US ambassador-designate Michel Issa arrives in Lebanon

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut has announced the November 14 arrival of U.S. Ambassador-Designate Michel Issa in Lebanon.

"Ambassador Issa had a distinguished former career in banking, where he spent two decades excelling as a currency trader, managing trading floors, and leading initiatives in credit and compliance before transitioning to a successful career in the automobile industry," the Embassy said in a statement.

Below is Ambassador Issa’s official biography:

Ambassador Designate Issa previously served as President & CEO of Newton Investment Group LLC, in Newton, New Jersey, following a distinguished twenty-year banking career, including in New York, and Paris. In 1999, Ambassador Designate Issa retired from banking to pursue his passion for automobiles and successively applied his business acumen to the automobile industry.

Ambassador Designate Issa was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and spent his early childhood there before moving to Paris, France. He holds a DEUG (Diplome D’Etudes Universitaires Generales) Associate Degree in Economics from the University of Paris X Nanterre in Nanterre, France. He also studied at the Cours d’Etudes Superieures de Banques, in Paris, France.

Ambassador Designate Issa is passionate about sports, having competed internationally in track and field and later developed a passion for tennis and golf.

Ambassador Designate Issa is married and has two sons. He speaks French and Arabic.