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Genetics and Leadership: Maryam Matar’s Journey to Transform Public Health

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Maryam Matar’s name makes one think of trailblazing public health initiatives in the UAE. She is the first female Emirati to hold the position of Director-General at the Government of Dubai, and her life has been a sacrifice to work for the betterment of healthcare among her people. She single-handedly designed inspiring outreach programs, like the UAE Free of Thalassemia campaign, to face genetic diseases and generate awareness about public health issues. Serving not-for-profit organizations like the UAE Genetic Diseases Association and the UAE Down Syndrome Association, Maryam is helping to build the future of healthcare in her region.

As a testament to Maryam Matar’s incredible career, revealing passion for public service and devotion to medical science, she was the first Emirati woman to serve as Director-General in Dubai’s government at the time of birth in 1975. Further training in the H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development further polished Maryam’s leadership skills. The work as undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, under her belt in 2006, marked the next rung on the ladder toward her historic appointment as Director-General of the Community Development Authority in 2008.

The author of this story is Maryam, the founder and chairperson of the UAE Genetic Diseases Association, who strove to put all efforts into prevention and health education about genetic diseases. Focused on an eradication mission for hereditary diseases like thalassemia, Alzheimer’s, and autism, this non-profit thus plays an integral role in the early detection and screening of these and other conditions. Public education and innovative healthcare solutions drive a mission that protects generations from preventable genetic diseases.

One of her most effective endeavours was the “Free UAE of Thalassemia” by 2012 campaign. Thalassemia is a severe hereditary blood disorder widespread in the Gulf region, affecting thousands of families. Using general public education, preparation for early genetic testing among couples, and more access to healthcare services, Maryam’s campaign sharply reduced the number of new cases. Success in this particular project is, therefore, an adequate testimonial to her vision of preventive healthcare to reduce genetic disorders’ incidence.

Maryam has more extensive experience than thalassemia. She has led projects in conducting genetic screening that encompass breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease among the Emirati populations, and indeed among key health concerns plaguing the world population at large. In interviews with UAE’s leading media, Gulf News and Khaleej Times, Maryam stressed the importance of early screening and genetic counselling to reduce the impact of these diseases.

Maryam is an advocate for women in science. She is a leader in promoting education and participation of Emirati women in STEM disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. She has gained numerous awards and accolades for her work in the field of genetic research. Among them are Arabian Business naming her one of the 100 most powerful Arab women and Islamic Sciences Journal naming her as one of the most influential Muslim female scientists.

Her influence goes further than her clinical contributions. Every day, Maryam’s radio program “Akhirlak” features discussions on public health issues and actual advice to listeners in the UAE. The shutdown also provided her with a voice to communicate some of the unspoken challenges women faced during the pandemic-being restricted from access to care and decision making within healthcare settings.

The influence that Maryam Matar has put in the health system of the UAE is massive and is going to benefit generations to come. She is bringing a culture of preventive health and innovation through her various roles of advocacy, research, and leadership. Yet with her aspirations to be the first Arab woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize and steadfast dedication to cause, she is certainly not too far from reach.

Her passion inspires her women and scientists, a proof that with all that passion and perseverance, barriers can be broken, and actual change will emerge in this world. As Maryam Matar continues with her work mission, she remains pivotal and one of the figures who shape the future of healthcare in the UAE and beyond.

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Exploring the Legacy of Hussain Sajwani in Real Estate

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Hussain Sajwani, the man who took a journey from basically nothing to becoming a real estate giant, is the extraordinary story of vision, resilience, and strategic brilliance. Founded by him, DAMAC Properties is now the largest and most luxurious property development company in the Middle East. More than its massive contribution to Dubai’s skyline, DAMAC has made an impression on the global scale of real estate. Sajwani is known for his elaborate marketing campaigns and cooperation with international brands, including the likes of Versace, Roberto Cavalli, and even the Trump Organization. He has transformed Dubai into a great luxury property hotspot and boasts an empire now valued at $5 billion. But his journey reflects not only his individual success but the tremendous pace of development in Dubai as a global city for investment and real estate innovation.

