The Pioneers: Enterprise leaders who helmed progress

Because the yr attracts to a detailed, we determine enterprise leaders who’ve been instrumental in driving their organisation’s progress and success.

Suresh Vaidhyanathan, Group CEO, Ghassan Aboud Group

Suresh Vaidhyanathan is an completed enterprise chief, having performed key strategic roles with the area’s foremost enterprise conglomerates for greater than 25 years. His expertise spans throughout a number of enterprise sectors and international locations in Center East, Asia and Africa. Vaidhyanathan is a certified chartered accountant and an alumnus of the Digital Enterprise Transformation programme from the IMD Enterprise Faculty. He has accomplished a number of administration programmes at Harvard, Wharton, MIT Sloan (AI & Blockchain), Chicago Sales space Faculty and INSEAD.

In 2012, Suresh certified as a NACD Board Management Fellow (Nationwide Affiliation of Company Administrators, US). As well as, he’s a licensed board director with the Institute of Administrators, Dubai (Hawakamah).

Presently, Vaidhyanathan is the group CEO on the UAE-headquartered Ghassan Aboud Group (GAG), driving progress throughout a various portfolio of companies that embrace automotive, retail, meals, hospitality, logistics, healthcare and eB2B digital platforms. The group is properly positioned for strong progress with a number of ongoing initiatives inside its core sectors. Vaidhyanathan performed a pivotal function the conceptualisation of the group’s joint ventures with the AD Ports Group to develop Abu Dhabi Meals Hub – KEZAD and International Auto Hub – Abu Dhabi as public personal partnership initiatives.

He additionally spearheads the group’s digital transformation initiatives that led to the launch of digital platforms and different upcoming transformative initiatives. The automotive enterprise on the Ghassan Aboud Group is an unmatched platform that features aggregation of a complete vary of automotive merchandise and reaching them to greater than 100 international locations.

The hospitality model Crystalbrook Assortment is reputed for sustainability and manages a A$1bn portfolio of wholly owned five-star properties in Australia. Inspired by constructive shopper response, the group’s premium grocery retail model – Grandiose Grocery store, is present process a fast growth and is ready to succeed in 50 shops by finish 2023.

The group’s meals distribution and catering firms are additionally set to broaden their operations, delivering exacting requirements of vitamin and wholesome merchandise. Gallega International Logistics gives revolutionary options throughout a various buyer base together with fulfilment operations for digital platforms. The disruptive digital platforms BuyGro (FMCG) and BuyParts24 (auto spare elements) have achieved important traction within the addressable market inside a brief interval because the launch.

The group CEO’s values are centred round integrity, innovation and prospering in partnership with the group. The Ghassan Aboud Group seeks to interact in companies that create important socio-economic affect and promote sustainability. The motto could be very easy but inspiring, “Constructing a greater future, collectively”.

Othman Aljeda CEO – Aramex

Othman Aljeda joined Aramex in 1994 and fulfilled varied management roles to strengthen the enterprise throughout a number of markets. From 2007 till 2017, Aljeda was instrumental in establishing Aramex’s first regional workplace in Asia and spearheading its regional growth plans.

In 2017, he was named the corporate’s regional CEO for Europe, North America, and Asia. Along with his regional tasks, Aljeda took on the function of interim chief working officer for six months in 2020 and was appointed CEO a yr later.

Beneath his aegis, Aramex accomplished the acquisition of cross-border e-commerce enabling platform, Entry USA Transport (MyUS) in October this yr, for an all-cash buy worth of roughly $265m, making it the corporate’s largest acquisition.

The agency lately accomplished its drone supply testing in Oman, with plans to broaden the testing throughout the Center East area, and in different core working markets. In the meantime, Aramex reported $1.19bn in income for the primary 9 months of 2022, whereas its web revenue from persevering with operations reached $34.8m. It plans to broaden its community to serve greater than 550 cities by 2023.

Hosam Arab, CEO and co-founder – Tabby

Hosam Arab, the CEO of funds and purchasing app Tabby, is a distinguished title throughout the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. He co-founded on-line style platform Namshi in 2011, which was totally acquired by retail large Emaar Malls in 2019. The identical yr, Arab based Tabby, which has since expanded regionally and is energetic in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Kuwait.

In August, Tabby secured $150m in debt financing from Atalaya Capital Administration and Companions for Progress, which adopted a $54m Sequence B extension earlier this yr, scaling the whole funding raised to over $275m.

In September, Tabby additionally partnered with funds facilitator Paymob,  to create a buy-now-pay-later resolution for each in-store and on-line retailers in Egypt. Main from the entrance, Arab has steered the corporate’s momentum, reporting a 10x progress in income, 8x in energetic prospects and 3x in energetic retailer companions within the first half of 2022, in comparison with the identical interval final yr.

In the meantime, over 8,000 world manufacturers and small companies use Tabby, with greater than two million energetic customers in its community.

