Mubadala’s Chief Executive Officer is one of the few business personalities in the UAE who is well recognised in international circles. Amongst the various senior directorships he now holds, he is Chairman of the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Vice-Chairman of Piaggio Aero, an Italian aerospace company, and perhaps most famously he is CEO of Manchester City Football Club — the star-studded football team currently perched atop the English Premier League.
Mubarak’s story is one of a meteoric rise. Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, he travelled to the US to study at the prestigious Tufts University in Boston, where he obtained a degree in Economics and Finance. His career began in humble fashion — as a sales executive at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Today, as Managing Director and CEO of Mubadala, Mubarak oversees investment strategies for the Dh88 billion fund. The long list of board positions held by him also goes a long way to illustrate the initiatives in which he is involved — perpetuating Abu Dhabi’s long-term strategic plan. As Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Motor Sport Management Company, Mubarak was a key player in the city’s bid to host the Formula One Grand Prix. Similarly he also had a hand in the FIFA World Club Cup tournament coming to the Emirate. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at New York University and has been instrumental in the development of the revered institution’s campus in Abu Dhabi.
The amount of organisations he is actively involved in is staggering. In addition to the aforementioned, Al Mubarak is Executive Vice-President of Dolphin Energy, he has a seat on the board of Ferrari, Aldar Properties, First Gulf Bank, and the Emirates Aluminium Company. In the public sector, Al Mubarak is Chairman of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the Abu Dhabi Media Zone Authority, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, he holds membership on the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and is also Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority — a position that gives him the responsibility of facilitating policy advice to General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Various accolades have also been extended to Al Mubarak — not least the Commander of the Star of the Order of the Italian Solidarity, a civilian honour bestowed upon him for efforts toward strengthening economic ties between Italy and the UAE. His CV has the prestige that could only come with a lifetime of success and consistent over-achievement. It is a wonder that he is still under the age of 40.
