Gulf Business Awards 2021: Nominees revealed

The year 2021 has been one of recovery and revival following what was an extremely challenging 2020.

With most regional economies having reopened and with businesses now having learnt to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the fundamental ways of operating have been drastically altered.

At the 2021 edition of Gulf Business Awards – which will be held in-person on November 23 at Central Park Towers at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) – we will be applauding the business leaders and companies who have managed to steer their organisations during this tough phase by innovating and persevering.

These individuals and companies – across various sectors – have stood tall and spearheaded the growth of their industries and the regional economy.

All the shortlisted nominees certainly deserve recognition for their efforts in driving the future of the GCC region.

Awards will be given to companies and business leaders within the sectors of: banking, energy, healthcare, investment, real estate, retail, technology, transport and logistics, as well as tourism and hospitality.

Special excellence awards will also be handed out to the Sustainability Company of the Year, Disruptor of the Year, Businesswoman Leader and SME of the Year.

One business leader and company will be selected for the prestigious accolade of overall ‘Business Leader of the Year’ and ‘Company of the Year’.

Gulf Business will also present the coveted Lifetime Achievement award to one special individual for their outstanding contribution to the region. It’s an award whose past winners have included Sir Tim Clark, HE Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, HE Easa Saleh Al Gurg and HE Mohamed Alabbar, among others.

Below is the list of nominees:

COMPANIES

Banking
• Emirates Development Bank
• First Abu Dhabi Bank
• Saudi National Bank
• Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
• RAKBank

Energy 
• Saudi Aramco
• ADNOC
• ENEC
• Masdar
• Utico

Healthcare 
• G42 Healthcare
• Aster DM Healthcare
• Response Plus Holdings
• Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA)
• Mediclinic Middle East

Investment 
• Yas Holding
• Dubai Investments
• Al Mal Capital
• Investcorp
• Al Khayyat Investments

Real estate 
• Aldar Properties
• Emaar Properties
• Nakheel
• Sobha Realty
• Dubai Holding Real Estate

Retail 
• Amazon
• Noon.com
• Majid Al Futtaim
• Alshaya Group
• Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba group

Technology 
• IBM
• Huawei Middle East
• Dell Technologies
• Oracle
• Microsoft

Transport and logistics 
• Dubai Roads and Transport Authority
• DP World
• Careem
• Etihad Rail
• FedEx Express

Tourism and hospitality 
• Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
• Radisson Hotel Group
• Millennium Hotels and Resorts
• Rotana Hotels
• AWJ Investments

BUSINESS LEADERS

Banking 
• Hana Al Rostamani, group CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank
• Shayne Nelson, group CEO, Emirates NBD
• Dr Adnan Chilwan, group CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank
• Ala’a Eraiqat, group CEO, ADCB
• Rola Abu Manneh, CEO, Standard Chartered UAE

Energy 
• Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, group CEO, ADNOC
• Saif Humaid Al Falasi, group CEO, ENOC
• Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
• Paddy Padmanathan, CEO and president, ACWA Power
• Joseph Anis, president and CEO – Europe and MEA, GE Gas Power

Healthcare 
• Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, founder and managing director, VPS Healthcare
• Makarem Sobhi Batterjee, president, Saudi German Health
• Dr Mazen Fakeeh, president and chairman, Fakeeh Care Group
• Dr Thumbay Moideen, founder and president, Thumbay Group
• Dr Saliha Afridi, managing director, The LightHouse Arabia

Investment 
• Jassim Alseddiqi, group CEO, Shuaa Capital
• Rohit Walia, executive chairman and CEO, Alpen Capital
• Bal Krishen, chairman, Century Financial
• Naser Al Nabulsi, vice chairman and CEO, Al Mal Capital
• Hedi Ben Mlouka, CEO and CIO, FIM Partners

Real estate 
• HE Mohamed Alabbar, chairperson, Emaar
• Hussain Sajwani, founder, Damac Properties
• Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, chairperson, Arada
• Yousef Al Shelash, chairperson, Dar Al Arkan
• Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman, Danube Group

Retail 
• Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and CEO, Dubai Duty Free
• Faraz Khalid, CEO, noon.com
• Ronaldo Mouchawar, vice president, Amazon MENA
• Mohammad A Baker, deputy chairman and CEO, GMG
• Mohammed Alshaya, executive chairman, Alshaya Group

Technology 
• Sergio Maccotta, SVP and GM, SAP Middle East South
• Anas Jwaied, vice president and GM – Emerging Markets, Micro Focus
• Fadi Kanafani, senior regional director – MEA, NetApp
• Sandrine El Khoury, VP-MEA, Alcatel Lucent
• Nidal Abou-Ltaif, president – International (EMEA and APAC), Avaya

Transport and logistics 
• Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairperson and CEO, DP World
• Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, chairman of the Executive Committee, Hope Consortium, and group CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports
• Tarek Sultan, vice chairperson, Agility
• Mattar Al Tayer, chairperson, RTA
• Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports

Tourism and hospitality 
• Issam Kazim, CEO, DCTCM
• Majed Al Nefaie, CEO of Seera Group
• Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO, Saudi Tourism Authority
• John Pagano, CEO, The Red Sea Development Company and Amaala
• Mark Willis, CEO, Accor Middle East, Turkey and India

SPECIAL CATEGORIES

Sustainability Company of the Year
• Cafu – Launched its Sustainability Deal in November 2020 to become carbon neutral, has pledged to plant one million Ghaf seeds in the desert using drone technology to help lower carbon emissions
• Dubai Electricity and Water Authority – For the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and green hydrogen project
• PepsiCo – Committed to collect and recycle all its waste generated on-site at Expo 2020 Dubai
• Engie Solutions – Offers technology and data-based business models to help cities and companies transition to sustainable and smart options

Disruptor of the Year
• Swvl
• YAP
• Anghami
• GrubTech

SME of the Year
• Dubizzle
• bnbme Holiday Homes
• Trukkin
• Geekay Group

Businesswoman of the Year 
• Najla Al-Midfa, CEO, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center – Sheraa
• Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director, Dubai Design District
• Sheikha Intisar AlSabah, founder and chairperson, Intisar Foundation
• Dr Husnia Gargash, founder and chairperson, Gargash Hospital