Power Letters 2021: Murshed Al Redaini, Group CEO, Yas Holding

The unsolicited onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of our lives. On behalf of Yas Holding, I would like to express our most sincere appreciation to the brave frontline warriors and their families for their noble service.

We are also grateful to the UAE leadership that has been widely applauded for its unmatched response to the crisis – creating a haven of safety and stability for its citizens and residents.

2020 was a hectic year for us at Yas Holding. Our team responded quickly to the multiple challenges posed by the pandemic, particularly our companies that operate in critical sectors of the economy, each maintaining their contracted standards of performance with our clients.

The global pandemic, coupled with a seventh consecutive year of lower oil revenues, has further stressed the economic environment in the region; however the diversity of our business portfolio provided us with both challenges and opportunities.

We had to contend with adverse circumstances in certain sectors that demanded extensive cost optimisation and restructuring exercises, while simultaneously continuing to expand with optimism in other businesses. As an organisation with a long-term vision, Yas Holding continues to invest with conviction in the UAE – closely aligned to the goals and objectives of the country.

We also embarked on several strategic investments internationally across our key domains. Today, Yas Holding is organised into nine divisions operating across 12 sectors. The group consists of over 60 companies operating in the UAE, MENA and Europe, in sectors as diverse as agriculture and food, aviation, education, construction, technology and healthcare.

Many of our companies played an integral role in the UAE’s Covid-19 response, particularly in the areas of healthcare, education services and food security. Notably, our agriculture and food division mobilised global food products on a timely basis, supplementing our fresh local produce, and ensuring a stable supply of food throughout the pandemic. Yas Holding’s education division companies also deployed technology-based remote learning solutions for private and public sectors. As an agile investment group, we believe in prosperity through collaboration and business excellence.

Our activities are centred on fostering relationships with our principals, customers, partners and stakeholders. Looking ahead to 2021, Yas Holding will continue to progress on the growth made within our target sectors. We aim to achieve scale through imminent acquisitions and business expansion with a view to be well-positioned to benefit from the post-pandemic recovery.

In this direction, our teams are also engaged in several initiatives to increase internal governance, efficiency, agility and productivity. Our focus will further be on identifying and deploying innovative technologies within our ecosystems. With several transactions in the pipeline, we look forward to an eventful 2021 – a year that could be critical for most businesses in determining sustainable business models. We are hopeful that economic activity will gain traction in the New Year and beyond.