About Us

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri was appointed Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the new government structure approved in July 2020.

Prior to his appointment, H.E. Al Marri held important positions in the government as a senior, top-ranking official. He was the Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet since 2017, during which he was instrumental in strengthening the interdependence between the federal and local governments. In this role, he also spearheaded many initiatives to get the pulse of the people and know their sentiments, as well as build the UAE’s long-lasting relations with international organizations such as the World Economic Forum.

H.E. is also the former Director General of the Executive Office of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was part of the high-profile team that was behind the launch of ‘Area 2071,’ the nucleus of the future envisioned in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071. Furthermore, the UAE Minister of Economy, in his previous post, took part in the unveiling of the Hatta Economic Zone development project and the relaunching of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

addition, he was the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, enabling him to play a vital role in the successful launch of Dubai 10X and other initiatives of national importance. The Dubai 10X initiative, in particular, aims to strengthen the emirate’s bid to become the city of the future.

H.E. Al Marri is a member of the Boards of Directors of different federal entities. His memberships allow him to actively support the development of priority sectors in the country such as the Golden Visa initiative, which seeks to attract talented individuals from across the world.

The UAE Minister of Economy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK. Also, he is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program and Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

On March 23, 2023, Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid was appointed as the “Director General of Community Development Authority (CDA), Government of Dubai”. Prior to her recent appointment, Her Excellency served as the “Minister of Community Development” for over five years, where she worked on improving and advancing the social development of all the members of the community: families, children, adolescents, young people, senior citizens, and people of determination. Her strategic approach has been informed by the various dimensions that cultivate well-being and enrich happiness for all.

Previous Positions: Her Excellency was the Assistant Director General for Government Services in the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Future. Her Excellency overlooked the Emirates Government Services Excellence Program aiming to raise the efficiency
of government services delivery. Additionally, Her Excellency supervised the launch of Government Services Factory focusing on training government authorities on how to implement services design mechanism. She also supervised the Customers’ Satisfaction and Happiness Project related to all government services. Amongst her previous positions were the General Coordinator of Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program, Executive Director of Excellence
Sector, Executive Director for Institutional Support Sector, Assistant Director General for Government Services Sector, and Supervisor of the UAE Government Leadership Program.

Professional Development & Awards: Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid is a graduate of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Young Leadership Program and a two-time recipient of Sheikh Rashid Award for Scientific Excellence. Additionally, she won the Arabian Gulf National Olympic Committee Award for Outstanding Youth in 2013 and the “Best Distinguished Newly Appointed Employee” at Dubai Government Excellence Program in 2003.

Education: Her Excellency holds a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from the American University of Sharjah and a Bachelor of Business Sciences (with Highest Distinction) from Zayed University. She also holds an Executive Diploma in Public Administration from Lee Kuwan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Designations: Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid occupied several designations, including, Membership of Supreme National Committee for the Year of Tolerance 2019, Membership of Education & Human Resources Council, and Chairperson of Community &
International Games Heritage Committee during the 9th Regional Olympics 2018 and International

Games of Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi 2019.

Current Memberships: Her Excellency currently holds several memberships, including, Cabinet Member, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Zakat Fund, Chairperson of Wellbeing Council and Vice Chairperson of Digital Wellbeing Council, Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of General Pensions & Social Security Authority, Member of Ministerial Development Council, Member of the Board of Directors of Federal Youth Authority, Member of Federal Demographic
Council, Member of the Board of Directors of Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center, Member of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation, Member of Early Childhood Committee in Abu Dhabi, Member of Supreme Committee for Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint
Mubarak Excellence and Community Intelligence Program, Member of the Board of Directors of Emirates Competitiveness Council (ECC), and Member of the Board of Directors of Emirates Council for Balanced Development.