Harish Prithvi, COO – AIX Funding Group

When Harish Prithvi, COO of AIX Funding Group, first got here to the UAE in 2012, a mentor instructed him: “Anybody can aspire and turn out to be anyone right here”. Prithvi typically says that he didn’t actually perceive what it meant again then. However after 10 years on this nation, he agrees.

In accordance with Prithvi, the UAE breathes entrepreneurship, not only for enterprise house owners but additionally for workers who will typically discover that organisations right here encourage an entrepreneurial mindset.

Prithvi began his profession in IT-enabled companies at Dell 19 years in the past in India. Having realized the ropes of the enterprise, he then moved on to TCS (an Indian IT main owned by the Tata conglomerate), the place an insightful mentor recognised his abilities of being a folks’s individual.

In TCS, he joined the transition staff, the place he was entrusted with buyer engagement tasks, interacting with shoppers, understanding their considerations and creating tailor-made, cost-effective options.

In his 5 years with TCS, Prithvi had the chance to satisfy shoppers from all verticals and geographies, which led him to enter the consulting area With this, he joined KPMG as a administration marketing consultant – Technique and Advisory, the place he labored for 3 years.

With 11 years into his skilled profession, Prithvi spent a month in Dubai and zeroed in on the town. Trying again, he feels that he got here to Dubai to “be taught the town”. That is when he additionally took a sabbatical to upskill and be a part of the Hult Worldwide Enterprise Faculty to pursue his govt MBA (EMBA).

After his EMBA, he and his two associates arrange a monetary brokerage firm that married finance with actual property. He performed a key function in shaping the organisational construction of the businesses corresponding to CEM Enterprise Options, Advance Monetary Options and Residence Bridge Finance. Prithvi first met the founding father of AIX Funding Group as a possible consumer himself. Nevertheless, his differential considering, elementary understanding of structured funding merchandise and logical reasoning led him to hitch the corporate as an exterior marketing consultant. In 2019, he joined AIX as director – Technique and was elevated to the function of a chief working officer of the group in Might 2022.

Prithvi opines that three sectors are slated to see most progress within the UAE – actual property, tourism and finance. For making a rising enterprise within the UAE, he believes that it ought to comprise no less than two out of those three sectors in its core providing. Prithvi says {that a} true chief can mission authority with out intimidation and believes in making his friends really feel comfy whereas orienting them into their new roles in order that, sooner or later, all the staff can operate independently. Prithvi’s idol is Ratan Tata, the Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons, a person who stays humble and down-to-earth regardless of his lofty achievements and nice success.

Dharmin Ved, CEO – 6thStreet.com

Dharmin Ved has constructed a profitable profession because the CEO of 6thStreet.com, an omnichannel retailer of high-street style and sweetness manufacturers throughout the GCC. A chartered accountant from the UK, Ved landed his first job at Ernst & Younger in London. He was additionally appointed because the CEO of LM Alternate, a task he continues to satisfy even as we speak. Ved made his debut within the style retail trade by taking up the function of managing director of the Attire Group in Russia.

Throughout this time, he operated three manufacturers and opened 30 shops over 4 years.

In November 2016, he launched 6thStreet.com, which through the years, has quickly grown to turn out to be one of many high e-commerce locations within the area. Ved developed a powerful imaginative and prescient of embracing know-how and of seamlessly merging the bodily and on-line purchasing expertise.

He orchestrated the formation of Dubai’s first ‘phygital’ retailer of 6thStreet at Dubai Hills mall. The ‘phygital retailer’ holds seven occasions the stock of an everyday retailer, stocking nearly each model the 6thStreet.com app has obtainable within the UAE, corresponding to Birkenstock, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Crocs, Levi’s, Skechers, Adidas, Nike, Dune London, Aldo, Toms and extra.

Elie Skaf. co-founder and CEO – Proper Farm

Born in Jezzine, Lebanon and raised in Abu Dhabi, Elie Skaf co-founded Proper Farm in 2021. In his function, he i accountable for managing stakeholders and spearheading the corporate’s enterprise growth efforts with a selected give attention to fundraising.

Prioritising inside technique and progress to make sure a constructive and efficient working atmosphere, Skaf is devoted to fixing present world meals safety challenges. To attain net-zero and sustainable growth objectives, in addition to guaranteeing meals safety, Skaf believes provide chain optimisation of the meals worth chain is essential to making sure a restorative and regenerative strategy to our economies.

He’s additionally trying to lead the organisation in the direction of sustainable objectives and increasing the corporate’s verticals throughout the Center East, North Africa, Pakistan, Turkey (MENAPT) area. Earlier this yr, Proper Farm raised $2.8m in seed funding led by DisruptAD, ADQ’s enterprise platform and Improve Enterprise, the enterprise studio for the MENAPT area.

Skaf’s earlier expertise consists of demand planning and pricing at AstraZeneca, administration consulting at PWC; head of enterprise growth and partnerships for Careem; and enterprise growth for Surkus. As well as, he helped construct e-commerce enterprise, Loop Contacts, the place he now sits as a board member.