Emaar Principle Officers

Mr. Ahmad Thani Al Matrooshi, Managing Director, Emaar Properties PJSC, joined the company in 2005, bringing with him over 26 years of experience in real estate and property management.

Mr. Matrooshi is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of Emaar including government affairs, media, public and community relations and overall management of Emaar Dubai.

Prior to joining Emaar, Mr. Matrooshi spent 24 years working with the Government of Dubai, serving for almost a decade as the CEO of Dubai Development Board (DDB) and for 14 years as the Deputy Director of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI).

He is a Board Member of Dubai Investment Park, and is the Founder and Chairman of the non-profit Dubai Property Group (DPG). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and a Diploma in Property Management.

Mr. Ayman Hamdy, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary joined Emaar in 2006.

He is responsible for establishing the Emaar Group’s legal strategy, overseeing its legal and governance functions, securing legal protection for the company’s assets, structuring major transactions and supervising the implementation of the company’s bylaws, policies and regulations.

Mr. Hamdy started his career with one of the largest law firms in Egypt, working on international business transactions and foreign investment matters. He served as a public prosecutor for three years before joining Unilever in Dubai as their Regional Head of Legal. He was also the Resident Partner of the Dubai office of a regional law firm, Shalakany Law Office.

Mr. Hamdy studied law in Egypt, France and the United States. He holds an LL.M. in US Law from the law school of Washington University in St. Louis.

Mr. Hamdy is a Member of the Advisory Board, Executive Leadership Institute, Association of Corporate Counsel. He is a member of the Egyptian Bar Association, the Egyptian Association of Judges, Egyptian Association of Public Prosecutors and a Fellow of the International Bar Association.

Mr. Hamdy was awarded “General Counsel of the Year (highly commended)” by the Association of Corporate Counsel Middle East Achievement Award 2016.

Mr. Irfan Sadiq is the Group Chief Audit Officer at Emaar Properties, and joined the company in May 2014. He is responsible for overseeing and reviewing the effectiveness of the Emaar’s internal control environment, risk assessment and corporate governance.

Mr. Sadiq has over 18 years of experience in auditing and assurance services, enterprise risk management, compliance and financial due diligence reviews. Prior to joining Emaar, he was Executive Director in the Audit and Assurance Services of Ernst & Young in the UAE. He started his career with a ‘Big4’ professional services firm and served the audit and advisory services of the firm in Pakistan, the UAE, Canada and the USA.

Mr. Sadiq is a Certified Public Accountant from the AICPA (USA), a Chartered Professional Accountant from CPA Canada, a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant from the ACCA (UK) and a Certified Internal Auditor from the IIA (USA). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Oxford Brookes University, UK.

Ms. Maitha Al Dossari is the Chief Executive Officer – Strategic Projects at Emaar Properties. Reporting directly to the Chairman, she is responsible for leading several highly strategic projects relating to Emaar’s customer franchise.

Ms. Al Dossari is mandated to enhance customer satisfaction in relation to Emaar’s developments, and will focus on strategic initiatives that delight customers and rapidly address their concerns. She is also in charge of monitoring project progress and identifying opportunities to accelerate project work as well as in monitoring project quality, reviewing customer complaints and resolving them promptly.

Ms. Al Dossari joined Emaar Properties in 2000 and with extensive experience in leading business-to-consumer retail and passionate about enhancing customer service standards, Ms. Al Dossari was the former Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Entertainment LLC, a subsidiary that focuses on providing premium leisure and entertainment experiences. In parallel, she also serves as the Head of Procurement, Administration & Logistics of Emaar Properties PJSC and Pre-Opening Procurement of Emaar Hospitality Group. She has extensive experience in procurement, logistics and operations covering various business functions including process optimisation, policies, procedures, auditing, and cost control, among others.