His Excellency Abdulla Al Saleh is the UnderSecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy. Among his responsibilities is to drive closer cooperation, increase trade and investment flows, and deepen economic ties between UAE and the world. He spearheads UAE Free Trade negotiations within the GCC framework with regional blocks and other countries. He is also Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the World Trade Organization. He oversees trade policies and UAE’s fulfilment of commitments. Amongst several divisions, he leads a trade and promotional team and oversees the network of economic missions at UAE Embassies.
Also, Al Saleh is Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for Exports; Honorary President of the Arab-Chinese Centre for International Exchange; Vice President of the Annual Investment Forum; Board member of the UAE International Investors Council, which enables UAE investors to invest in key markets; Board member at the Emirates Gender Balancing Council, which aims to increase women’s participation in national development across all sectors and develop their skills and provide them with the necessary tools to support the UAE’s future progress. He is member of the Advisory Boards at New York University Abu Dhabi, Zayed University Business and Management School, Sharjah University Business School and University of Wollongong in Dubai (Business School).
Earlier in his career, Al Saleh was a diplomat in UAE Embassies in the United States and France. He holds an MSc in International Politics from the American University in DC and a bachelor’s degree of Political Sciences from the UAE University.

Mubarak Al Nakhi is responsible for implementing the strategies of the Ministry of Culture and Youth (MCY), in accordance with the UAE Vision 2021. His Excellency supervises the cultural and creative industries segment and the arts and heritage sector. Al Nakhi also serves as the Vice-Chair of the UAE National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
Al Nakhi’s responsibilities also include identifying, building and strengthening the cultural and creative sectors that directly contribute to the UAE’s non-oil GDP, to ensure sustained cultural studies and research by establishing local and international partnerships, as well as developing and implementing programmes that promote national talent development.
Backed by more than 15 years of experience, Al Nakhi has worked in the fields of government development, strategic planning, performance management, government excellence, government services, and operations management in both the public and private sectors. Before joining the MCY, Al Nakhi served as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), where he managed strategic planning for the development plans for Al Maryah Island and Abu Dhabi. He also served as Director of Policy and Regulation at the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport.

Eng. Osama Amir Fadhel is the Assistant Undersecretary for the Industrial Accelerators Sector in the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT). He leads the industrial accelerators vertical within the ministry, supporting national industry’s transformation. He is passionate about contributing to the development of local manufacturing capabilities in the UAE.

Previously, he served as the Director of Strategy, Programs & Commercial in EPI (an EDGE company), where he helped shape the direction of one of the UAE’s leading manufacturers for aerospace and defense components.

He is a specialist in industrial participation (IP), local content and offset programs. Osama Amir Fadhel’s experience also includes working with Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO), and the Australian company Mackay Trailers. He has served on the boards of a number of private sector companies. He is also a member of multiple government boards and committees such as the Food Security Council, the Circular Economy Council, and the Education Scholarships Committee, to name a few.

Osama holds a bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours in Industrial
Engineering and Engineering Management from Monash University,
Australia. He also holds postgraduate certificates in Management and
Manufacturing Leadership from INSEAD Fontainebleau.

Hanan Ahli is currently the Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), a government entity affiliated with the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The CentreThe Centre works on developing and enhancing the UAE’s performance in the sectors of global competitiveness, statistics and data through coordination with partners to implement initiatives and define policies of importance to vital sectors across the UAE. The Centre is considered as one of the most important government sources for national data, and for monitoring the competitive performance of the UAE in global reports, and hold the responsibility for the SDGs in the UAE.
In her capacity as the Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, Hanan looks after a range of policies outlined in the UAE’s National Agenda, with a particular focus on supporting gender balance, promoting favorable business regulations, and strengthening the performance on UAE’s public sector.
Prior to this designation, Hanan held the position of the Executive Director of the Competitiveness Sector at the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) (name amended to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre in 2020), a UAE federal entity created by a Presidential decree in 2015. During her tenure as Executive Director, Hanan focused on supporting the competitiveness of the United Arab Emirates, by enhancing the performance of major economic, commercial and social sectors in the country, through launching initiatives and strategies that aimed at improving the performance of country’s institutions in global competitiveness indexes and reports.
Hanan Ahli has extensive experience in business administration, policy-making and financing programs. Prior to joining the government sector, Hanan worked for Mawarid Finance, PJSC, and leading finance operations with the focus on Islamic finance.
Hanan holds an MBA from the American University of Sharjah (UAE) and a Bachelor degree in Business Sciences from Zayed University (UAE). She is a graduate of the UAE Government Leadership Program, in the Future Leadership category and Policies Diploma, and has credentials from the London Business School, Institute of Management Development (IMD), and Harvard Kennedy School.

