< PreviousMOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 / 80 Vol. 23/06, June 2022 Aleading businessman in Dubai with vast experience and vision- ary leadership, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem spearheaded the accel- erated expansion of Dubai’s infra- structure, which includes the free zones and the ports which have contributed significantly to Dubai’s upward growth trajectory. He also contributed his leadership skills towards Dubai’s rapid infrastructural expansion which has supported Dubai’s successful tourism industry, amongst others. With multiple achievements to his credit, just a few highlights include leading marine terminal operator DP World’s expansion inter- nationally, including the purchase of the P&O group for $6.8bn in March 2006. This galvanised it to become one of the largest global port operators and trade enablers in the world with 78 marine and inland terminals in six continents. He is overseeing the rapid development of the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) into an unrivalled business park of more than 7,300 companies, establishing and leading Nakheel, and pioneering the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), a market for gold and precious metals, diamonds and coloured stones, energy and other commodities, to name a few. He was named as the MENA region’s first HeForShe Champion by UN Women in 2022. The launch of DPMETAWORLD At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos in 2022, Sulayem announced the completion of its DPMETAWORLD, a new initiative aimed at bringing cutting-edge virtual solutions to real-world supply chain challenges. Across the industries in which DP World operates, supply chains are moving from analogue to embrace new digital solutions and this project will enable DP World accelerate through metaverse capabilities to help propel efficiency and transparency across trade, education, and government services. SULTAN AHMED BIN SULAYEM Group chairman and CEO DP WORLD Chairman PORTS, CUSTOMS AND FREE ZONE CORPORATION LOGISTICS $4bn The projected contribution of the metaverse sector to Dubai’s economy by 2030, according to the Dubai Metaverse Strategy q Our expansion into the metaverse will not only enhance customer experience and operational effi ciency, but also allow us to be more sustainable and resilient for the future. These are vital across all our global operations” arabianbusiness.com 81 / MOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is a member of the UAE Federal Cabinet, Minister of Indus- try and Advanced Technol- ogy, and the UAE’s special envoy for climate. In his role as Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, he oversees efforts to further expand the indus- trial development of the UAE. In November 2020, Al Jaber was appointed as the UAE’s special envoy for climate, a role he previously served in from 2010 to 2016, An accomplished busi- nessman as well as a member of the House of Saud, Prince Sultan Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Kabeer is one of the found- ers of Almarai; the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy foods company. He is also one of the founders of Zain Saudi Telecom, UAE’s Dana Gas, and Bahrain’s Al Salam Bank. He is also the chairman of several other companies, including Arabian Union for Cement Industries, Arabian Shield, SULTAN AL JABER Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Group MD and CEO ADNOC Chairman MASDAR SULTAN BIN MOHAMMED AL KABEER Co-founder ALMARAI GROUP GOVERNMENTINDUSTRY while spearheading the UAE’s clean energy agenda at Masdar. He also serves as Group CEO and managing director of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), where, since 2016, he has guided ADNOC through a number of strate- gic firsts, including entering the global capital markets for the first time. He is at the helm of the company’s digi- tal transformation in driv- ing ADNOC’s 2030 strategy toward a more profitable and more sustainable and economic gas supply, He is also the chairman of the board of trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level, research-based AI Univer- sity. He serves on the board of Emirates Global Alumin- ium, and also, as the chair- man of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company for 10 years, he witnessed the completion of Khalifa Port, and the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD). Global Downstream Indus- tries and Global Chemical industries. Headquartered in KSA, Almarai is ranked as the number one FMCG brand in the MENA region and a market leader across the GCC. Identifying an oppor- tunity to transition and expand Saudi Arabia’s tradi- tional dairy farming indus- try to align with the needs of a rapidly expanding domes- tic market, in around 1977, Al Kabeer helped launch Almarai, first with process- ing fresh milk and laban, expanding to modern processing plants and dairy farms. During the early 1990s, Almarai entered