Meet Our Leadership Team

HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum is the Chairman of Dubai Holding and has been at the forefront of Dubai’s remarkable economic development for more than 25 years.

Sheikh Ahmed holds a number of important government positions, including as Second Vice Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, which is responsible for formulating policies and strategies for the Emirate of Dubai, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Fiscal Committee, member of the Board of the Dubai Council for Economic Affairs, Chairman of Economic Development Committee and Board Member of the Dubai Corporation for Government Investment.

Sheikh Ahmed has been a highly successful corporate leader since 1985, when he was appointed President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of the newly-launched Emirates Airline. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, which includes Dnata – the region’s leading travel services and ground handling company, and other aviation related entities.

Holder of a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the University of Denver, Colorado, USA, Sheikh Ahmed has received many international honours, including the fellowship of the British Royal Aeronautical Society, Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour) – the highest French civilian award, and the Verfassungsportugaleser, one of Germany’s highest honours.

Amit Kaushal is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Holding, leading the organisation’s operations in over 13 countries and across a diverse range of sectors, including real estate, hospitality, retail, media, leisure and entertainment.

Under Amit’s leadership, Dubai Holding has achieved sustainable economic growth and accomplished unparalleled results, further cementing Dubai Holding’s position as one of the UAE’s largest and most diverse investment conglomerates.

Over the course of his tenure, Amit has spearheaded several transformational initiatives that have propelled Dubai's strategic sectors in line with its economic diversification agenda. He has been instrumental in the success of key strategic projects of the Group in the UAE and internationally, including the most extensive makeover in the history of the Carlton Tower Jumeirah in London, the retail joint venture valued at AED 5 billion with Brookfield Asset Management, and the ongoing development of Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab. Amit has also overseen the strengthening of Dubai Holding’s international focus through significant investments in Azadea, and the acquisition of prime real estate and hospitality assets in Paris, Capri, Rome and the Maldives. He also played a pivotal role in the successful listing of TECOM Group and Empower on the Dubai Financial Market in 2022.

In addition to helming Dubai Holding as Group Chief Executive Officer, Amit is currently Chairperson of the Shamal Executive Committee and serves as a member of the boards of directors of Azadea, Empower and TECOM Group. He has also served on the governance bodies of several regional and international organisations including those across hospitality, energy, retail and real estate, as well as on the Advisory Board of Warwick Business School.

Amit has vast experience in financial services, having spent more than a decade in the earlier years of his career with leading investment banks in London and Dubai, where he worked for Goldman Sachs, UBS and Deutsche Bank across transaction advisory, structuring and capital markets disciplines.

Amit holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Finance from the University of Cambridge and a BSc (First Class Hons.) in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics from the University of Warwick.

Khalid Al Malik is the Managing Director of Dubai Holding, where he leads the real estate portfolio including urban planning and infrastructure strategy and development, as well as overseeing the land bank – one of the Emirate’s largest. He is also responsible for the company’s international real estate investments in places such as Malta and Kochi as well as managing its strategic relations with local and international investors, and its government affairs.

Khalid also lends his expertise to key real estate projects within Dubai Holding’s subsidiaries, where he also serves as Dubai Holding Real Estate Chief Executive Officer.

In the past, Khalid has held a number of key positions within the Dubai government and private sector, including Director of Operations at the Dubai Development and Investment Authority, CEO of Dubai Industrial City and CEO of Tatweer.

He is currently on the board of several organisations, including, among others, SmartCity Malta, SmartCity Kochi, Dubai Waste Management Company, Tunisie Telecom and the Dubai Hills Estate group and is also a council member of the British University in Dubai.

Khalid holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, USA, with a double major in Management Information Systems and Production and Operations Management. He also has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Zayed University, UAE. He is a graduate of the Government Leaders’ Program, a component of the Mohammed bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development.

Aldrin Sequeira is the Chief Internal Audit Officer responsible for overseeing the Group’s Internal audit and risk management functions and providing independent and objective assurance on its financial and operational activities. 