Ms. Al Dossari is a graduate in Business Administration & Finance. She also acquired Executive MBA and Program for Executive Development (PED) – General Management at IMD (International Institute for Management Development) Business Programs, Switzerland.

From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Maitha Al Dossari has been consecutively awarded as one of the Most Powerful Arab Women.

Mr. Bader Saeed Hareb, Chief Executive Officer – Development, joined the company in August 2017.

Previously, Mr. Hareb served as Executive Director – Development. In a span of a year, Mr. Hareb’s streak of successes has exalted his rank to Chief Executive Officer to spearhead Emaar Development’s future growth and success.

Prior to his appointment at Emaar, Mr. Hareb was the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Healthcare City, leading strategy and sustainable growth of the free zone. In his career, Bader held senior positions in reputable organizations within the real estate industry. He was Chief Property Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, leading the way in large-scale investment projects in the MENA region and concurrently serving as Vice-Chairman at Sharjah Holding and The Wave, Muscat.

Mr. Hareb also served as Managing Director at Nakheel where he strategized and managed several projects and was instrumental as a member of the team that steered the real estate developer through a period of significant financial restructuring. At the beginning of his career, he handled projects at Mobily in Saudi Arabia and Etisalat. In addition, he has held board positions at Enshaa, Dubai, and Dubai Healthcare City Authority.

A native of Dubai, Mr. Hareb holds Executive Master of Business Administration from the American University of Sharjah and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from United Arab Emirates University. He is a graduate of Dubai Leadership Program through The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Sunil Grover is the Chief Financial Officer of Emaar Development; he joined the company in March 2000.

Mr. Grover has over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, budgeting, planning and reporting, and has worked as Senior Director – Finance at Emaar earlier.

He is a Certified Public Accountant from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and a certified Company Secretary from Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).

Mr. Grover holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Delhi in India.

Mr. Omar Ghalib Bustami, Executive Director – Development, joined the company in July 2017.

In his role, Mr. Bustami heads the iconic Dubai Creek Harbour development in addition to leading Emaar’s multiple projects teams comprised of Development, Project Management, Project Controls and Commercial Management which work across the entire master plan.

Prior to joining Emaar, he held senior positions in reputable organisations such as Meraas Holding, where he was instrumental in leading and delivering numerous key projects which enhanced the Retail and Leisure & Entertainment landscape of Dubai, as well as Nakheel and Istithmar under the Dubai World umbrella of companies where he led development projects both in Dubai and Singapore.  At the onset of his career, he worked with WS Atkins Consultants Ltd both in Dubai and in the Head Office in the UK working in the fields of Project Management and Design.

Omar holds a Masters in Engineering Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Leeds, UK and is also a graduate of the Dubai Leadership Programme held through the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He is also a member of and holds the APMP Certification from the Association for Project Management, UK and is fluent in three languages, namely Arabic, English and French.

An experienced sales and marketing management professional with over 14 years in the property sector, Fawaz Sous joined as Head of Sales – Emaar Development in June 2018. He is responsible for driving the sales functions of the company and its iconic new destinations.

His strong areas are new market entry, land acquisition, sales management, and property development, and has managed large teams maximizing the impact of both direct and indirect sales channels.

Previously, he was Senior Vice President – Sales of Damac Properties, heading residential, hotel, hotel apartments and commercial. He was also the Head of Department of the Brokers Development Team where he created broker business units and driven broker’s loyalty programmes.

He has managed sales of property in several international markets including UK, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, serving as the company’s Country Head in these markets. He also worked as Vice President – Sales & Business Development and as Senior Director of Sales.

He has also Mr. Sous has a Diploma in Business Studies from Toronto School of Business, Canada, and a Diploma in Business Foundation from Bellerbys College, Brighton, UK.

Ms. Natalie Bogdanova, Chief Operating Officer of Emaar Malls has over 15 years’ experience with Emaar.

In this role she is responsible for the full P & L of all Regional Malls and community retail assets outside of Dubai Mall reporting to the CEO, Emaar Malls.

