His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the board of directors and advisory council of the newly-formed Dubai International Chamber as part of a recent government restructuring that aims to drive a comprehensive economic development in Dubai.

Dubai International Chamber, one of three new chambers, will develop plans to boost partnerships with global corporations, facilitate their operations and support promising ideas and projects, as part of the efforts to establish Dubai as a global trade hub and a favourite destination for talents.

The chamber will also promote the opportunities that Dubai offers in facilitating the flow of international trade including its strategic logistics hub, advanced ports and airports and agile, pro-growth business environment.


Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “Dubai International Chamber represents a new model that aims to support our international partners who are part of Dubai’s economic development.” He added, “the new chamber members will work towards achieving our plan to boost Dubai’s foreign trade to Dhs2 trillion within the next five years.”

Dubai International Chamber’s multidisciplinary board of directors and advisory council that bring together experts from all over the world reflect Dubai’s leading status as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. The representation of diverse business sectors in the chamber’s advisory council ensures providing a vibrant and advanced business environment in Dubai, equipped with world-class infrastructure and agile legislations and facilities that support the launch of new sectors.

The new model aims to shape a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem in Dubai based on effective strategic partnerships and accelerate the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Chaired by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the chamber’s board of directors include: Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Stephen Moss, Regional Chief Executive Officer - Middle East, North Africa and Turkey at HSBC; May Nasrallah, Founder and Executive Chairman of deNovo Corporate Advisors; Gassan Al-Kibsi, Managing partner for the Middle East at McKinsey; Mark Willis, CEO Middle East and Africa at Accor; Nader Haffar, Chairman and CEO of KPMG in the Lower Gulf (UAE and Oman); Remy Ejel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East and North Africa in Nestle; Dr Habib Al Mulla, Executive Chairman of Baker McKenzie; Nabil Habayeb, Senior Vice President at General Electric, and President & CEO of GE International Markets (GEIM); Sanjiv Kakkar, Executive Vice President of Unilever Mena, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus; Elissar Farah Antonios, Mena Cluster Head & CEO of Citibank; Julia Onslow-Cole, Partner and Global Government Strategies & Compliance at Fragomen; Rani Raad, President of CNN Worldwide Commercial; Anuj Ranjan, Managing Partner, CEO South Asia and Middle East at Brookfield; Shukri Eid, Managing Director - Gulf Region at Cisco; Ahmad Alkhallafi, Managing Director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise UAE; and Rola Abu Manneh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, UAE.

The advisory council includes: Mohammed Alshaya, Executive Chairman of Al Shaya Group; Saad Asim Abood Al Janabi, Chairman of Al Janabi Group; Dietmar Siersdorf, Middle East and UAE Managing Director at Siemens Energy; Ashraf El Afifi, President of Henkel in India, Middle East and Africa; Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline; Rasha Makarem, Regional CEO for Starcom in the Middle East & North Africa; Azad Moopen, Chairman of Aster DM Healthcare; Eugene Willemsen, CEO, Africa, Middle East, South Asia at PepsiCo; Samer Khoury, Chief Executive Officer of the Consolidated Contractors Company; Jerome Droesch, CEO of Cigna in the Middle East and North Africa; Raja Trad, Executive Chairman of Publicis Groupe Middle East; Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman; Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford; Tilman Fertitta, chairman, CEO, and owner of Landry’s, Inc; Nidal Abou-Ltaif, President at Avaya International (EMEA & APAC); Ziv Aviram, Co-founder & Co-CEO of OrCam Technologies; Dr Alim Markus, Chairman and CEO of Maspion Group; Saeed Al Awar, Co-head in the Middle East and Head of UAE office at Rothchilds & Co; Norm Gilsdorf, President for Russia, Central Asia and Middle East at Honeywell; Nicholas Maclean, Managing Director of CBRE Middle East; Tarek Rizk, President Middle East & North Africa at Schlumberger; Geoffrey Dickinson, CEO of DMG events; Sunil John, President, Middle East of BCW; Caspar Herzberg, President of Schneider Electric Middle East & Africa; Udo Huenger, Vice President Market Area Midde East at BASF; Ahmed Dualeh, Managing Director at Dow Chemical Company; Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwomen and CEO at Landmark Group; Bernard Dunn, President of Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa; Khaled ElDabag, Managing Director at Barclays Investment Bank in UAE; Michael Cleanis, Managing Director and Head of Mena global banking at UBS; Joe Rainey, President, Eastern Hemisphere at Halliburton Company; and Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Russia, Africa and Turkey at Dell Technologies.

WAM