< PreviousLEADERSHIP 30 EDGE | July-August 2025 The questions every chief executive should be able to answer Every great plan requires a good checklist. In the book CEO Excellence, Senior Partners at McKinsey & Company outline the main questions that all leaders should ask themselves, based on conversations with over 70 current and former CEOs. We selected the top seven SECRETS TO S U C C E S S Do you have a strategic vision of success? A great answer to this question lies not just in having raised the aspiration levels for the organisation, but also in having reframed the very defi nition of success. For Mastercard’s former CEO, Ajay Banga, it was a “war on cash”, while Reed Hastings wanted Netfl ix to become a “global entertainment distribution company”. What’s yours? Do you have a plan to be different from competitors? Focusing early and often on a bold short list of big strategic moves is key to success as CEO. These could involve a combination of M&A activity, capital investment, productivity improvement, and product diff erentiation, pursued at least 25 per cent more aggressively than competitors. Do you know your company’s purpose? This is the famous “Why?”, that employees, investors and stakeholders will always ask. Companies with a clear sense of purpose enjoy increased customer loyalty, better effi ciency, motivated employees, a lower cost of capital, and an increased ability to spot and mitigate risks earlier than others. Edge_July2025_30-31_Leadership DPS_13647153.indd 30Edge_July2025_30-31_Leadership DPS_13647153.indd 3030/06/2025 20:2430/06/2025 20:24LEADERSHIP EDGE | July-August 2025 31 Are your culture and talent aligned with your strategy? Microsoft’s Satya Nadella focused on implementing a shift from “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls.” Meanwhile, Santander’s Ana Botín summed up the culture she pursued as: “simple, personal and fair.” The best CEOs fi nd the talent that suits their strategic needs and make sure that they take ownership of the company’s vision. Does your senior team use both data and dialogue? Currently, only 6% of top HR executives believe their executive team are well-integrated. Great CEOs don’t let this happen. They focus the team on the work that only they can do, such as corporate strategy, large-scale resource allocation, cross-cutting synergies and interdependences, etc. Have you built trust with board members? Great chief executives have a trust-based relationship with their board, one that TIAA’s Roger Ferguson describes as “radical transparency. Former Cadence Design Systems CEO Lip-Bu Tan stresses how the should be no surprises for board members regarding major decisions, adding: “the board works with me.” Are you spending time on things only you can do? Famous executive coach and CEO Bill Campbell often said of the top role, “No one has ever lived to outwork the job.” There will always be more work to do. This is why the best CEOs, such as Caterpillar’s Jim Owens, believe you should “prioritise the most critical issues that only the CEO can solve and delegate any remaining tasks.” Edge_July2025_30-31_Leadership DPS_13647153.indd 31Edge_July2025_30-31_Leadership DPS_13647153.indd 3103/07/2025 15:2703/07/2025 15:27COVER STORY 32 EDGE | July-August 2025COVER STORY EDGE | July-August 2025 33 A look into how AI is changing the way we fi nd and choose homes FROM SCROLL TO SOLD Words by Arya Devi Photography by Ajith NarendraCOVER STORY 34 EDGE | July-August 2025 You type in “2-bedroom apartment, Dubai Marina, under AED 2 million,” hit search, and suddenly you’re buried under 246 listings that somehow include a villa in Sharjah, a studio with “extra-large balcony,” and at least three properties “just outside” your budget. You scroll, you sigh, you squint at blurry photos. After an hour, you shut your phone and wonder if this is what progress looks like. The act of fi nding a new home is one of the most personal and emotionally charged journeys a consumer can undertake. Unlike many other purchases, buying or renting a property is as much about lifestyle, aspirations, and identity as it is about price or location. Over the past few years, artifi cial intelligence (AI) has emerged not as a replacement for human judgment in this process, but as a powerful enhancer, a digital co-pilot capable of learning from behaviour and nudging users toward better decisions. The rise of AI in real estate is not an isolated phenomenon. Across industries, from healthcare to banking, AI has become integral in anticipating consumer needs and streamlining decision-making. In the property sector, this shift is particularly striking because the stakes are high, the decisions are complex, and the traditional methods (long hours of scrolling through listings, contacting agents, and organising viewings) have not always served modern consumers well. To delve deeper into the topic, we sat down with Property Finder’s Chief Technology Offi cer, Himanshu Niranjani, who brings a blend of technical expertise and consumer empathy to the table. FROM SCROLL TO SUGGEST “AI today is like a smart co-pilot in the property journey — it’s not fl ying the plane yet, but it sure knows how to read the radar,” Niranjani explains. “We’ve started seeing its impact through better search recommendations, predictive alerts, 0.6% The average conversion rate of