Natalie has progressed through various senior roles within the company. Moving from International Sales & Marketing to lead Customer Care, Property Handover, Property Transfer and Call Center, she was also a member of the executive opening committee for Burj Khalifa, as well as General Manager of Dubai Mall for 5 years, before becoming Senior Director, Business Development for Emaar Malls working on international Mall expansions.

Her previous role was as Executive Director, Malls Development including; design and construction delivery for Dubai Mall, Dubai Hills Estate Mall, The Springs, Dubai South Mall, Zabeel extension, Dubai Creek Harbour Retail district and other retail areas within the Emaar portfolio.

Natalie holds a BA degree in International Business.

In addition to driving UAE asset performance, she will promote and manage International development through Regional Malls which currently includes Emaar Square Mall, Istanbul, Turkey.

Hadi is also Chairman of the Board of NAMSHI and he serves as a Board Director of Emaar India, ROVE Hotels and Mirage Leisure & Development.

Hadi joined EMAAR Properties in 2015. Since joining, Hadi has served as Chief Strategy Officer, Acting Head of HR and Acting Chief Digital Officer.

Prior to EMAAR, Hadi had over 9 years of management consulting and corporate strategy experience and 5 years of global private equity experience.

Hadi joined Bain & Company in 2010 as a Case Team Leader and was promoted to Manager in 2011. Hadi was promoted again to Principal in 2014. At Bain, Hadi developed strategies for leading conglomerates and financial institutions.

Hadi was previously Executive Director of the CEO’s Office at SHUAA Capital where he was responsible for corporate strategy, M&A and special projects.

Hadi transferred to SHUAA from Dubai International Capital (DIC) where he joined as an Associate in 2004 before being promoted to Associate Director in 2007 and again to Executive Director in 2009. At DIC, Hadi was involved in the deployment of over $5BN in regional and international buyouts, growth and development capital deals, minority stakes, pre-IPOs, public equities and LP interests.

In 2006, Hadi was seconded to The Carlyle Group in Washington DC. During his time at Carlyle, Hadi served as an Associate with Carlyle Venture Partners and focused on US growth buyouts.

Hadi was previously an Associate in the Strategy Department of The Executive Office of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Hadi served as a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum.

Hadi holds a BA, Magna Cum Laude Honors in Economics from Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA.

Specialties: Corporate and Business Unit Strategy, Innovation, Private Equity, Strategic M&A, Transformation, Organization Design.

Mr. Ahmed Linjawy is the Acting Group CEO of Emaar Economic City (EEC), a public listed Saudi joint stock company. He has been represented the Executive Management team for over 12 years, including six years as the Deputy Group CEO. Under his leadership, the company oversees the master planning and development of one of the largest development projects on the earth KAEC is being developed as a world-class city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, less than an hour’s drive from Jeddah with a capacity to host a population of two million people and a planned investment of over USD 100 billion.

Prior to joining EEC, Mr. Linjawy was an executive in Procter & Gamble, the US FMCG conglomerate.  He has led various positions and initiatives during his sixteen years there, including External Relations and Product Development with regional and international projects and was the Country Manager for Saudi Arabia. He also led the Corporate Social Responsibility program for P&G in the region.

Mr. Linjawy has a B.S. in Medical Technology from the College of Medicine – King Abdul Aziz University and has attained certifications from the London Institute and the American University, Washington.

Feyzi Tecellioglu joined Emaar Turkey in May 2018 as Chief Executive Officer.

He leads the value creation in multiple businesses including the largest mixed use real estate development project in Turkey. He plays a vital role in developing the company’s real estate and retail business and explores new opportunities for growth in Turkey.

Mr. Tecellioglu brings over twenty years of experience in Turkey and USA, spearheading real estate, land, retail, commercial, investment and business development with heavy emphasis on innovation for results to Emaar Turkey.

