Dubai Holding appoints new CEO for Arab Media Group

Mohamed Sharaf to head up entertainment unit comprising ARN and Done Events

The giant wheel at Global Village, the retail and leisure park owned by Dubai Holding unit Arab Media Group. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai Holding, the ruler of Dubai’s investment vehicle, said on Wednesday it appointed a new chief executive for its unit Arab Media Group, which owns the UAE's largest radio station Arabian Radio Network.

Mohamed Sharaf has been appointed as chief executive of the division, which also counts Dubai leisure and retail destination Global Village and live events and entertainment company Done Events within its portfolio.

Mr Sharaf began his career at one of Dubai Holding’s other companies before moving on developer Meraas, where he led the investment team with responsibility for deploying capital and establishing and managing joint ventures.

Mr Sharaf "has the right combination of industry experience and business acumen to successfully lead Arab Media Group into the next phase of its growth,” said Abdullah Al Habbai, chairman of Dubai Holding, in a statement.

“His forward looking strategy will drive the company’s success, and strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a preeminent destination for tourism and entertainment.”

_______________

Read more:

_______________

In February, Dubai Holding appointed a new chief executive Amit Kaushal, and made other senior management appointments, including Malek Al Malek as chief executive of free zone authority Tecom, Arif Mubarak as chief executive of Dubai Asset Management, and Nabil Ramadhan as chief executive of Dubai Retail.

Dubai Asset Management and Dubai Retail were established last year when Dubai Holding introduced a new operating model to position the group for future growth.

With Mr Sharaf’s appointment, five of Dubai Holding’s seven group companies now have Emiratis as chief executive officers.

“Emiratisation is a central component of our human capital strategy, and we are proud of nurturing our national talent to enable them to take on leadership roles across the group,” Mr Al Habbai said.