UAE’s Lulu Group mourns sudden death of manager and former volleyball champion

Dubai: The Lulu Group community in the UAE is in mourning following the sudden death of a senior colleague who collapsed while on his way to work in Dubai.

Jojo Jacob, a 53-year-old logistics manager at Al Tayeb International a wholesale division of Lulu Retail, collapsed while waiting for his office transport on Monday morning, the group said on Wednesday.

Jojo, a native of Ramapuram in Kerala's Kottayam district, collapsed outside his residence at Lulu Village in Muhaisnah at around 5am. Despite being immediately rushed to a nearby hospital by ambulance, he was declared dead on arrival. Doctors confirmed the cause of death as cardiac arrest.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the company, where Jojo had spent 26 years building a career marked by dedication and the respect of colleagues across the organisation.

Life of service

Colleagues said Jojo was known for his gentle demeanour and commitment to his job. According to colleagues, he was a teetotaller who maintained an active lifestyle and had no known history of health concerns.

"He was a 100 per cent gentleman with 100 per cent dedication to work…Anyone who would meet him would like him. We haven't recovered from the shock,” Manzoor JB, general manager for GCC at Al Tayeb International, told Gulf News.

Manzoor, who had known Jojo for 15 years, described the loss as both professional and deeply personal. "It is a big loss for the company and personally a big loss to me. I am not praising him just because he is gone. He was genuinely a noble soul."

Sporting legacy

Before moving to the UAE, volleyball was central to Jojo's life. He was a volleyball player from his college days. He represented MG University during his student years and later became an accomplished professional player who competed for the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Kerala Transport Corporation (KTC).

A senior colleague in Abu Dhabi who had known him since 2001 recalled: "He was a soft-spoken gentleman who easily stood out in the crowd because of his tall stature. He was a teetotaller and lived an active life. When I met him in Abu Dhabi a few months ago, he updated me about his family. Never thought it would be our last meeting.”

Final journey

Several Lulu employees including senior officials from across the UAE attended a memorial service in Dubai. "Our boss [Lulu Group Chairman and Managing Director MA Yusuff Ali] conveyed his condolences as he was out of station. Our company arranged for the repatriation of Jojo's mortal remains and sent an operations manager to accompany his sister and a cousin on his final journey home," said a senior employee.

The funeral will be held on Thursday at St Augustine's Forane Church in Ramapuram.

Jojo is survived by his wife and three children. According to colleagues, he had been planning to bring back his family, who had returned to Kerala during the COVID-19 pandemic.