Board of Directors

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri is the Director General of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). He is a member of the Executive Council of Dubai, a member of the Board of Directors of the Investment Corporation of Dubai and also the Director General of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA).

Almarri was recently appointed as chairman of Dubai Financial Market and also serves as a member of the Supreme Committee of the Expo 2020 and board member at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emaar Properties PJSC and Taaleem PJSC.

Almarri’s mandate spans developing, strengthening and managing the positioning of Dubai as the city to visit (business and leisure), invest in, and to be the hub for global talent to live, study, and work in - across core economic sectors.

Helal Almarri holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the London Business School (LBS). Almarri is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and previously worked at consulting firms, McKinsey and KPMG.

Wesam Lootah is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment, the technology arm of Digital Dubai (previously known as Smart Dubai). Digital Dubai is the government entity entrusted with Dubai’s city-wide digital transformation envisioned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Wesam has more than 20 years of strategic leadership experience during which he has leveraged Information Technology to create innovative new channels and a world-class Smart Government infrastructure to improve the quality of public services for citizens, residents, visitors and businesses alike, in Dubai.

Since becoming CEO in 2014, in record time Wesam has managed to transform technology from being the backbone of Smart Dubai initiative to become a true enabler of digital transformation, with a focus on humanizing technology to influence life’s experiences. He pioneered the Smart Dubai strategy and plans related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), and has the distinction of launching the first AI Lab in the Middle East and North Africa region, in addition to launching some of the most impactful initiatives and smart services.

Whilst spearheading initiatives at Smart Dubai Government Establishment, Wesam has led several breakthroughs in the field of Smart Cities as an early adopter – one such technology being Blockchain. Under his stewardship, the Dubai Blockchain Strategy won several awards and recognitions at both regional and global level. The highlight among all these awards is the Smart City Project Award – bestowed at the Smart Cities Expo & World Congress 2017, standing tall against 308 other projects from 58 countries.

Prior to his current role, Wesam was the Vice President of Information Technology at World Trade Centre where he led the transformation of IT through a number of initiatives. In the past, he has also served as the Director of Information Technology at Emaar Properties, during which he led the global rollout of sales automation and ERP across Emaar’s subsidiaries in Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Before that, as the Head of Application Services from 2002 to 2007, Wesam led the implementation of unified business process and ERP across Dubai Government entities resulting in one of the largest ERP implementation in the public sector.

Wesam holds a master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University. Wesam is also an author with published research in the field of Computer Security and is a renowned speaker on smart cities and digital transformation at top events.

• Chief Executive Officer -Smartworld
• Chairman of the Board – UAE Internal Audit Association
• Vice Chairman -Al Noor Training Center for Persons with Disabilities
• Independent Board Member of the Audit Committee- Al Masraf Bank
  
  Areas of Expertise:

• Information Technology
• Innovation
• Internal Audit
• Business Excellence
• Risk Management
• Governance
• Construction
• Fraud
• Human Resources

Chief Executive Officer - Smartworld
Smartworld is a joint venture between Etisalat and Dubai South. An ICT company focusing on Digital Operation, Implementation and Smart Solutions. Abdulqader is leading in exploring new technologies particularly in security areas and implementing them firstly in the UAE such as Blockchain among many others.

Chairman of Board of the UAE Internal Audit Association
Now running on his fifth term, Abdulqader was selected to serve on the IIA’s Global Advocacy Committee and nominated to Chair the Federation of Arab Institutes of Internal Auditors. He led the Arabization projects of both the Certified Internal Audit Certification (CIA) as well as the “Sawyer’s Guide to Internal Auditing” and COSO. He has successfully chaired the annual UAE-IIA Regional Conferences since 2010. The Chief Audit Executive Annual Conferences has also been hosted under his able leadership. The 2018 IIA International Conference was held in Dubai, a first in the MENA region with a record-breaking history, gathering 3500+ attendees worldwide.

Previous Engagements and Experiences

• Chief of Internal Audit for Dubai World Group, the holding company that manages a number of world-class companies such as DP World-UAE Region, Economic Zones World (EZW), Dry Docks World, Nakheel and Istithmar, from August 2005 until October 2014. In this role, he reported initially to the Chairman and then directly to the Audit and Risk Committee of Dubai World on Audit & Fraud related issues covering Dubai World. During his tenure beside Auditing, as a Certified Fraud Examiner he led around 500 fraud cases dealing with different agencies, including special cases in USA and Interpol.
• Dubai Aluminum Company (DUBAL) heading various Departments (IT, Quality, Human Recourses). He was involved in Quality Assurance, developing and maintaining ISO standards and certifications and the application for the Dubai Quality Award and chairing the DUBAL Suggestion Program. While serving as the Manager of Organization Development, Abdulqader was responsible for Recruitment and Training and Succession Planning.

Noteworthy Achievements

• Founder of Ideas Arabia and assessor for Ideas America.
• First UAE National recipient of the prestigious Wilfred Thesiger Award, where master’s degree Scholarship was awarded to him.
• Member of the Jury for the Dubai Quality Award and SKEA, Shaikh Khalifa Excellent Award. Awarded the Qualification in Internal Audit Leadership (QIAL) in 2014, which falls under the umbrella of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
• Certified Fraud Examiner from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in the USA and has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) from IIA.

