The Hot Forty: Abdulla Mohammad Al Awar

Abdulla Mohammad Al Awar, CEO of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority, is a recent appointment, and inherited the post during a controversial period for the financial centre. After the previous regime was caught in a corruption scandal, Al Awar had his work cut out to patch up the organisation’s reputation once he took office of Chief Executive Officer. Prior to the assignment, he served as the Managing Director of the DIFC until 2009 — leading a division responsible for attracting institutions in the financial industry to the free zone.
After a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder in the US, he launched his career in 2001 as part of the founding team of the knowledge and information cluster that grew into Dubai Knowledge Village and Internet City, attracting regional and international institutions to Dubai as a Regional Sales Manager. “Throughout my career, I will always be committed to supporting the mandate of the government of Dubai. I will continue to ensure that I contribute to reaching its goals and help position Dubai and the UAE as a leading global financial and business hub,” he says.
A graduate of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development, the talented leader is also on the Board of Borse Dubai and Dubai Executive Jets. Under his guidance, the DIFC has come a long way. The Xinhua-Dow Jones International Financial Centre’s Development Index 2011 has ranked it eight out of 45 in terms of development capacity. The latest edition of the Global Financial Centres Index has also placed the authority at the top in the Middle East. Al Awar talks about the contribution DIFC has made to the UAE. “We have contributed significantly to the local economy. The GDP of DIFC’s sub-economy grew by 5.2 per cent in 2010 to reach $2.92 billion, accounting for about 3.6 per cent of Dubai’s GDP. The centre is home to 18 of the top 25 global banks, six of the world’s ten largest insurers, six out of the ten top law firms and eight of the top asset managers in the world. The current working population in DIFC is estimated at 11,331 full-time employees.” He goes on to reveal that the geographical diversity in the DIFC that is synonymous with Dubai. “30 per cent of the regulated firms operating out of the centre are from the Middle East, 10 per cent from Asia, 41 per cent from Europe; 16 per cent from North America and 3 per cent from the rest of the world, reinforcing its position as the business and financial gateway connecting East and West.”
The CEO is also quick to acknowledge what is required of the organisation going forward. “As markets evolve and as we witness an economic shift in the global landscape, we have to always ensure that DIFC adopts and still offers the best platform for its clients to operate regionally and globally from here. There is no doubt that the road ahead remains challenging. However, we believe that there are still many untapped opportunities that our new strategy will position us to take advantage of.”