Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Group of Companies has restructured itself and will be known as MAF Holding LLC, a company press release said.
Former Volvo chief executive Pehr Gyllenhammar has been appointed chairman of MAF Holding's board of directors. He is currently serving as chairman of Aviva plc, the UK's largest insurance company.
Other board members include Tariq Al Futtaim and François de Montaudouin, the chief executive of MAF Holding.
Majid Al Futtaim Group was established in 1992 and employs more than 6,500 people. Over the past decade, the group has taken its pioneering concepts throughout the UAE, Middle East and North Africa. It is active in retail leisure, entertainment, tourism and resort development.
The non-executive directors on the board are Fahad Al Mubarak, Waldemar Schmidt, Sir Hugh Collum, Tarek Ben Halim and Michael Wemms.
A group spokesperson told Gulf News yesterday: "The group will now be known as MAF Holding, instead of MAF Group. As per the new restructuring, the board will directly report to Majid Al Futtaim," the company's founder and chairman.
The MAF Group is made up of four major operating companies: MAF Investments, MAF Ventures, MAF Trust and MAF Retail a joint venture company between MAF Holding and French retail giant Carrefour.
MAF Retail has 13 hypermarkets in five countries and will open another five before the end of this year.