Abdulqader holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering Technology from Arizona State University, U.S.A. and a Master of Science in Technology Management from Stirling University, Scotland, U.K. He has successfully completed “The International General Management Program for Executive Development” conducted by International Institute of Management Development (IMD), Switzerland.

Mr. Al Marri is a Financial and Administrative expert with more than 20 years of experience in both public and private sectors. He graduated from Mohammed Bin Rashid’s Program for Leadership Development, Government Leaders Category.

He also holds an MBA from the American University in Dubai since 2004 and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain since 1990. Mr. Al Marri started his professional career as an employee at the Land Department in 1986 and holds / has held the following positions since then:

• Assistant CEO for Finance and Corporate Support at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment since August 2009.
• Founding Partner in Faris & Co. Public Accountants since 1995.
• CFO at the Roads and Transport Authority from June 2006 to August 2009.
• Assistant General Manager of the Dubai Transport Authority from March 2005 to June 2006.
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Development Board from December 2005 to April 2008.
• CFO and CAO of the Land Department from November 2000 to March 2005.

Mr. Al Marri has the following professional memberships:

• Certified Public Accountant since 1990.
• Member of the UAE Accountants and Auditors Association since 1997.
• Member of the Culture and Science Symposium in Dubai since its inception.
• Honored with the Sheikh Rashid Award for Educational Excellence for completing an MBA degree at the American University in Dubai.
• Holds an Institutional Leadership Certificate from the Leadership and Learning Center in Florida, USA.
• NLP practitioner certified by Richard Bandler through McClendon & Associates Institute.
• Holds a Self-Hypnosis Practitioner Diploma from Proudfoot School of Clinical Hypnosis and Psychotherapy.

Category
Independent

Current appointments or membership at any other Joint Stock companies

• Emirates Post Group – Board Member – Independent
• Dubai Multi Commodities Center – Board Member - Independent

Experience and qualifications

• Abdulwahid is a Partner at White & Case LLP in their Global Corporate and Merger & Acquisitions practice and is the Office Executive Partner of their UAE offices based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
• He specializes in cross border transactions, initial public offerings, corporate governance and commercial transactions generally, while his wider experience extends to other areas such as financial regulation, debt capital markets, banking and finance, projects, real estate, litigation and arbitration providing support to all of the firm’s core practice areas. He has also acted as counsel to parties engaged in commercial arbitration disputes before ICSID and other arbitration centers.
• Over the past few years, Abdulwahid has been involved in a number of senior strategic commercial roles, in the retail, natural resources and finance sectors. Against such a strong background in both industry and law, Abdulwahid is also recognised for his business understanding and commercial integrity as a trusted advisor in the UAE business community.
• Abdulwahid graduated with a distinction (first in his batch) in his L.L.B. from the UAE University in 1999. In 2000, he was admitted to practise before the UAE courts and was additionally awarded a Chevening scholarship in the same year. He has a L.L.M. degree in Maritime Law and International Trade from University College London (University of London) in 2001.

Current appointments at any other regulatory, government or commercial entity

• White & Case LLP (Nov 2012 till date): Partner, Global Corporate and Merger & Acquisitions Office Executive Partner, Dubai Office
• Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC): Vice Chairman, Chairman of Remco
• Emirates Post Group: Vice Chairman, Remco Member
• Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA): Board Member, Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Member of the Legislative Committee, Member of the Risk Committee
• Al Manara Real Estate Registration Trustee LLC: Owner

Current position including other board membership

• Assistant undersecretary for Resources & Budget. Ministry of Finance
• Board membership in Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
• Board membership in Etihad Rail
• Board membership of the UAE Council of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
• Board membership in UAEU
• Board membership of Emirates Council for Governmental Services
• Board Member of Federal Tax Authority
• Board Member of Gulf Investment Corporation

Experience

• 2009 until now, Assistant Undersecretary of Budget & Revenue , Ministry of Finance
• 2002-2009 Director of the Budget Department, Ministry of Finance
• 2002 Deputy Director of the Investments Department, Ministry of Finance
• 2001 major administrative in administration Investments- Ministry of Finance
• 1998- 2001 General Director Office Manager of the Dubai Customs Department
• 1996-1998 Researcher in research and Studies Department - Dubai Customs Department

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Political Science, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences Industry Political Science United Arab Emirates University, 1995

Yuvraj Narayan is the Group Chief Financial, Strategy & Business Officer of DP World, one of the largest global transport and logistics companies with over 120 business units across 60 countries.

DP World is headquartered in Dubai, UAE, which is home to the group’s flagship asset, Jebel Ali Port and Jebel Ali Free Zone, which accounts for approximately 33% of Dubai’s GDP.

Mr. Narayan joined DP World in 2004 and has played a major role in transforming the business from a local port operator to a global logistics company that manages c.10% of global trade. He led DP World’s international $21 billion Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2007.

