Ten of the Top Business Leaders in the UAE

UAE is home to some of the best business leaders in the Middle East. With UAE's cultural diversity and abundance of economic opportunities, many people have found it a place to thrive professionally. Here are some of top ten business leaders that have gained prominence at the helm of powerful and respected corporations in the UAE :

1. Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)

 Chilwan has been a significant player in developing the role of Sharia finance not only in the region, but also at the global scale.  He has worked towards making Islamic banking more of a global banking norm, instead of limiting it to a specific finance niche. DIB has created assets in excess of $80bn with a market capitalization of $9bn. 

2. Ahmed Abdelaal, Group CEO of Mashreq

With banking experience that expands over two decades and locally as well as internationally, Abdelaal has now become important in leading the cementation of financial technology (fintech) in Gulf's banking experience. Mashreq has launched Cashew a 'buy now, pay later' service, which makes Mashreq the first traditional bank to collaborate with a fintech company in the MENA region. 

3. Amina al Rostamani, Director of AW Rostamani Group

Al Rostamani manages this group and its real estate division-AWR properties. She not only heads her own company, but she also works with several other company board, across a variety of sectors. She is a non-executive board member fo HSBC Bank Middle East, Al Jalila Foundation, Sandooq al Watan, Dubai Chambers, Dubai Media Council, and Ajman University. She is also an advisory board member for Tharawat Family Business Forum.

4. Chris Roberts, Group CEO of Eltizam Asset Management Group

 Roberts has advanced Eltizam from a single-site based owner's association and a facilities management company to Middle East's largest physical asset management company. Eltizam has extended to five countries as a result of Roberts' work; in addition to this, Roberts has also created four holding companies for Eltizam including EAMG Holdings, iFM Holdings, iREC Holdings and EAST-O Holdings.

5. Elda Choucair, CEO of Omnicom Media Group MENA

As part of Omnicom, Choucair has ushered in technological development in automation as well as predictive modelling and ecommerce. Choucair has lead PHD Media MENA to become a significant company in the media and marketing sector of the Middle East. in 2016, she became CEO of the company and in 2021, she became CEO of Omnicom. 

6. Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du

Al Hassawi is well-versed in commericial strategy and organization development for twenty years. He began his journey with du when he became the executive vice president of human resources and over the years, he rose in rank to eventually become CEO fo du. With his leadership, he has allowed the telco to thrive in UAE's competitive telecommunications market. 

7. Fatima al Jaber, COO of Al Jaber Group 

As part of this company,  al Jaber has headed many construction projects based in the UAE. She has worked in the muncipal government and became the first Emirati woman to become elected to the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. For her company,  al Jaber manages $5bn in assets, while also serving for boards of of other companies including Abu Dhabi Takaful Company and the National Investor.

8. Habib Wehbi, Chairman and CEO of W Venture Holding

Wehbi manages this investment holding that capitalizes on technology and it is also invested in other industries including manufacturing and startups. These fields are supporeted by three chief support subsidiaries, which are W Group, BMI, and W Invest. Through W Group, Wehbi has tirelessly worked to improve consumer brand experiences and transform existing media assets into "avante garde landmarks" according to Arabian Business. Not only that, W Group is collaborating with Dubai's government to make it the best city to live in; the company is collaborating with Hypermedia and DigitAll for this project by focusing on experience tools, innovation, and media. 

9. Haider Ali Khan, CEO and Board Member of EMPG

EMPG's classified's portals are composed of some very strong brands that are from MENA and South Asia. The company also has flagship ventures such as Bayut-Dubizzle (UAE) and Zameen (Pakistan). Khan changed the trajectory of Bayut for the best; all of EMPG'S portals get 27 million monthly visits making its portals extremely popular among the people of the region.

10. Hana al Rostamani, Group CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Al Rostamani is the only female CEO of a major UAE-based bank. Under her administration, the bank has expanded into other parts of the Middle East. She is the chair person of Private Bank Suisse, part of the IMD Foundation and Mastercard boards, and contributes to AW Rostamani Group's board. As Group CEO of FAB, al Rostamani works for customer and digital first mindset. FAB’s profits reached $2.17bn while earnings per share climbed 52% year-over-year.