a period of restructuring and reinvestment that took it from a decentralized struc- ture to a centralised struc- ture. The company replaced five decentralized process- ing plants with their first central processing plant and replaced 10 small decentral- ised dairy farms with four large dairy farms in Al Kharj in the central region. MOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 / 82 Vol. 23/06, June 2022 TALAL AL AJMI Founder VI MARKETS qThe use of artifi cial intelligence (AI) and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels” 2010 The year in which online trading service platform VI Markets was set up in Kuwait Kuwaiti businessman Talal Al Ajmi is the founder and CEO of one of the leading and most recognised online brokerage firm in the Middle East. After its launch in 2010, Al Ajmi went on to become a member of the Board of Directors of VI Markets’ mother company, One Financial. Recognised for his outstanding vision- ary and leading style across multiple key platforms, Al Ajmi has been high- lighted internationally by multiple entities, including as Visionary Leader of the Year 2021 by The Entrepreneur magazine and The Global Leader of the Year 2021 by the Asia One award. He has been ranked among the top ten CEOs in Kuwait by CEO Insights; as the Best Emerging CEO Online Trading by the IFM Award 2021; in addition to receiving the ‘Outstanding Leadership Award’ by Money 2.0 in 2022. Setting milestones with unique offerings According to Al Ajmi, the main mission and vision of VI Markets is educating and spreading awareness about trading online with staff trained to provide customer service unparalleled elsewhere. VI Markets offer Copy trading, a unique, patented technology which automatically copies trading portfolio performance for individuals who want to link their accounts with a specific trader. Always striving to enhance the customer experience, this new technology has shown great interest in the world as it eases the process of managing one’s portfolio. With Copy Trading, many traders can start joining the social trading revolution, and connect with other traders, discuss different strategies, copy or even mirror their trades, with each trader subsequently either charging a subscription fee or a percentage on the profit gained from trades. Another unique offering by VI markets is One Connect app, which Al Ajmi points out that whether you’re a beginner looking to learn the basics or a mentor wanting to charge for signals, One Connect handles it all in a safe and secure environment and keeps all your execution in one place whilst experiencing all the exceptional trading tools it offers. An integrated, fluid process, the One Connect app is linked to MT4 and all trades are visible in a client’s MT4 account and on the One Connect app. Users can sign up for a new account within the One Connect app or they can link an existing account using a drop-down menu within the app. BANKING AND FINANCEarabianbusiness.com 83 / MOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 TALAL AL DHIYEBI Group CEO ALDAR TALAL SAID MARHOON AL MAMARI CEO OMANTEL TAREQ AL SADHAN President and CEO RIYAD BANK WALEED ABDULLAH AL MOGBEL CEO AL RAJHI BANK CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE TELECOMS BANKING AND FINANCE BANKING AND FINANCE With has 26 years of experience in the telecom sector working for Omantel, Talal Said Al Mamari was appointed in his current role on 29 June 2014. Prior to his appointment, he held several leadership posi- tions, the most recent as Omantel’s the chief finan- cial officer. He was instru- mental in several projects and projects carried out by the Omantel, including leading Omantel team for the acquisition of 21.9 percent in Zain Group, the restructuring of Omantel by bringing the mobile and fixed operations together, the full legal merger of Oman Mobile with Oman- tel, to name a few. with the mission to create value for shareholders and to drive Omantel towards achieving its growth plans, Al Mamari also serves on the boards of the Al Amal Fund, the Zain Group and the Oman Corporate Governance & Sustainability Centre. With a foray into Riyad Bank in 2018 as a senior execu- tive vice president and the chief financial officer, Tareq Al Sadhan’s current appoint- ment was issued in April 2019 by resolution via Riyad Bank’s Board of Directors. He initiated his career with KPMG Saudi Arabia where Al Sadhan rose through the ranks across a span of 18 years to eventually become one of KPMG’s youngest partners, and later as the CEO/managing partner and the chairman of the Advisory Committee. Ensuing his role at Riyad Bank, in KSA’s public sector, he held roles including deputy governor for supervision at the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), advi- sor to the chairman in the Saudi Fund for Develop- ment (SFD), in addition to the acting director general at the General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT). Al Sadhan holds several