Standard Chartered has appointed Dima Jardaneh as the new Head of Economic Research for Middle East and North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey, effective immediately.

In her new role, Jardaneh will lead a team of economists covering 10 countries across the Middle East region and will also be responsible for macro research on Turkey and Pakistan.

Jardaneh will report to Marios Maratheftis, Chief Economist, Global research, and will be based in Dubai.

Jardaneh has over 12 years of experience as an economist and joins the research team from investment bank EFG Hermes where she was the GCC economist.

Prior to that, she was director of sovereign ratings at Standard & Poor’s from 2011 until 2014, and an economist at the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2006 until 2011 covering the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia.

She also served as an advisor to the Executive Board of the IMF from 2003 until 2005.

Commenting on the appointment, Maratheftis said: “I’m delighted to have Dima join our Regional Research team. Dima’s calibre and extensive network, on top of her experience, will be invaluable in strengthening our position as trusted client advisor”.