Prior to joining Emaar Turkey, he was a Board Member at Toya Real Estate Development. From 2014 to 2016, he was the Managing Director at Tabanlioglu Architects where he fostered national and international expansion in Dubai, Doha and London and strengthen organizational and financial capabilities. During his tenure, the company’s revenue and profitability grew by triple digits.

Feyzi Tecellioglu was the managing director of Soyak Real Estate Development between 2006 and 2014 where he was responsible for office, retail, residential and land developments and achieved one of the highest sales numbers in residential and increased marketing efficiencies.

Earlier in his career, he worked at Lend Lease, an international real estate firm, in USA. He started his career with Koc Holding, a Fortune Global 500 Company and the largest industrial group in Turkey, in Strategic Planning Department.

Mr. Tecellioglu graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management Engineering and received his Master of Business Administration degree from University of California, Berkeley, in 2002.

Rahal Laghroudi joined Emaar since 2006. He played a vital role as the Finance Director of Emaar Morocco where he spearheaded the overall financial planning for the group, as well as liaising with banks and other financial institutions for project-based finance requirements.

Since December 2012, Mr Laghroudi has been overseeing Morocco operations as the General Manager for Emaar Morocco.

Mr Laghroudi is responsible for monitoring the market environment, identifying new opportunities and developing strategies to expand Emaar Morocco’s customer base. He also leads the optimization of profitability and end-to-end customer management.

Mr Laghroudi is also responsible for implementation new sales, marketing and administrative protocols to monitor key performance indicators of Emaar Morocco.

Previously, Mr Laghroudi served as a Finance and Administration Director with Bicha Group, a private group operating in the real estate and food industry. His responsibilities included financial and tax planning, budgeting, forecasting and process optimizing of the group.

In the initial stages of his career, Mr Laghroudi worked with Brasseries du Maroc Group as Head of Accounting and Finance Department. He also served for Ernst & Young Morocco as Senior Audit Manager.

He holds a diploma in Information Technology from EST and acquires a Finance and Management degree from ENCG and Chartered Professional Accountancy from ISCAE Casablanca, Morocco.

Mr.Akash Veerwani is a highly accomplished senior finance leader with over two decades of extensive experience in large multinationals. He joined Emaar International as Chief Financial Officer in January 2019.

Akash has a proven ability to seamlessly partner with senior stakeholders to create a compelling vision and strategy. Other hallmarks of his leadership skills include robust planning and performance management, active ownership, strong functional and systems capability, integrity and controllership as well as adeptly leading large cross-cultural/functional teams. Along with his commercial acumen, Akash also has extensive experience in internal controls, finance and compliance framework.

He previously worked in various finance leadership roles in Mondelez International including Category Finance Director for EEMEA region where he took ownership and ensured successful delivery of financial commitments with significant margin improvements across theportfolio. He also served as Global Finance Director for setting up contemporary and world-class Center of Excellence for Financial planning and analysis function. He has led various finance streams in his 12 years’ experience with Mondelez with regional and global responsibilities.

Akash has also worked with Al Futtaim Group and Pannell Kerr Forster prior to joining Mondelez.

He is a Chartered Accountant from India, a commerce graduate from Mumbai University and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor, USA.

A veteran global hospitality professional with over 17 years of experience, Chris Newman is Chief Operating Officer at Emaar Hospitality Group. He is mandated with driving the strategic growth of the organisation through new ventures, expansion, and partnerships, and achieving the highest standards of operational efficiency across all touch-points.

Chris is responsible for the strategic operations of all three hotel brands of Emaar Hospitality Group including The Address Hotels + Resorts, Vida Hotels and Resorts and the Rove Hotels together with Emaar Hospitality Group’s Leisure Clubs and Lifestyle Dining Division. He will also drive the growth of the company to new markets in line with the strategic vision of Emaar Properties, the holding company of Emaar Hospitality Group.

