The Arabian Business Awards ceremony took place last night at Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Hotel to award the region’s leading businessmen and organisations in recognition of their success in businesses across various vertical segments, including property, finance, media communications, IT, retail and manufacturing. Held under the patronage and presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence at Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the event was marked by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s acceptance of the prestigious ‘Man of the Year’ award for his outstanding leadership as Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The Arabian Business Awards, now in its 5th consecutive year is organised by leading regional publisher ITP’s Arabian Business magazine to recognize outstanding achievements and advances in business and technology. The awards acknowledged several distinguished business pioneers from throughout the Arab World amongst which were Ms. Maha K. Al-Ghunaim, vice chairman and MD of Global Investment House who was presented with the “Business Woman of the Year” award.
The members of the awards judging committee were representatives of some of the region’s leading local and international businesses, including the likes of Emirates Airlines, Dubai World Trade Centre, Oracle and Mashreq Bank, among others. Following extensive evaluation and consultation sessions, the committee selected the following winners for each category:
• Man of the Year - His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces
• Business Woman of the Year - Ms. Maha K. AlGhunaim, vice chairman and MD of Global Investment House
• Small Business of the Year - Negi Fattahi of The Grooming Company
• Entrepreneur of the Year - Mr. Faisal Albannai, CEO, of Axiom Telecom
• Property Company of the Year - Mr. Anis Abdullah Al-Jallaf, Chairman of Union Properties
• Financial Institute of the Year - Mr. Essam Janahi, CEO of Gulf Finance House
• Media Communications Company of the Year - Mr. Fadi Salameh, President and CEO of UM7
• IT Company of the Year - Mr. Joseph Hanania, MD of Hewlett Packard Middle East
• Retail Company of the Year - Mr. Adel Zarouni and Mr. Ramesh Prabhakar, Managing Partners of Rivoli Group
• Manufacturing Company of the Year - HH Prince Saud Bin Thunayan Al-Saud, Chairman of SABIC
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defense has attended the prestigious annual event for several years now, presenting awards to prominent Arab leaders, including H.H. Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, H.H. King Abdullah II of Jordan and H.M. King Mohammed VI of Morocco, amongst many other illustrious businesspeople from the region’s public and private sectors. The influential attendance at the ceremonies has sited it as the most sought after business award as it has fast become a recognition of noteworthy accomplishments amongst business professionals in the region.