roles, including as a member of the 2020 World Economic Forum’s Stewardship Board for the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Riyadh, Dr Waleed Abdullah Al Mogbel embarked upon his career with Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank in 2007 and was appointed to his current role in January 2020. With over 20 years of solid bank- ing experience, Dr. Al Mogbel is an experienced board member with a wealth of experience in risk management, banking, accounting, management, and financial audits. For over 50 years, Al Rajhi Bank has played an integral role in serving its citizens, financing its growth and contributing to Saudi development. Today, the company is one of the larg- est joint stock companies in the kingdom and one of the country’s largest branch and ATM networks. With the latest technologies, the bank endeavours to build its digital capabilities that will contrib- ute to its digital transforma- tion and provide the best financial solutions. With a wealth of experience in asset management and diverse real estate sectors, including mixed-use, retail, residential, commercial, education and infrastruc- ture large scale develop- ments, prior to his current role, Talal Al Dhiyebi held the positions of chief devel- opment officer and execu- tive director of Asset Management, amongst other senior positions within the group. Prior to taking on his current role at Aldar Properties in 2017, Al Dhiyebi was responsible for undertaking various leader- ship roles within the company since it merged in 2013 with Sorouh. Behind multiple mega projects including Ferrari World and Yas World in Abu Dhabi, Aldar is considered to be the largest real estate develop- ment and asset manage- ment company in Abu Dhabi with assets worth over $10bn. He is the chair- man of multiple boards, including Aldar Estates, SODIC, Aldar Education and Aldar Investments.MOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 / 84 Vol. 23/06, June 2022 84 Vol. 23/06, June 2022 Appointed to his current role following the new UAE Govern- ment structure in July 2020, Dr Al Zeyoudi was assigned a file to attract the best talents and competencies to serve the strategic direction of the UAE. He also oversees the development of non-oil foreign trade sectors and the expansion of global partnerships, in addition to enhancing the investment climate in the country, in order to cement its position as a major business destination at the regional and global levels. Previously, he had held the position of Minister of Climate Change and Environment during which he supervised the implementation of the UAE’s strategies locally, advancing environment and climate actions. He also led the country’s efforts in limiting and adapting to the reper- cussions of climate change at the global level, while also focussing on the preservation of the UAE’s biodiversity through the development and implementation of a set of effective policies and measures. Key achievements Al Zeyoudi began his career as a petroleum engineer at the Abu Dhabi Marine Area Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) before moving to Masdar, where he worked on the development of renewable energy technologies and solutions. His key achievements include setting the Ministry’s general policy and strategic direction concerning international trade; develop, approve and follow up on the completion of the Ministry’s strategic plan and executive programmes, amongst others. He also developed the strategic direction and general national policy to attract high-quality talents and the best minds to the state, fast-track the country’s shift to a knowledge-based economy, enhance science and technology capabilities, and follow-up on their implementation in coordination with concerned federal and local authorities, amongst many others. THANI BIN AHMED AL ZEYOUDI Minister of State for Foreign Trade UAE GOVERNMENT $143.6bn The value of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade by the end of the fi rst quarter of 2022 qThe UAE is working according to an ambitious strategy to boost its foreign trade and usher in a new era of economic growth and prosperity in line with the requirements of the next stage of the UAE’s development journey” arabianbusiness.com 85 / MOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 At the helm of one of the largest and most active venture capital firms in the MENA region, Middle East Venture Part- ners (MEVP), Walid Hanna has over 18 years of experi- ence overseeing more than 50 VC investments. Today, MEVP is a venture capital firm focused on tech invest- ing in MENA, with offices in Dubai, Beirut, Cairo, Riyadh, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. In addition to having invested in, led and exited, and co-founded multiple start-ups in the region, including a diverse range of industries with a With a myriad of experience, Al Rumayyan embarked upon his career at Saudi Hollandi Bank as head of international brokerage