221x142mm, Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-914325-26-7 Price: £25.00 Available: October 2022 
Beyond Lebanon's Peaks |
Beyond Lebanon's Peaks - An Odyssey
From Village School to Harvard and from Banking to a Prince’s Court George Kanaan The remarkable life of George Kanaan, raised in the mountains of Lebanon to travel and become an international banker, with ever a love of literature, the arts and history. This warming narrative recounts a very human story of adventure and success.
Beyond Lebanon’s Peaks traces an intriguing life story, from its earliest beginnings in the Lebanese mountain village of Souk El Gharb – an idyllic setting with a loving family. Here, a solid education provided him with an excellent grounding in English literature and a lifelong love of the arts. He went on to study the sciences in the US with a Masters in civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and subsequently attended Harvard.
With the parallel tragedies of his homeland’s slide into civil war and the deterioration of his father’s health, George moved to Athens and later Riyadh, working with the prestigious and demanding Citibank, and in time settled in London, initially with First Chicago and then again with Citibank/Saudi American Bank. From here, he went to work with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, co-commander with General Norman Schwarzkopf of the allied forces during the first Gulf War. As chief executive of Makshaff, perhaps the very first Family Office, he travelled constantly between Arabia and the major world capitals. In time, he was to return to banking, and from 2009 he has headed the Arab Bankers’ Association from offices in Mayfair, London. • An inside account of life in the court of a Saudi Prince • A personal account of a career in banking and international development – insights and escapades • An account that is witness to Lebanon in peace and war, Saudi Arabia in deep transition, London through rapid transformation into a financial centre, and US on the decline. CONTENTS:
Introduction § 1. A Childhood in the Mountains § 2. Life Lessons § 3. Getting Ready for Export § 4. Life in the Promised Land § 5. Learning Business § 6. Grecian Interlude § 7. Early Saudi Experience § 8. London Life § 9. In the Court of Prince Khaled § 10. Tarnished Hero § 11. A Slower Pace of Life § Afterword |
About the Author
George Kanaan has enjoyed a long career in banking, working with Citibank and prestigious private clients across the world. Today he is Head of the Arab Bankers' Association and divides his life between Beirut and London. 
In the media...
|
