Georges Elhedery

Georges Elhedery
Born	c. 1974
Birthplace	Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	French
Occupation	Banker
Title	Group Chief Executive
Employer	HSBC
Education	École Polytechnique ENSAE ParisTech

Georges Elhedery (born c. 1974) is a French-Lebanese banker who has served as the group chief executive (CEO) of HSBC Holdings plc since September 2024, succeeding Noel Quinn. Born in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War, Elhedery rose through the ranks of HSBC over more than two decades, holding senior positions in global markets and serving as the bank's chief financial officer before his appointment to the top role. He is the first Mandarin-speaking CEO in HSBC's history, reflecting the bank's deep strategic orientation toward Asia. Since taking office, Elhedery has embarked on a significant restructuring of the bank, reorganizing its business lines and pledging to improve accountability among senior leadership.

Early Life

Georges Elhedery was born in approximately 1974 in Beirut, Lebanon, during the early stages of the Lebanese Civil War. He grew up amid the conflict that engulfed Lebanon for much of the 1970s and 1980s. Elhedery holds French nationality and is a polyglot, speaking multiple languages including French, English, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese, a linguistic range that would prove instrumental in his later banking career.

His upbringing in war-torn Beirut and subsequent move to France shaped his international outlook. The experience of growing up during the Lebanese Civil War has been noted in profiles of Elhedery as formative, contributing to a resilience and adaptability that characterized his later professional trajectory. He later settled in France, where he pursued higher education at some of the country's most prestigious institutions.

Education

Elhedery was educated in France, attending École Polytechnique, one of the country's elite Grandes écoles, where he studied mathematics and engineering. He subsequently attended ENSAE ParisTech (the National School of Statistics and Economic Administration), a graduate institution specializing in statistics, economics, and finance. This rigorous quantitative training in mathematics, statistics, and financial theory provided the analytical foundation for his career in global banking and financial markets. Graduates of École Polytechnique and ENSAE are frequently recruited into senior positions in international finance, and Elhedery's educational background placed him among a cohort of French-trained bankers who have risen to prominence in global institutions.

Career

Early Career at HSBC

Elhedery joined HSBC in the early 2000s, beginning a career at the bank that would span more than two decades. He initially worked in the bank's global markets division, where his quantitative background and multilingual capabilities were well suited to the demands of international trading and risk management. Over the following years, Elhedery advanced through a series of increasingly senior roles within the bank's markets and securities operations.

His career trajectory took him to multiple HSBC hubs across the globe, including stints in London, Hong Kong, and the Middle East, giving him exposure to the bank's operations across its major geographic segments. This breadth of experience across different regions and business lines distinguished Elhedery from many of his peers and was later cited as a key factor in his selection for the bank's top role.

Global Markets Leadership

Elhedery rose to become the co-head of HSBC's global markets division, one of the bank's most significant revenue-generating units encompassing foreign exchange, rates, credit, and equities trading. In this capacity, he oversaw a major portion of the bank's wholesale banking activities and was responsible for navigating the division through periods of market volatility and regulatory change that followed the global financial crisis.

His tenure in global markets was regarded as a period of strong performance for the division. Euromoney profiled Elhedery in detail during this period, noting his rise through the bank's hierarchy. His ability to manage complex, cross-border trading operations and his fluency in Mandarin Chinese positioned him as a key figure in HSBC's efforts to expand its presence in Asian capital markets.

Chief Financial Officer

In 2023, Elhedery was appointed as HSBC's group chief financial officer (CFO), a role that placed him at the center of the bank's financial strategy and reporting. As CFO, he was responsible for overseeing the bank's financial planning, capital allocation, and investor relations. The appointment was seen as a significant elevation and placed Elhedery in a position that is frequently a stepping stone to the CEO role at major financial institutions.

During his time as CFO, Elhedery gained detailed insight into the bank's cost structure, capital efficiency, and the financial performance of its various business units—knowledge that would inform his subsequent approach to restructuring the bank as CEO.

Appointment as Group CEO

On 17 July 2024, HSBC announced that Georges Elhedery had been appointed as the bank's next group chief executive, succeeding Noel Quinn, who had announced his intention to retire from the role. Elhedery formally assumed the position in September 2024.

The appointment was closely watched by investors and analysts given HSBC's complex geopolitical positioning as Europe's largest bank by assets with a significant portion of its profits derived from Asia, particularly Hong Kong and mainland China. The Guardian described HSBC as "more politicised than any other bank," noting the challenges facing the new CEO in navigating tensions between Western governments and China.