between 1999 and 2004, before joining the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) as the head of secu- rities listings. He has been the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2017 and was instrumental in their deal to buy Newcastle United, the English football club, WALID HANNA Founder and CEO MIDDLE EAST VENTURE PARTNERS (MEVP) YASIR AL RUMAYYAN Governor PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND (PIF) Chairman SAUDI ARAMCO Non-executive chairman NEWCASTLE UNITED BANKING AND FINANCE GOVERNMENT focus on technology, prior to founding MEVP, Hanna served as the CEO of Dubai International Capital’s venture division, the Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN). Before ABAN, he has served on the invest- ment-management team of Abraaj Capital. Driving startups MEVP is a Middle East-fo- cused venture capital firm that invests in the early and growth stages of innovative technology companies run by talented entrepreneurs in the Middle East Region with a focus on the GCC and Levant countries. With companies including Anghami, The Luxury Closet and Wego, MEVP lists more than $300m in AUM (Assets Under Management) across four funds: Middle East Venture Fund (MEVF I), Middle East Venture Fund II (MEVF II), Middle East Venture Fund III (MEVF III) and the IMPACT Fund by MEVP. owning 80 percent of the $407m takeover. A former member of the board of directors of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), he was also appointed as the CEO of Saudi Fransi Capital LLC and in 2019, was appointed as the chairman of Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company. Al Rumayyan was also an adviser to the Royal Court in 2015, a board member at the US trans- portation network company Uber Technolo- gies Inc. and the Japanese multinational SoftBank Group. He became an adviser to the Saudi Cabinet in 2016, then a board member of the Saudi Indus- trial Development Fund. Aligned with Vision 2030, part of PIF’s 2021- 2025 strategy is to spear- head new economic and business opportunities in the kingdom as one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, with total AUM at around $620bn. MOST INFLUENTIAL ARABS 2022 / TECHNOLOGY YAHIA ALHAMI CEO TAHALUF AL EMARAT SOLUTIONS qThe UAE is a leader and dominating the top of the pyramid when it comes to technology” $350m The revenues recorded by Tahaluf last year Working towards Tahaluf’s vision to be a partner of choice for its customers, Yahia Alhami was the key person of the team of Tahaluf back in 2015 with a starting role as the COO who led the company’s overall operations across UAE. As the COO, he managed to expand the company’s operations by acquiring strategic long-term projects with multi- ple government entities and increased the company’s turnover since establish- ment. He was appointed as the CEO of Talaluf with the vision to take the company to the next level of expansion and higher success. In his current role, Alhami is responsible for leading the company’s activities across the UAE, while expanding its operations and sales across the region, Europe, and Africa. He oversees the company’s strategic direction and plays an active role in supporting the adoption of Tahaluf solutions. A buoyant growth trajectory Alhami actively expanded Tahaluf Al Emarat Solutions to over 1,000 employees with around AED1bn in turnover annually. He also works with leaders in the region to innovate around the company portfolio, covering many new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more. Before joining Taha- luf, Alhami worked with many US-based companies on implementations of multiple applications on transportations such as Flywheel, Caboulus and others in the start-up’s phase. In Jordan, he worked with ESKADENIA, one of the software houses in Jordan that serves the global market in telecom, billing, and internet solutions. A graduate from Jordan with a degree in engineering, Alhami completed several executive certification programs in multiple universities. About Tahaluf Al Emarat Solutions Tahaluf Al Emarat helps its partners and clients in mitigating threats by providing them with products, security and defence services, and solu- tions. Since 2015, Tahaluf was established to provide smart services, and to implement projects based on big data and AI. Today, Tahaluf is one of the fastest growing IT companies that has developed advanced software solutions for the government sectors and operated with various markets. 