Salim Sawalha is the Chief Retail Officer at the National Bank of Iraq, bringing over 20 years of diverse experience in the financial sector across local and international markets. 

Since 2016, Salim led the digital transformation of the Retail Banking division at Jordan Commercial Bank, where he served as Assistant General Manager and Head of Retail Banking until early 2025. 

Prior to that, he held the position of Country Manager at Visa, covering Jordan, Iraq, and Palestine. He played a key role in strengthening digital payment solutions across the region. His career also includes leadership roles at major U.S. financial institutions such as Wells Fargo and Chase. 

Salim is also an entrepreneur. He founded a cleaning services company in San Francisco and launched two successful e-commerce businesses—one selling Dead Sea beauty products and another selling children’s products on Amazon. 

Academically, Salim has taught Arabic and Business Administration part-time at both California State University and DeVry University in the U.S. Today, he regularly delivers lectures and workshops on digital transformation and artificial intelligence in business at schools and universities. 

He holds two Master’s degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from California State University, East Bay, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Yarmouk University in Jordan. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and holds many professional certifications in digital transformation and fintech from institutions such as Harvard, Wharton, IE Business School in Spain, and others.