EY has appointed Ahmed Al-Esry as Tax Leader across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, leading a team of tax professionals across 16 countries and 21 offices, effective July 1, 2020.

Abdulaziz Al-Sowailim, MENA Chairman and CEO, EY, says “A strong tax function has become critical to the success of businesses today, especially with new laws and regulations being applied in the MENA region on a national, regional, and global level. It has also led to a need for specialty services that require a nuanced understanding of government practices as well as digital solutions that can create a seamless reporting and payment experience for corporations.”

“Ahmed’s broad experience across a variety of sectors and specialized tax services will allow him to continue to grow and strengthen the EY tax service and the solutions we offer our clients.”

Ahmed has enjoyed an over 20 year-long career at EY, joining from Petroleum Development Oman. He started at EY in the Assurance service line before moving to the Tax service line in 2007. In 2014 he became the Country Managing Partner for Oman, and in 2018 was appointed as the Kuwait, Qatar, Oman cluster Tax Leader.

During his time at EY, Ahmed has led numerous audit and tax advisory projects for both local and international companies in the oil and gas, construction, and manufacturing sectors as well as the financial services industry. In addition, he led the nationalization drive for the Oman office, which has achieved nearly 50% Omanization in 2020.

Ahmed El-Esry, MENA Tax Leader, EY, says “I am very excited to be leading the Tax team at EY for the MENA region. We are currently in a transitional time for tax, with numerous opportunities to grow the function as more governments implement regulations such as double tax treaties, VAT, and corporate tax.”

“A sophisticated, digital tax function can support businesses and allow for better data, risk management, strategy, and compliance. Efficient tax systems will help mobilize revenue, allowing for a more robust economy for both individual countries and the region. I look forward to navigating the changing tax sphere with our MENA clients and ensuring that their tax functions are facilitating the profits of their business.”

The EY Tax service line also offers specialty services such as Business Tax Services (BTS), Global Compliance Reporting (GCR), International Tax & Transaction Services (ITTS), Indirect Tax, People Advisory Services (PAS), Tax Technology and Transformation (TTT), and Law Services.

Ahmed succeeds Sherif El-Kilany, who will remain with EY as the Egypt Market Segment Leader, supporting the growth of the organization across all service lines in the country.