York Cathedral . 29 October 2017 . DailyStar . The Daily Star . 13 March 2019 . 4 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190404172145/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2017/Oct-29/424307-st-charbel-shrine-revealed-in-prominent-new-york-cathedral.ashx . dead .
  34. Web site: Shrine of Saint Charbel in the largest Catholic Cathedral in the United States . 29 October 2017 . Grace H . The961 . 13 March 2019.
  35. Web site: Animal Rights Activists to the Rescue . 7 September 2017 . Jeremy Arbid . NewsMedia S.A.L . 13 March 2019.
  36. Web site: Battah . Habib . 2015-07-17 . Should elites be held responsible for their bodyguards? . 2021-03-08 . Beirut Report . en-US.
  37. Web site: nabilhabiby89 . 2015-07-18 . Why I am Against the Death Penalty for Tarek Yateem – لم أنا ضد عقوبة الإعدام لطارق يتيم . 2021-03-08 . wherethevulturesgather . en.
  38. Web site: The Middle East Times – International . 2021-03-08 . www.mideast-times.com.
  39. Web site: 2017-11-21 . Tarek Yatim sentenced to death for Rif murder . 2021-03-08 . The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon.
  40. Web site: 2015-07-23 . L'odieux assassinat de Georges Rif. Tarek Yatim, un criminel au sang-froid . 2021-03-08 . Magazine Le Mensuel . en-US.
  41. Web site: 2015-07-20 . Assassinat Georges Rif : appels pressants pour que justice soit rendue . 2021-03-08 . L'Orient-Le Jour.
  42. Web site: 2015-07-18 . Après l'assassinat de Georges Rif, appels pour que la justice soit rendue . 2021-03-08 . L'Orient-Le Jour.
  43. Web site: بعد التصاريح والمقالات الأخيرة حول مجموعة "جنود الرب" .. أنطون صحناوي: لا علاقة لنا تنظيمياً ولا تمويلياً بكل ما يُحكى عنه . 2024-01-09 . aljadeed . ar.