Pepperstone Names Two New Heads for Its Middle East Table

Pepperstone has appointed two new senior executives to run its Middle East operations, the broker said today, continuing a build-out of its UAE business that began with a Dubai office launch late last year. Mohammed Almadhoun joins as Head of Middle East, while Osama Hamdan is the new Head of Sales.

Almadhoun and Hamdan arrive from rival Middle East brokers

Almadhoun moved from Equiti Group, where he served as Sales Director. He previously spent eight years at ADSS in commercial and partnership leadership roles. In his new position, he will oversee the company's regional operations and growth strategy.

Hamdan joined from XTB, where he most recently held the role of Director of Business Development. He has also held senior commercial positions at Axi and ADSS. He will lead Pepperstone's regional sales strategy, covering business development, client acquisition and partnerships.

Both executives report to Marc Boever, Head of EMEA at Pepperstone.

Both hires bring backgrounds from firms already active in the UAE's CFD and FX market. Almadhoun's move from Equiti and Hamdan's move from XTB add to a pattern of cross-hiring among brokers competing for staff in the region. Pepperstone said the appointments are intended to support its expansion across the GCC and wider MENA region.

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Appointments follow Pepperstone's UAE licence and a crowded broker field

The hires follow Pepperstone's entry into the UAE in December 2025, when the broker obtained a Category 5 licence from what was then the Securities and Commodities Authority, since renamed the Capital Markets Authority, and opened an onshore office in Dubai's Emaar Square.

The licence permits Pepperstone to carry out marketing, promotion and limited advisory and introduction activities for professional clients, while trade execution remains with an offshore Pepperstone entity.

Pepperstone is one of a lengthening list of brokers holding the Category 5 licence, alongside XM, Exinity, VT Markets, Eightcap, Taurex and, most recently, Vantage Markets. The Capital Markets Authority reported an 18 percent rise in licence applications over the first nine months of 2025 compared with the prior year.

Read more: CFD Brokers Flock to Dubai, but Few Go All In

The Middle East has become a significant source of trading revenue for CFD brokers. Capital.com has reported that 52 percent of its first-half 2025 trading volume came from the Middle East and North Africa, with UAE-based traders accounting for close to three quarters of that regional flow.

Pepperstone was founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 2010. It holds regulatory approvals including from ASIC, the FCA, CySEC, BaFin and the DFSA, in addition to its UAE Category 5 licence.