86 Vol. 23/06, June 2022THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 NOMINATE NOW ELEANOR ASHTON EVENTS AND MARKETING MANAGER TEL: +971 4 444 3576 EMAIL: ELEANOR.ASHTON@ITP.COM RICHARD MOBBS ADVERSTISING DIRECTOR TEL: +971 4 444 3592 EMAIL: RICHARD.MOBBS@ITP.COM SHRIEF ALI SALES MANAGER TEL: +971 4 444 3589 EMAIL: SHRIEF.ALI @ITP.COM FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES, CONTACT:FOR ATTENDANCE ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: Untitled-7 131/05/2022 17:16:5088 Vol. 23/06, June 2022 BAT launches virtual tour of its R&D facility Packed with 360-degree lab demos, animations, videos, scientist profi les, podcasts, and more, the experience is a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to know more about the company’s scientifi c capabilities fi rst-hand u Research BAT places high value on robust, evidence-based and independent scientifi c fi ndings FEATURE/ SPOTLIGHT BAT is a global, multi-category consumers goods business which prides itself on constantly innovating to contextualise the concept of Tobacco Harm Reduction, as part of its purpose to build A Better TomorrowTM by reduc- ing the health impact of its business. As a result, it further increased investment by £496m ($620.2m) in 2021 to develop, arabianbusiness.com 89 / SPOTLIGHT commercialise, and scientifically-substantiate its alternative tobacco and nicotine products, which includes vapour products, oral nicotine, and tobacco heating products, that don’t burn tobacco to deliver nicotine. Developed by a dedicated Research and Development team based at its R&D hub in Southampton, UK, these new category products offer adult smok- ers an alternative with reduced risk potential to smoking. Making science more accessible Founded in 1956, the R&D centre was launched with a small team of scientists and engineers. Fast forward over 60 years to today with a workforce of 1,500+ highly skilled world- wide specialists in areas such as biochemis- try, genetics, toxicology, biotechnology, and electronics. The work conducted onsite is supported by research undertaken in other BAT R&D Centres and in collaboration with global external partners to test alternative nicotine delivery products to ensure high stan- dards of product quality, while researching the reduced risk potential of these products. BAT places high value on robust, evidence- based, and independent scientific findings, publishing details of its research on www. bat-science.com and submitting results to peer-reviewed journals, irrespective of the outcome. This involves an assessment by inde- pendent experts to determine whether it is of sufficient quality to be published. Furthermore, all of its clinical studies are approved by the relevant independent ethics committees before initiation and the majority of testing is conducted by independent scien- tific laboratories and research organisations. These are governed by the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (2008), which require that the study is publicly registered, the study’s protocol is published and that a data-handling plan is agreed before the data is acquired. To reinforce its commitment to transpar- ency, BAT regularly welcomes guests to the R&D Centre, and for those who can’t attend in person, there’s even a virtual reality tour. Packed with 360-degree lab demos, anima- tions, videos, scientist profiles, podcasts, and more, the experience is a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to know more about the company’s scientific capabilities first-hand. For more information, readers are encour- aged to visit: https://www.bat-science.com/ virtualexperience/360tour/index.htm We have a clear purpose to build A Better TomorrowTM by reducing the health impact of our business, under- pinned by our commitment towards Tobacco Harm Reduction. Tobacco harm reduction is a public health concept that minimises the negative health impacts of combus- tible cigarettes and recognises the important role that alternative sources of nicotine with lower health risks* offer to adult smokers who may not otherwise want or choose to give up. For tobacco harm reduction to be effective, there need to be scientifically substantiated, reduced-risk* alterna- tives that adult smokers want to use and can access. Our world-class and transparent science means consumers can under- stand and trust in the performance, quality, and harm reduction potential of our products. Check out our virtual R&D tour showcasing the robust science behind our next generation reduced-risk* products. At BAT, science and innova- tion are accelerating our Tobacco Harm Reduction mission. Explore more about our extensive scientific research programme, covering a broad spectrum of scientific fields including molecular biology, toxi- cology and chemistry. www.bat-science.com @BATplc Youtube.com/welcometobat * Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive. Our products as sold in the US, including Vuse, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, and Camel Snus, are subject to FDA regulation and no reduced-risk claims will be made as to these products without agency clearance Scan to check out BAT’s virtual R&D tour 1,500 R&D specialists generating world-class science 60+ Years R&D has been an important part of BAT for more than 6 decades 80+ Peer-reviewed manuscripts published on the scientifi c data behind our vapour product VUSE World-class science: BAT for a better tomorrowNext >