Abdulaziz Khalid AlJaziri was appointed the Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) on December 8th 2017. As Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer, AlJaziri leads a number of projects at DFF in partnership with Government, Private Sector and Academia.
In DFF, Abdulaziz leads the Research, Content Dissemination, Capacity Building and Design and Acceleration streams. AlJaziri’s focus is to support Dubai leaders better navigate the future, develop high-quality content about the future, equip generations to come with skills of the future and foster an innovation ecosystem that develops experiments. AlJaziri is part of the integral team behind the Museum of the Future.
Additionally, AlJaziri has led, managed and launched DFF’s AREA 2071 in 2016, an innovative ecosystem where a diverse set of partners design the future.
Before his role at DFF, Abdulaziz AlJaziri worked at The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (TEO) as well as the Ministery of Cabinet Affairs. In his role at TEO, AlJaziri worked on developing innovative programs and key initiatives, such as Dubai Capital of Islamic Economy, Dubai Smart City and Hatta Development Project. AlJaziri also served as the CEO of Palmwood, a partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the global design firm IDEO.
Currently, AlJaziri sits on the board of several organizations including the Higher Colleges of Technology, Palmwood and the Dubai Future Academy. Abdulaziz holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering Technology, and is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program.

Bedour Saeed Al Raqbani is an Emirati social entrepreneur and a social activist. A recipient of the UAE Pioneers Award for founding Kalimati Communication and Rehabilitation Center, she is a recognizable voice for social inclusion and systemic integration in the country.
An alumna of the American University of Sharjah, Bedour graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication, along with the AUS Chair’s Award and the Sheikh Rashid Award for Scientific Excellence. Bedour’s philanthropic accomplishments stem from her support of grassroots initiatives working towards an equitable society. She is a Board of Trustees Member at the American University of Sharjah, co-chair of the School Advisory Board at American Academy for Girls, member of the UAE Sign Language Dictionary, and an active participant in local and international colloquia and conferences addressing the empowerment of People of Determination. Among her many projects, she headed the organizing committee of Hear My Voice: Empowering the Deaf International Conferences, was part of CDA’s Brainstorming Lab on elevating sustainable community development, and co-organized the UAE’s first Innovation Lab for The Deaf. She is also the first Emirati to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program in NGO Management, organized by the US Department of State Bureau. She was a member of the UAE Advisory Council for People of Determination.
A strong advocate of the power of creativity merged with education, Bedour founded other Emirati Social Enterprises and several Social Design Campaigns in collaboration with UNHCR. She was a speaker at Majlis Mohammed Bin Zayed in Youth & Leadership, participated in the UAE’s First Government Retreat for People of Determination, and joined Design for the UAE National event.
Her accolades span academic excellence awards and national leadership honors. She is the recipient of the Arab Women Award in Education, the GCC Women Leadership Award, CDA Award for Mothers of Special Children, Princess Haya Award in Special Education and Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum Award for UAE Woman Excellence.

Mariam ALQassab is the Manager of the Chairman office at Sharjah Book Authority since (2016), Assigned as a Member Board of Trustees at CSR UAE Fund (2021), Member Board of Directors at National Media Council (2020).
Since 2013, She works passionately in the entrepreneurship and community engagement area. She holds a Master of Science in Organizational excellence from HBMSU (2021) and a bachelor’s degree in International Business Management from HCT (2013).
Successfully graduated from the UAE Government Leaders Program - Future Leaders Batch (2019) and Academic Training Program from Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education in Scotland- UK (2015).