Jan Bladen

Jan played an instrumental role in the founding of the UAE’s two financial hubs; He spearheaded the launch of Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) as the Executive Lead an Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors and co-led the establishment of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as the founding Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Previously, Jan spent nine years with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) based in both Geneva and Dubai. Jan is Board Chairman, Board Member and Board Committee Member (Various Organisations).

As a UAE Residents for the last 20 years, He carries a wealth of experience in Corporate Leadership across the MENA Region and has worked extensively in Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Raised across the region as a child, Jan’s spouse is an Arab, his children speak Arabic at home and he has spent more than half his life living in the MENA Region.

Jan qualified as the 1st accredited Non-Executive Board Member with the Institute of Directors (Mudara IoD in Dubai, attended Harvard Business School’s “Making Corporate Boards More Effective” and is an accredited “Trainer of Trainers” in the Corporate Governance Board Leadership Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank. Fluent in English, French and Spanish, Jan obtained an MBA (Summa Cu Laude) from Lausanne and holds both British and Swiss Nationalities. He believes that the role of Boards and C-Suite Leadership in the Middle East is becoming significantly more challenging as the need for governance and the institutionalization of businesses expands rapidly. Unlocking growth and shareholder in Family Businesses will be one of the key challenges over the next decade. Jan is the Managing Partner of Governance Creed and sits on numerous Boards, as either a Chairman, Trustee or Non-Executive Boar Member.

Cultural Background

• Raised in the Far East, Middle East, Europe and Africa.

• Lived in 11 Countries by the age of 18 | Multicultural

• Spent 25 years living and working across the Middle East.

• British and Swiss

Education

• MBA (Summa Cum Laude) Business School Lausanne, Switzerland.

• Accredited Institute of Directors (IoD) Board Member

• Accredited Governance Board Leadership SME (TOT) | IFC and World Bank Group.

• Harvard Business School | Corporate Governance Board Leadership Program.

Board Memberships

• Chairman of the Board of a FinTech Company.

• Non-Executive Board Member of a Swiss Asset Management Firm

• NRC Board Committee Member of a leading Investment Management | Private Equity Firm in KSA

• Non-Executive Board Member of a leading British Boarding School.

Professional Background

• 10 Years | PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC in Geneva and Dubai | Governance and Risk Practice

• 9 Years | Dubai Financial Services Authority| Founding Chief Operating Office

• Launched | Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

• Managing Partner of Governance Creed.

Family

• Happily Married ( … to an Arab Litigation Lawyer)

• 3 Children (Tania, Tamara and Alexander)

• Passionate Polo Player

DEVELOPING EXCEPTIONAL BOARD LEADERS

Governance, Strategy and Risk for the Chairman and Board Members

Jan has trained over 500 Board Members in the GCC in 2023 and 2024