Aldrin is an industry leader with over 30 years of experience in conducting assurance, advisory and forensics reviews on strategic, financial, operational and technology matters, and contributing to Boards and Sub-Committees.

Prior to his current role at Dubai Holding, Aldrin was with Jumeirah Group as Chief Internal Audit Officer as well as at PricewaterhouseCoopers working in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the UAE.

Aldrin holds a Bachelor of Business in Accounting from The University of Central Queensland, is a Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants – UK (FCMA). He is a qualified US Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and has a Qualification in Internal Audit Leadership (QIAL) from IIA Global.

Boris Rusafov is the Chief Technology Officer at Dubai Holding. In his role, Boris oversees the technology functions of the Group across a diverse range of industries including hospitality, retail, media, leisure, and entertainment. He brings a wealth of global experience from the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and a 30-year track record of delivering major technology change and operational excellence across diverse sectors with expertise in business and technology strategy, enterprise digital transformation and Board advisory.

Prior to his current role at Dubai Holding, Boris held Group Chief Information Officer positions at Yas Holding in Abu Dhabi, and at Majid Al Futtaim Properties in Dubai. In addition, he has been the Group Chief Information Officer of Deutsche Bahn International based in London and Frankfurt, and before that he led the technology function for DHL in the Asia Pacific region based in Singapore. He spent the first 10 years of his career in the United States, delivering technology change for clients such as Microsoft, AT&T and Hoffmann-La Roche.

A US national, Boris holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina in the United States, and later studied for an MSc at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School.

Edward holds the position of Chief Legal Officer. He has more than 21 years of experience in legal practice and strategy in the areas of construction, engineering, utilities, infrastructure, real estate development, corporate, commercial, capital markets, banking and finance, cross border transactions and arbitration.

Prior to moving in‐house, Edward led Al Tamimi & Company’s construction law practice and acted for various government institutions and publicly listed corporations both locally and internationally; and was internationally rated during his time in private practice.

Edward founded the legal function of the Meraas Group where he was the Chief Legal Officer and also the General Legal Advisor at the Engineering Office, a post he held from 2008.

He is a Chartered Arbitrator and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; he is on the panel of some of the leading arbitration centres including the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the LCIA‐ DIFC Arbitration Centre, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Edward is a former part‐time member of staff at Heriot‐Watt University, Dubai Campus; he was an Advisor with the Dubai Real Estate Institute and the author of numerous publications. He also lectured for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Edward holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with Honours and Industrial Relations from the University of New South Wales in Australia. He also has a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, and is admitted as a barrister of the High Court of Australia, a solicitor in NSW and an admitted legal practitioner of the DIFC Courts in Dubai.

Fatma Hussain is the Chief People Officer, leading the Group’s efforts to foster a people-driven culture that empowers Dubai Holding employees. At the helm of her responsibilities, Fatma strives to future-proof the business through focusing on talent, leadership development, and harnessing an engaged culture throughout all levels of the organisation while ensuring polices and processes put employees first.

With over 20 years of experience, Fatma is a seasoned expert in her field, with a proven track record of delivering meaningful impact across leading private and semi-government companies in multiple industries.

Prior to her current role, Fatma served as Chief Human Capital Officer at Dubai Holding Asset Management. Before joining Dubai Holding, Fatma worked at JAFZA and Gerab National Enterprise, where she headed Recruitment, Talent Development and Redeployment Department, as well as the Human Resources and Administration Department, respectively.

She is an active board member across a number of respected organisations, including TECOM Group and Memaar Building Systems in addition to serving as the chairperson of the Board of Directors at Takaful Emarat Insurance PSC. She previously served as a board member of Dubai Creek Harbour, Amlak Finance and Aramex.

Fatma is a graduate of the Leadership Programme from Wharton Business School in the United States. She also holds a Directorship Certification from Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance in the UAE, in addition to a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Dubai.

Huda Buhumaid is the Chief Impact Officer, responsible for driving impact through sustainable business practices throughout the Group, including environmental and social, as well as overseeing Dubai Holding’s branding, marketing, and corporate communications functions.

