Home Insights Interviews

Interviews

Advertising from the heart: Exclusive interview with Jacques Seguela

We speak with the French advertising legend about Havas, technocracy, and why now is the time for the Middle East’s communications industry

Leadership by design: In conversation with Shweta Wahi

We talk with CMA Investment Holding’s 20-something director about how she forged her path in the world of business, from fashion entrepreneurship to the family firm

Young, gifted, and Saudi: Adwa Al Dakheel

From musician to stock trader to entrepreneur and social media star, Adwa Al Dakheel has emerged as the face of ‘new Saudi Arabia’. We speak to the young businesswoman in an exclusive interview

Young leaders: Adel Sajan, 30, director of Danube Home

Sajan explains what it was like being introduced to the family business as a teenager, and how he made an impact on the company

Young leaders: Midhat Mirabi, 35, GE Power’s VP – commercial, MENA

Mirabi explains how the global firm encourages young talent to make an impact

Why US-based data giant Alteryx is expanding into Dubai

In an exclusive interview, the company’s co-founder, chairman and CEO Dean Stoecker discloses why Dubai was the obvious choice for its newest office

Montblanc Homer collection Franck Juhel

Montblanc’s regional head on where the brand is headed

Franck Juhel, Montblanc’s president for the Middle East, India and Africa, discusses the luxury brand’s performance over the past year

Getting to the heart of Abu Dhabi’s Hub71

The head of the new hub, Mahmoud Adi, tells Gulf Business why the project is so important, and how it plans to become a world-beating initiative

Dubai financier Shailesh Dash: Invested in the future

The entrepreneur and financier discusses where the region’s investment market is heading, and how young entrepreneurs can succeed in a competitive landscape

The next chapter for the UAE’s Borders bookstore

Vivek Bahirwani, director of Borders, discusses why reading is going from strength the strength in the region

The importance of tolerance in the workplace

Reverend Canon Andy Thompson explains why tolerance should be a key aspect of workplace culture across the GCC

Exclusive interview: UAE business leader Raja Al Gurg

Raja Al Gurg discusses her journey to the top, opportunities for women and the lessons she would like the younger generation to learn from her career

Franklin Templeton’s Jenny Johnson gives her outlook for Saudi and active fund management

Jenny Johnson, president and chief operating officer of $717bn asset manager Franklin Resources, talks market movements, her positive outlook on Saudi, and why she still believes in active investment management

Interview: Marina Home’s co-founder on shaking up the region’s home interior market

Marina Home co-founder Khurshid Vakil and head of brand development Sahar Vakil to discuss how the home-grown success story has stayed ahead of its rivals

Exclusive: GE’s regional CEO on why the company is bullish about the future

With GE’s global performance going through a challenging period, Nabil Habayeb explains how the regional arm is bucking the trend

Eye on the future: UAE’s wasl Asset Management CEO Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim

In an exclusive interview, Al Qassim talks growth, iconic projects, and the fate of the emirate’s real estate market

On a diplomatic mission: The UAE’s ambassador to the UK

Since his appointment in 2016, HE Sulaiman Hamid Al Mazroui has worked to boost ties between the the UAE and UK

Five minutes with…Nawaf Al Sahhaf, CEO of Saudi’s Badir Program

The programme has served more than 280 tech startups in the last 10 years with total funding reaching $40.25m

Interview: Heather Mills on the UAE’s vegan market

The British media personality, businesswoman and activist explains why she’s bringing her vegan food company VBites to the GCC

Exclusive interview: UAE’s Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi

This winner of this year’s Gulf Business Lifetime Achievement Award discusses the growing influence of Emirati women and the strength of the nation’s youth

Five minutes with… Sarfaraz Alam, co-founder and CEO of HashMove

The online logistics marketplace set to launch in GCC will allow users to search, compare and book a multimodal shipment

The golden touch: Dubai’s Pure Gold Group chairman Firoz Merchant

In an exclusive interview, the chairman of Pure Gold Group opens up about his remarkable rise to the top, challenges facing the industry, and why he is giving back

Five minutes…Craig Hartenstine, executive producer, Dubai show La Perle by Dragone

The show has welcomed “several hundred thousand guests” in its first year of operations

Five minutes with… Faris Abouhamad, managing director of Smarty International

The TV marketing solution provider launched in Dubai this year

Five minutes with… Mustafa Khawaja, owner and CEO of Khawaja Holdings

The company is “aggressively” entering the entire GCC market, says CEO

Exclusive: Aster DM Healthcare’s Alisha Moopen on where the UAE-based firm is headed

Moopen discusses how Aster DM Healthcare is continually striving to make positive impact

Five minutes with.. GymNation founders Loren Holland and Frank Afeaki

GymNation’s co-founders explain why they think affordable exercise is the future after opening their first facility in Al Quoz

Interview: Understanding dual citizenship

Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners, explains the benefits of multiple nationality and why it can be attractive to the GCC’s business community

Idealz: Rethinking online retail

The co-founders of new e-commerce platform Idealz – Jad Toubayly and Easa Al Gurg – explain how the company has reimagined the online retail experience

How viable is cryptocurrency?

Managing director of Alvarez & Marsal’s Dubai office, Saeeda Jaffar, discusses the potential of cryptocurrency to become a viable means of transacting