DUBAI // It would be easy to mistake Samira Abdulrazzak for a young woman yet to take the first steps towards her chosen career. But behind the unassuming air is an experienced businesswoman who has climbed to the very top of the corporate ladder to become one of the youngest Emirati female chief executives - and the brainchild behind a project to create the world's first dedicated fashion island.
Now Ms Abdulrazzak, the head of Dubai Infinity Holdings (DIH), a private investment company, is using her expertise to find the female leaders of the future and encourage more women to take their place in the higher echelons of the workplace. Although now perfectly comfortable negotiating around the boardroom table or closing business deals, she freely admits she never really fostered aspirations to reach the top in business.
"I always dreamed of excelling in whatever I chose to pursue," she said. "If you devote 100 per cent of your dedication and commitment the reward will exceed your expectation. "However, I haven't necessarily dreamt of being a CEO but I did want to contribute to the socio-economical development of the UAE in some capacity." Although coy about her age - she will admit only to being in her mid-twenties - and modest about her achievements, Ms Abdulrazzak is leading the way for a generation of young women intent on making their mark in the traditionally male-dominated world of business.
"As far as being a women in business is concerned, I think that we are still very much the minority sector," she says. "However, on a positive note, this niche has been recognised and I see it as a personal goal to empower women in business." It is believed that when Ms Abdulrazzak became chief executive of DIH, which began trading last December and is backed by a leading group of local investors, she achieved the distinction of becoming the youngest woman to occupy such a position in the UAE.
Before that, she held senior management positions at HSBC Bank Middle East and the financial institution Tamweel. She admits the most challenging part of being a woman in her position is prioritising work, but her feminine touch is perhaps most evident in her insistence on having a close working relationship with her staff. "I believe in an open-door policy, where my employees have direct access to me," she says. "I thrive on the interaction I have with my employees. However, I have to be very strategic with my time. In this way, every challenge brings about a new life lesson."
Her high-profile role inevitably makes demands on her time and energy, so maintaining the balance between her professional and personal lives is a challenge. "In the day, I am stationed in the office to be accessible for my employees, and at night I catch up with reading, friends and family. It is healthy and more productive in the long run to maintain a work-life balance." However, she says, "I also believe in getting the job done and going the extra mile to deliver."
A large part of her day is spent in "think-tank sessions with my core team. Conceptualising first-of-their-kind projects which meet the needs of the community is both a fulfilling and exciting part of my day and job as a whole." Ms Abdulrazzak is now determined to help to cultivate the next generation of female chief executives and, with this in mind, has launched Style7, a programme designed to sift through hundreds of hopefuls to find a few Emirati women to follow in her footsteps.
The ethos of Style7 is inspired by the 2015 plan of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which stresses the need to encourage women to contribute to the nation's socio-economic development. A large part of that, says Ms Abdulrazzak, is providing Emirati women with the necessary skills to succeed and assume leadership roles in the business sector. "Style7 is a 360-degree leadership programme - starting from attracting the candidates, training and motivating them, and eventually employing and retaining them," she says.
"I have initiated the campaign to bring awareness and rewards to women by giving them the platform to excel in business, particularly because the role of UAE women is now on the increase." With more than 400 applications already, the programme, open to all Emirati women, has already drawn an extraordinary response - and the closing date is not until the end of September. "I am currently screening the applications I have received, which have been very overwhelming and to an extremely high calibre," she says.
Over the course of two months, the hundreds of would-be executives will be whittled down to a final seven who will attend a leadership "boot-camp"; if they make the grade, they will be offered senior positions at Dubai Infinity Holdings. The chosen women will eventually help to develop Ms Abdulrazzak's ambitious project, Isla Moda, a "fashion paradise" to be built in Dubai's 300-island archipelago, The World, which will feature themed villas and haute-couture boutiques. But winning the position will be no easy task. For a start, applicants must have a bachelor's degree and at least two years of work experience. In addition to an online application, they must compose an essay extolling their qualifications and expressing their aspirations.
The real challenge, however, will come in mid-October, when 50 women will have been shortlisted and selected to take part in a month-long assignment. The women will be divided into seven teams and face a series of realistic tasks, including presenting case studies and conceptualising property developments. The seven finalists, hand-picked by Ms Abdulrazzak, will be interviewed by her one last time. If the shortlisted candidates accept the verbal offer made by her, they will be given a contract and will spend the next 18 months participating in an intensive leadership programme.
Each woman will be assigned to one of the seven company categories: architecture, project management, marketing, finance and feasibility, hospitality management, development and interior design - and further surprises await each of the winners. The woman who will be assigned to interior design, for instance, will receive mentoring from the designer Karl Lagerfeld, who has worked for labels such as Chanel and Fendi.
Lagerfeld is the first of five international designers who have signed up to design "haute homes" on Isla Moda. The leadership boot-camp, as Ms Abdulrazzak calls it, will ensure the seven women receive training from the Institute of Leadership and Management, Europe's largest awarding body for leadership and management qualifications. "Leadership is like swimming," Ms Abdulrazzak said. "You cannot perform its tasks only by reading, but you have to actually practise it. That's why Style7's training methods will be based on hands-on tasks.
"This project is about empowering women to make a difference within the business community in the UAE." @Email:talramahi@thenational.ae