Since joining Dubai Holding in 2006, Huda has successfully launched several strategic and award-winning projects across Dubai Holding and its companies that operate within different key sectors, including real estate, hospitality, retail and entertainment.

Previously, Huda worked with Citibank UAE as Assistant Vice President – Marketing and Business Development. At Citibank, Huda launched several first-of-their-kind initiatives, including widely acclaimed ones such as online and mobile banking services.

Huda is a board member at a number of organisations, including the Higher Colleges of Technology, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University – School of Business and Quality Management, Endowments and Minors’ Trust Foundation, Dubai Women’s Establishment, Certares Holdings, Malta Properties Company, Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training (CERT), and Dubai Waste Management Company. She is the Vice Chair of the Private Sector Advisory Council and a member of Dubai International Communications Committee, which operates under the umbrella of the Government of Dubai Media Office. Previously, she was Vice Chair of consumer finance company Dubai First as well as the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), and a board member at Khaleej Times and Hala China.

Huda is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Programme, INSEAD UAE, and holds a Master’s in Organisational Excellence with Honours from Bradford University, UK, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai.

Nasser Al Awadhi serves as Chief Business Transformation Officer and is responsible for overseeing the Dubai Holding Centre of Excellence (CoE), which is mandated to bring together specialised functions led by subject matter experts to help drive change across the business.

Nasser has been with the Group for more than 13 years and is a member of Dubai Holding’s Executive Management Committee (EMC). In his previous role as Chief Human Capital Officer, he was instrumental in the development of the function, aligning all human capital initiatives and functions with the strategic objectives of the company.

He brings great expertise with his 25 years of experience and several board memberships. Nasser is currently Chairman of the Board for Rove Hotels, whilst also being on the board of Dubai Group and Dubai Waste Management Company.

In his earlier career, Nasser served in key roles at TECOM Investments, Tamweel LLC, EPPCO and Dubai Municipality. Prior to joining Dubai Holding, he was the Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Education.

Nasser holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina, USA, and is a graduate of INSEAD’s International Directors Programme.

Omar Karim is the Group Chief Investment Officer and is responsible for driving the overall investment strategy for the Group as well as overseeing the execution and management of its strategic and financial investments. Omar also heads Dubai Holding Investments, the Group’s vertical that is dedicated to these investments.

Since joining the Group in 2017, Omar has successfully concluded several major transactions, including the initial public offerings of TECOM Group and Empower, the formation of a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management in relation to certain key retail assets across Dubai, the sale of Dubai Holding’s stake in Dubai Creek Harbour to Emaar Properties, the formation of a joint venture with Aldar Properties and the 100% take-private of DXB Entertainments and its integration into the Group.

In addition to leading the Group’s investment strategy and managing its global investments portfolio, Omar actively serves as a member on the boards of several companies across multiple sectors. These currently include Azadea, Certares Holdings, Dream Holdings (Aerofarms), Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal, Dubai Hills Estate group, Merex Investment Group and TECOM Group.

Prior to joining Dubai Holding, Omar worked as an investment banker at UBS Investment Bank, where he was responsible for the execution of a broad range of mergers, acquisitions and financing transactions with global clients. During his earlier career, he worked with KPMG in Australia as part of their corporate finance practice.

Omar holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Monash University, Australia.

Sharjil Anwar is the Chief Financial Officer of Dubai Holding. With over 28 years of financial management experience including corporate finance, restructuring, funding, financial and management accounting, corporate governance and management consulting, Sharjil has a proven track record in this role to oversee the overall financial functions of the Group.

Sharjil has worked in the Middle East since 1994. Prior to joining Dubai Holding in 2018, he was the Group Chief Financial Officer at Nakheel PJSC from 2011, leading the Group’s overall financial management with an active role in the successful implementation of the highly complex financial restructuring and the execution of a revised business plan that placed Nakheel on a new path to growth.

In addition, he has also held various senior positions Saudi Arabia at Ernst & Young, Siemens Limited, Emaar, The Economic City, and Red Sea Gateway Container Terminal Limited.

Sharjil is a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”), Chartered Global Management Accountant (“CGMA”) and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy from Arizona State University in the United States.