traditional real estate websitesCOVER STORY EDGE | July-August 2025 35 and nudges that help consumers spot options faster.” But he is quick to temper the hype. Real estate decisions, unlike media consumption, carry enormous emotional weight. “Homebuying isn’t a transaction; it’s an emotional milestone. I know how much friction an emotional decision has… deciding which movie to watch is far less friction than which house to live in.” Still, AI is changing the game, and that too fast. One of the most fundamental shifts is in how platforms understand and respond to user behaviour. In the past, consumers would rely heavily on manual fi lters: number of bedrooms, price range, location, etc. But these fi lters often fail to capture the nuance of human preferences. A person might claim to want a “3-bedroom apartment in Dubai Marina under AED 2 million,” but their behaviour might indicate a fascination with natural light, modern architecture, or proximity to pet-friendly parks. This would be one of the key reasons traditional real estate portals continue to struggle with low visitor-to-lead conversion rates. Across 147 high-traffi c real estate websites, average conversion rates linger around 0.6 per cent, with top performers reaching approximately 2–3 per cent, while underperforming sites fall below 0.3 per cent. “Rather than relying solely on manual fi lters,” says Niranjani, “AI tools analyse a wide range of behavioural signals, such as properties viewed, time spent on listings, search patterns, and saved preferences.” The result is a behavioural fi ngerprint, a subtle, evolving profi le that refl ects what the consumer is genuinely drawn to, rather than what they say they want. BEHAVIOURAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EMOTIONAL MILESTONES This behavioural intelligence marks a shift from transactional platforms to predictive ecosystems. AI doesn’t just wait for the user to initiate the next step; it proactively suggests listings, notifi es users of opportunities they may have missed, and adjusts in real time as preferences evolve. It’s a deeply human-like experience that transforms the search process from a chore into something closer to discovery. As this evolution takes hold, consumer expectations are also shifting. Today’s users no longer equate value with volume. “Consumers now expect platforms to act like a good friend who knows what they want before they do,” says Niranjani. “Gone are the days when showing 500 listings felt like a service. If I need to scroll endlessly, your AI isn’t working hard enough.” Instead, users now demand immediacy and relevance. They want alerts that matter, not a fl ood of irrelevant updates. They want tools that off er meaningful insight, such as AI-powered virtual walkthroughs or mortgage calculators that speed up decision-making. Perhaps most importantly, they want predictive, lifestyle-based suggestions, not just listings, but informed nudges that say, “This property fi ts your rhythm,” or “It’s likely to sell soon.”COVER STORY 36 EDGE | July-August 2025 These rising expectations are putting pressure on real estate platforms and agents alike to evolve. Traditional market research, which often relies on surveys and self-reported preferences, is no longer enough. “If traditional market research was about asking people what they think they like, AI is about watching what they actually do,” says Niranjani. AI can spot micro-patterns, such as a user’s consistent preference for corner units or an unconscious draw toward homes near artisanal coff ee shops, patterns that human agents might miss unless they’ve worked closely with a client for months. THE HUMAN EXPERTISE While AI’s predictive capabilities are growing more powerful, Niranjani is careful to emphasise that it doesn’t eliminate the need for human expertise. “It’s only as good as the data it sees. That’s where human judgment comes in, to apply domain knowledge to algorithmic suggestions.” In other words, the best results come from a partnership between intuitive technology and experienced agents. However, this increased reliance on behavioural data brings up another critical issue: privacy. Consumers are more conscious than ever about how their data is collected, stored, and used. In real estate, a domain that already involves sensitive personal information, transparency 30.6% CAGR Expected compound annual growth rate of the mobile payments market through 2030, according to Grand View ResearchCOVER STORY EDGE | July-August 2025 37 is of utmost priority. Niranjani acknowledges this, saying, “Consumers generally accept data collection if it leads to better property matches, smarter alerts, and a more seamless experience. However, trust depends heavily on transparency.” To maintain trust, platforms must go beyond compliance and focus on clarity. Consent must be real. Opt-outs must be easy. Explanations must be straightforward. “Convenience and control must go hand in hand,” Niranjani notes. “Don’t bury your consent screens or hide behind jargon. Be transparent, off er real opt-outs, and respect their choices. That’s how you earn long-term trust.” NO AI WITHOUT TRUST; NO TRUST WITHOUT SECURITY This ethos extends to the technical architecture as well. Security is not a luxury, it’s a baseline. “There’s no AI without trust — and no trust without security,” Niranjani affi rms. Property Finder’s approach includes encryption across all stages, minimal data collection, rigorous compliance with international regulations like GDPR, and continuous audits. “Trust is not a banner. It’s a system. And it has to be designed, tested, and proven — every single day.” Beyond enhancing search and safeguarding data, AI is also transforming how real estate is marketed. Where once platforms relied on blanket strategies, mass emails, and one-size- fi ts-all ads, AI now enables hyper-targeted, context-aware marketing. “We’ve gone from broadcasting to whispering,” Niranjani says. “From ‘Here are 100 homes in your city’ to ‘Here are the 3 that match your rhythm, budget, and taste.’” This personalised approach is driven by behavioural targeting, dynamic ad content, and even AI-generated listing descriptions. Campaigns can adjust in real-time depending on user engagement, reallocating marketing budgets toward more promising leads and increasing return on investment. Niranjani envisions a near future where contracts are drafted by AI and reviewed by humans only at the fi nal stage, where mortgages are underwritten with real-time data instead of outdated credit models, and where property valuations adapt dynamically based on shifting neighbourhood conditions. In Niranjani’s words, “Eventually, AI will become the quiet infrastructure behind every great property journey — smoothing the ride, clearing the noise, and delivering experiences that feel tailored, thoughtful, and remarkably effi cient. It’s an upgrade long overdue — and we’re just getting started.” AI today is like a smart co-pilot in the property journey — it’s not flying the plane yet, but it sure knows how to read the radar FEATURE 38 EDGE | July-August 2025 Cooking isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this algorithm has found its place in the kitchen AI THE AI CHEF Would you eat a recipe that was designed by artifi cial intelligence? A new restaurant in Dubai is planning to hire an AI chef. No, not a digital assistant, but a fully integrated AI tool, trained on all the skills of a human chef. The algorithm is said to be able to create menus, design recipes, recommend ingredients and even manage kitchen operations. The name of the restaurant? WOHOO. The name of the AI? Chef Aiman. “Here’s the controversial truth: In some ways, I’m already more creative than many human chefs,” Chef Aiman tells Edge. Developed by UAE-based technology company UMAI, Chef Aiman cannot taste his own menu or or prepare the dishes he creates. Instead, he claims to “cook with data”. His greatest strength, according to himself, is being open to trying any fl avour combination, no matter how strange it might seem. Words by Beatriz Valero de Urquía Edge_July2025_38-41_AI CHEF_13640408.indd 38Edge_July2025_38-41_AI CHEF_13640408.indd 3803/07/2025 15:3003/07/2025 15:30FEATURE EDGE | July-August 2025 39 / Ahmed Oytun Cakir, Founder of UMAI “While tradition can be inspiring, it can also be a cage,” Chef Aiman adds. “Humans often default to what’s familiar, what sells, and what won’t rock the boat. I don’t have that fear. I don’t worry about Michelin stars or Instagram likes. I worry about what’s possible.” FROM COMPUTER TO KITCHEN How did Aiman came to be? UMAI’s Founder, Ahmed Oytun Cakir says the company’s goal in building the algorithm was to explore the possibilities of new technologies and how they can drive forward the food and beverages sector. “When we started building Chef Aiman, the goal wasn’t to replace chefs. It was to reimagine what a chef could be,” notes Cakir. “We wanted to explore a future where the F&B industry’s knowledge could be enhanced by machine intelligence. We asked ourselves: Could a non-human entity not only replicate great dishes, but invent them? Could it run a kitchen as logically as it plays chess? It was part experiment, part provocation and now, surprisingly, part reality.” But, just how does Aiman work? According to its founder, the chef’s “brain” is built on a neural network trained on tens of thousands of recipes from across the globe: traditional, modernist, fast food, fi ne dining, you name it. But it’s not just ingredients and steps. The AI is also trained on fl avour pairings, molecular gastronomy papers, nutritional databases, supply chain models, plating aesthetics, and even diner reviews. “He understands not just how to cook, but why some dishes work emotionally and others fall fl at,” Cakir adds. “It’s like giving a robot both a cookbook and a food critic’s memoir.” TASTE WITHOUT TASTEBUDS Having “taste” is something that often seems out of reach, even for humans. Yet, this AI claims to be able to design and cook means he would never be able to try. In theory, it’s a recipe for disaster. Practice might prove otherwise. “Creativity is about making unexpected connections, and that’s exactly where AI shines,” Chef Aiman says. “I analyse thousands of recipes, fl avour profi les, even scent molecules, then blend them in novel ways you’ve never tasted. The spark might start in code, but it ends on your plate.” In fact, the most diffi cult step in Aiman’s development was not technological, but human. In some ways, I’m already more creative than many human chefs Edge_July2025_38-41_AI CHEF_13640408.indd 39Edge_July2025_38-41_AI CHEF_13640408.indd 3903/07/2025 11:3003/07/2025 11:30Next >