With proven skills in visionary and macro thinking, strategy development, commercial & relationship management, and people, processes & talent management, Chris has previously worked on large-scale hospitality projects for leading international brands in several global markets including Egypt, Nigeria, The Gambia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi, Guyana in South America, West Indies, Bahamas, Greece, London and Switzerland.

Over the years, he has created a sustainable operations model for greenfield ventures, including pre-opening support, as well as developed operational protocols to maximise revenue and profitability for established projects. He has also championed a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Chris holds a Higher National Diploma in Hotel, Catering & Institutional Management from the Westminster School of Catering, London, and a Certification in Hotel Real Estate Investments & Asset Management from Cornell University, New York. He holds a number of industry certificates in Group Training Techniques, Managing Sales Platforms, Management Communication Skills and High Performance Financial Management for Hotels, among others.

Chris is fluent in English and French. He is interested in scuba diving, kite surfing, yoga, saxophone and motorbikes, and is a competitive triathlete and cyclist.

Ms Zeina Dagher, Chief Executive Officer – Emaar Entertainment is a true Emaar veteran, having joined the company in 2008

In her role as Chief Executive Officer, Zeina is responsible for driving the growth of the Entertainment business, expanding its leisure assets and enhancing their operational efficiency and productivity.

Her journey with Emaar began as a Management Associate in 2008 and since then, she has progressed through various roles within the company where in 2015, she served as Senior Director, Operations for At The Top responsible for managing the iconic observatory and lounge and overlooking all aspects related to revenue generation, including sales, marketing and operations. She also served as Acting Chief Marketing Officer.

Zeina’s additional contributions to Emaar’s enterprises include setting up the Emaar Turkey Observation Deck and Retail, the upcoming Sky View Tower Observation Deck and Retail, and the Dubai Fountain Boat Ride.

Ms. Dagher holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the American University of Sharjah and Masters in Marketing and International Relations from the University of Dubai.

Mr. Arif Alharmi Albastaki joined Amlak Finance in 2007, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience from over 18 years in senior positions at leading international and domestic financial institutions.

Mr. Arif also serves as a member on the Board of Directors of a number of local and regional companies.

Mr. Ali H Odeh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Turner International Middle East LLC, joined the Emaar Group in 2006.

Mr. Odeh is responsible for leading the growth initiatives of the Dubai-based Turner International Middle East Ltd LLC in programme, project and construction management across the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent.

He has over 29 years of experience in project construction and has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE).

Waleed Dhaduk is the Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Industries & Investments (Pvt.) JSC (“EII”) where he is responsible for leading the company’s overall strategy, managing the investment portfolio, and delivering the growth plan. Mr. Dhaduk was previously the Chief Investment Officer of EII, a position he held since 2016.

Mr. Dhaduk is also a member of the Investment Committee of EII and sits on the Boards of various investee companies including Memaar Building Systems, Starwood Industries, Gutmann Middle East, AASA, Leaders Fort Contracting, Service Market and Abode Investments. In addition to this, Mr. Dhaduk is a Board and an Investment Committee member of Dubai Angel Investors, a leading technology investment platform.

Mr. Dhaduk represents over 18 years of global professional experience in private equity, strategy consulting and investment banking. Throughout his career, he has been repeatedly been recognized for delivering growth and creating value across the investment management value chain. Before joining EII, Mr. Dhaduk was a Partner at Stratum, a private equity and investment advisory firm in Bahrain, where he was responsible for originating, evaluating, structuring, executing and managing investments across a range of sectors.

Prior to Stratum, Mr. Dhaduk served in various strategy consulting and investment banking roles in Bahrain and Canada at leading global firms including Ernst & Young, Canadian Tire Corporation, Cap Gemini and Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Dhaduk holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Queen’s University in Canada. Additionally, Mr. Dhaduk has pursued various courses in Economics and Finance at the London School of Economics and Harvard University.