Mr. Narayan has managed the growth and leverage of DP World by accessing financial markets including the use of Bonds and Sukuks. DP World has more than $10bn of bonds trading on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange (UAE) which has significantly contributed to Dubai becoming a major financial hub.

Mr. Narayan has also been instrumental in many acquisitions including the $3.5billion purchase of Economic Zones World FZE (EZW), creating the leading integrated port and free zone in the Middle East.

Other landmark transactions include:

• The finance facility for the acquisition of CSX and P&O in 2005 and 2006
• Organising Pre-IPO Sukuk issuance
• Delivering the divestment of P&O’s east coast assets in the United States
• The first ever 10-year Islamic Sukuk
• The first ever 30-year Bond in the Middle East
• Launching the DP World IPO worth $21billion
• The acquisition of DP World Sokhna in Egypt, the Fairview Container Terminal on the west coast of Canada and two ports in Chile
• The monetisation of assets in Australia, Hong Kong and Canada
• Acquisition of Unifeeder and P&O Ferries for over $1bn to grow DP World's logistics operations
• Acquisition of Topaz Energy & Marine to build up DP World’s marine logistics capability in the energy sector
• DP World’s $9bn re-financing
• Partnership deals with Canadian asset manager, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ); the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund; the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF); the India Sovereign Wealth Fund and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

Mr. Narayan has been named MENA CFO of the Year on four occasions in 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2018. His Finance team has won multiple awards, including Finance Team of the Year in 2015. DP World is also a regular winner of the ‘Best Company for Investor Relations, Middle East’.

Prior to joining DP World, Mr. Narayan held executive positions with ANZ Group as Head of Corporate and Project Finance for South Asia, and Salalah Port Services in Oman as Chief Financial Officer. He has also served as Non-Executive Director of Istithmar World and IDFC Securities. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Moaza Al Marri, is the Executive Director of the Director General’s Office at the Roads and Transport Authority. ‏She is a Board Member at the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and at the Dubai Sports Council serving as the Secretary General of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award and the Head of the Women’s Sports Committee.

Moaza holds a Masters of Business Administration in General Business from the American University in Dubai. Through her 20 years career Moaza had garnered diverse experiences from the private, semi government, government sectors and different committees in different sectors, giving her an agile and adaptive approach to multiple sectors requirements.

‏Moaza started her career in 1999 at Nestle Middle East, overseeing the Internal Communications for the Middle East and Levant market. After which she moved on to the banking industry joining Emirates NBD in 2009 and took up the positions of Senior Business Marketing & Communication Manager. In January 2014, she moved on to the Government sector joining the Roads & Transport Authority in Dubai as a Marketing and Corporate Communications Director, then she was promoted to become the Executive Director - Chairman & Executive Director Office at the Authority

‏In her present position, Moaza is heading several pivotal committees participating in the comprehensive development in UAE, such as the team responsible of following up Mobility Future Foresight Project; this project is related to following up strategies and initiatives of smart transformation in the mobility sector, as well as re-enforcing RTA pioneering and Dubai in forming mobility future. Moaza heads as well RTA’s Women Committee, which enables and empowers women in RTA, this committee announced many distinctive initiatives, and organized varied cultural and sport activities.

On a personal level, Moaza has won The Middle East Women Leaders Excellence Award in 2015 for Communications and Media excellence, and a Bronze Award from Dubai Lynx.

Huda Sabil Abdulla is the Chief Financial Officer of Emirates Islamic, the Islamic subsidiary of Emirates NBD Group since 2019 where she is responsible in spearheading the finance and strategy function of the organization.

Huda is an astute financial services professional with over 26 years of experience in the banking and finance industry spanning across both conventional and Islamic banking. She began her career with Emirates NBD Group 26 years ago and has been growing professionally within the Group with roles spanning across various areas such as HR, Financial Accounting and Control, Business Finance, Performance and Asset Liability Management and investors relations.

Huda plays a pivotal role in the organization in various capacity especially in developing tools and systems to provide critical financial and operational information as well as driving the strategic conversation for the organization. Some of her notable contributions include leading the implementation of fund transfer pricing (FTP) roll out which enabled efficient pricing and liquidity management for the organization. Huda also pioneered the establishment of best in class economic profit framework in line with Basel and proven economic profit techniques in the organization.

In 2019, Huda became the first Emirati woman to be appointed Chief Financial Officer in the UAE Banking Industry. In her present role, Huda has been an influential and prolific leader in driving Emirates Islamic’s financial success through efficient cost management, strategic planning and proactive P&L management resulting in continuous profitability and balance sheet growth at Emirates Islamic.

Huda graduated from Ajman University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. She also holds various professional qualifications including Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA) from Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Certificate in Management (CIM) from University of Wollongong Dubai and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) from Institute of Management Accountants, USA. Huda has also successfully completed the Essential Leadership Program from London Business School.

In recognition of her exemplary leadership, Huda won the 17^th Middle East Future Excellence Award for Leadership in the Banking sector category and the Distinguished Woman Award in the Banking and Finance sector from Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies.