Month: April 2012

Leading Arab CEO’s get recognised

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With Prince Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammed Bin Ayaf Miqren, Mayor of Riyadh

 Burj Al Arab was a hot spot and buzzing this week….the ex President of my University who is also the former Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim was in town to speak at the 9th Leading CEO Conference that honoured the most dynamic and inspirational CEO’s that have made a difference.

I had caught up with Dato’ Anwar earlier this month at the World PR Congress and his dynamism over the years has not changed one bit – he has the same energy as I remember when he gave us talks at the University and his home whenever he invited us over for iftar during Ramadan in Kuala Lumpur. It was apt that he gave the awards to leaders who have made significant contributions towards the development of the region’s economic growth and progress.

It was great to see such a great representation from Saudi Arabia as well – the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to UAE was beaming with delight when I said hello to him after the awards. It was awesome to meet so many global experts and leaders in an intimate setting under one roof at Burj Al Arab with  a lot of familiar faces thanks to the dynamism and hard work of Ali Al Kamali, Managing Director, Middle East Excellence Awards Institute.

It was also cool to catch up with Sunny Varkey from GEMs – I first met him in 2000 when he laid out plans for where he wanted to be in 10 years – although I only bump into him once every couple of years since then, its awesome to see that he achieved what he set out to do and more. Well deserved award I must say.

To give you an insight, see the CEOs who walked away with the awards.

Government CEO Excellence Award: Prince Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammed Bin Ayaf Miqren, Mayor of Riyadh City, KSA

Service Industry CEO Excellence Award: H.E Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdulrahman Al Hassin CEO General Presidency OF Two Holy Mosques

Industrial CEO Excellence Award: Abdulla Jassim M Kalban President & CEO Dubal.ae

Banking and Finance CEO Excellence Award: Mr. Ali Shareef Al-Emadi Group CEO Qatar National Bank

Aviation Industry CEO Excellence Award: Mr. Khalifa Al Zaffin Executive Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation

Maritime Construction and Engineering CEO Excellence Award: Eng. Yasser Nasr Zaghloul CEO National Marine Dredging Company

Knowledge Development and Education Partnership CEO Excellence Award: Sunny Varkey, Chairman, Varkey Group and GEMS group of schools

Multiple Industry CEO Excellence Award: Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah Non-Executive Vice Chairman, DP World & Group CEO, Port & Free Zone World

Woman CEO Excellence Award: Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb CEO, Economic Zones World

Corporate Management CEO Excellence Award: Eng. Saud Al Daweesh CEO STC

Community Service CEO Excellence Award: Ahmed Humaid Al Mazrouai Chairman RCA

The Middle East Excellence Awards Institute has always persevered to recognize, honor and promote the achievements of the region’s leaders and organizations and commended their outstanding performance and commitment to excellence….another superb ceremony by Ali.

Moonlight & Roses with Sacoor Brothers

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With Derek Khan - Dubai's very own fashion icon

I reckon with hand on heart, we can say and agree that the Dubai World Cup is the most celebrated event in this city no matter which next big thing comes to town temporarily. This year was no different – celebrations started a week ahead and my favourite venue (Armani Hotel) was the place selected by the Sacoor Brothers for their pre World Cup party. For the uninitiated, Sacoor Brothers, is a leading international fashion and lifestyle brand based out of Portugal and they certainly brought the excitement and glamour of the races to Dubai an evening earlier by hosting their first Moonlight & Roses party on the eve of the World Cup.

Held at Oasi, the Moonlight & Roses themed party stayed true to the much admired Sacoor Brothers style and refinement with over 400 elegantly dressed guests treated to an evening of romance and sophistication as twinkling candles glistened in the moonlight and revellers danced under the stars. For guests in search of a hint or two of their favourite fashion brand and its unique customer service, Sacoor Brothers did not disappoint, models were beautifully dressed in the new spring / summer 2012 collection and guests honoured with deliciously refreshing bespoke cocktails.

As Moez says, ‘Dubai is a city filled with people who appreciate fine fashion and enjoy good company and bringing the Sacoor Brothers Party to the region was a natural choice.”….I first met Moez with his brothers early last year and at that time the brand was just getting known in Dubai….today Sacoor Brothers has 9 stores in the UAE and 10 stores in the GCC. Its no surprise they have made their mark here as their clothes are awesome….NJD will vouch for that.

Although my daughter is a bigger fan than I am of the Sacoor Brothers clothes, I have to say even I loved what I saw a few nights ago at Armani….I’m just glad NJD was not with me or else I would have had to take her shopping and the last thing I need right now is to have my credit card smoking because of little diva.

Although the next World Cup is a while away, its worth checking out the new collection at Sacoor Brothers….enjoy!

NJD in her favourite Sacoor Brothers shirt at a Polo tournament

Love the Sacoor Brothers logo...clearly I'm still not totally ready for this trend of taking pics as you enter every event in town

Admiring Sami Yusuf and his support for WFP

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With Sami Yusuf in Dubai

Although I meet some amazing people on a regular basis in Dubai, generally they remain the toast of the hour and get over my head as soon as I leave the room…..very few leave a lasting impression on this diva and I have to say, Sami Yusuf is someone who has left me thinking of what really is important for the needy people of the world and development of the young in areas needing humanitarian assistance.

Most people associate this British singer-songwriter, composer, producer and an accomplished musician with his good looks and celebrity persona so it’s heartening to know this other side of him dedicated to CSR work with the United Nations World Food Programme. You just have to look at samiyusufofficial.com to see how many people adore him.

According to Sami, 1 in 7 people go to bed hungry each night and every 6 seconds a child dies from hunger. What is great about the UAE and Dubai is that they are always the first to come to the rescue of countries needing emergency assistance so it’s no surprise that currently the DIHAD conference and exhibition is going on here, with participation from key international humanitarians including Sami, who is officially the international artist and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Celebrity Partner.

Sami encourages young people like us to become direct agents and contributors to humanitarian change. (Notice I am calling myself young…pretty sure in a couple of years I won’t be able to do that so I’ll milk this for all its worth now :). I was introduced to Sami by the dynamic Nada and had the chance to have a quick chat with the wonderful Elise from the United Nations World Food programme who is delighted with Sami highlighting the importance of youth in humanitarian assistance and development activities, especially for WFP.

Sami encourages the youth to use their creativity, be ambitious and innovate as he rightly says that one does not need to be old or rich or in the field to make a difference.  “You just need to utilize the gifts you have and put them into action.” According to Sami, as little as 50 U.S. cents (approximately AED 2) can enable WFP to feed one person for one day in the Horn of Africa. It costs US$50 (approximately AED 200) to feed a schoolgirl for one whole year; similar to the cost of one iPod shuffle.

Also thanks to individuals like Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, the Executive Chairman of DIHAD, many celebrities and popular figures come forward to take part in DIHAD. It’s great that Sami supports WFP as it helps feed over 90 million people in more than 70 countries. How commendable is that?

All I can say is that sometimes its good to take a step back and think of others who are not as fortunate as us – it was a pleasure meeting with Sami and listening to him but mostly admiring him as a rising artist to take time out to support this cause that makes such a difference to so many people via WFP.