Elhedery's fluency in Mandarin Chinese was noted as a significant asset in this context, making him the first HSBC CEO able to communicate directly in the language with Chinese business partners, regulators, and government officials. His appointment was interpreted by some observers as a signal of HSBC's continued commitment to its Asia-focused strategy.

Under the terms of his appointment, Elhedery was offered a maximum pay package of £15 million. For the 2024 financial year, HSBC disclosed that Elhedery received total compensation of $6.8 million.

Restructuring of HSBC

One of Elhedery's first major acts as CEO was the announcement of a sweeping restructuring of HSBC's organizational structure. The reorganization, announced in late 2024 and implemented through 2025, represented a significant departure from the bank's previous operating model.

The restructuring involved reorganizing HSBC's business lines and geographic operations, with the aim of simplifying the bank's structure, reducing duplication, and improving the speed of decision-making. As part of the reorganization, HSBC named new country-level banking heads across Asia, consolidating responsibility and streamlining reporting lines.

A central theme of Elhedery's restructuring was the elimination of co-head roles at the senior management level. In December 2025, Elhedery stated publicly that senior bankers at HSBC had "hid behind co-head roles," arguing that the practice of having two executives share responsibility for a single business unit diluted accountability and allowed underperformance to persist. The move to single reporting lines was intended to create clearer ownership of business outcomes and reduce bureaucracy.

The restructuring also involved cost-cutting measures. In early 2026, HSBC cut approximately 10 percent of its US-based debt capital markets team, a move attributed to the ongoing overhaul of the bank's business operations under Elhedery's leadership.

Speaking at the Financial Times Global Banking Summit in December 2025, Elhedery pledged to be "ruthless" in his efforts to elevate HSBC to top-five status in its key business areas, stating that it was "not an option" for the bank to fall short in those areas. This language signaled an assertive approach to performance management and strategic prioritization.

The Banker published an assessment of Elhedery's first year as CEO in August 2025, examining the state of the bank under his leadership and the progress of the restructuring program.

Asia Strategy and Hong Kong Presence

Elhedery has underscored HSBC's strategic orientation toward Asia throughout his tenure as CEO. In December 2025, Bloomberg News reported that Elhedery was preparing to undertake an extended stint in Hong Kong beginning in early 2026, a move interpreted as a demonstration of the bank's commitment to the region where it generates a substantial share of its revenue.

The decision to spend an extended period in Hong Kong was notable given that HSBC's group headquarters remain in London. The move was seen as a symbolic and practical signal that the CEO intended to be closely engaged with the bank's Asian operations, its largest profit center. eFinancialCareers reported that the CEO's relocation to Hong Kong could have implications for the bank's London-based staff and the balance of influence between the bank's European and Asian operations.

Views on Technology and Artificial Intelligence

In November 2025, Elhedery publicly addressed the growing trend of corporate investment in artificial intelligence, cautioning against excessive capital expenditure in the sector. Speaking alongside the CEO of General Atlantic, Elhedery warned that current revenue profiles did not justify the scale of AI-related investments being made across the industry, describing the phenomenon in terms that evoked "irrational exuberance." His comments were part of a broader industry discussion about the sustainability of AI investment levels relative to near-term financial returns.

Personal Life

Elhedery holds French nationality and was born in Lebanon. He is multilingual, speaking French, English, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese. His fluency in Mandarin, uncommon among Western banking executives, has been attributed to personal study and time spent in Asia during his career at HSBC.

Elhedery has maintained a relatively low public profile outside of his professional role. He has been based in various HSBC locations throughout his career, including London and Hong Kong. Following his appointment as CEO, his decision to spend extended periods in Hong Kong beginning in 2026 reflected both strategic priorities and his long-standing connection to the Asia-Pacific region.

Recognition

Elhedery has been profiled by major financial publications including Euromoney, The Banker, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and the Financial Times in connection with his career at HSBC and his appointment as group CEO.

The Banker named him as part of its coverage of significant banking leadership transitions, and Euromoney published an extensive profile of Elhedery highlighting his career trajectory from Beirut to the leadership of one of the world's largest financial institutions.

His appointment as HSBC's first Mandarin-speaking CEO received coverage across international media, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and The Guardian, reflecting the significance of the appointment in the context of global banking and geopolitics.