He comes from a family that had a small souk shop selling imported goods from China. His mother was a textile trader with a variety of goods. Such early exposure gave Sajwani an acute sense of the nature of trade, commerce, and business dynamics. Sajwani is able to earn a government scholarship to attend a medical college in Baghdad and within a short period, he moved to the United States, where he pursued industrial engineering at the University of Washington. This was Sajwani’s first experience in business as well as his education. It helped him build a solid foundation to begin with his entrepreneurship journey. In 1981, he joined Abu Dhabi Gas Industries in the finance department, but, actually, it was in 1983 that he launched his first big venture, that of a catering business catering to clients including the U.S. military, besides major corporations such as Bechtel. The venture is today named Global Logistics Services and is still operational to this day.

In the year 2002, Hussain Sajwani decided to take a shift in his life—a shift that would enormously affect his future and also alter the condition of Dubai’s real estate sector. Following the law had changed and facilitated foreigners with the right to own property, especially in freehold areas, in Dubai, Sajwani founded the DAMAC Properties, aimed at luxury residential, commercial, and leisure properties. It proved to be a milestone, considering that Dubai was booming in real estate at that time, the city undergoing a fast-paced transformation into the world’s business hub. The move saw DAMAC quickly building its name into one associated with luxuriously designed projects to attract high-net-worth and international investors. At the current moment, the company has delivered more than 27,000 homes while 35,000 units are currently under development.

He saw an opportunity to stand out with grand marketing for DAMAC. The company allowed the owners of a place to buy the property and take away a Lamborghini. Developing properties in collaboration with Versace, Fendi, and Roberto Cavalli, DAMAC projected itself as a top luxury developer. Among its projects is a golf course by Tiger Woods and managed by the Trump Organization.

Hussain Sajwani’s vision goes beyond Dubai. He acquired the Italian fashion brand Roberto Cavalli in 2019. The move sounds like an extension of his diversification efforts in investments. He invested £600 million in the UK by commissioning DAMAC Tower, which will carry the Versace brand, in London’s Nine Elms district. This is a demonstration of Sajwani’s international ambitions as he works to develop developments that are upscale enough to appeal to the refined tastes of the world in general. Personal Life Hussain Sajwani is a family and business man. Being married with four children is a modest description of how personal Sajwani’s life is to his professional life, since his son Ali Sajwani is the Managing Director of Operations for DAMAC Group. Several lists have featured Ali as a new star rising in the Middle East, and one can easily see that the future of the future generation of Sajwani leaders is bright. His daughter, Amira Sajwani, has a vital role at DAMAC that reflects a commitment to shaping the future of the company.

Sajwani is also notable for his close ties with former U.S. President Donald Trump, working in association with the Trump Organization over a couple of luxury projects spread all over the world, including the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai. However, it would appear that Sajwani has kept his business acumen on the sharp end, having widened the global reach of DAMAC with its award-winning luxury developments.

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Motors to Healthcare: The Diverse Empire of Samir Mohammed Gargash

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Samir Mohammed Gargash has become the name of successful individuals in the UAE business environment. Through his family business, becoming chairman of Gargash Group, he has turned it to a diversified verge: it started from automotive, healthcare, investments, and went on from there. His influence is felt across diversified sectors – through Gargash Motors, Gargash Hospital, Daman Investments – cementing himself as part of the top Emirati businessmen in the country. Obviously, the visionary leadership of Gargash has revolutionised the automotive sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council and extended the company’s wings into all the geography of Europe and the Middle East.

Gargash Motors is one of the outstanding ventures as it has dominated the GCC region. Known as Gargash Motors, this company was established back in 1958 and has managed to grow into the only distributor of luxury automobile brands such as Mercedes-Benz in Dubai, Sharjah, and the Northern Emirates. Earning good reputation with top-quality vehicles and unmatched after-sales services, the company has become a familiar name in the luxury automotive industry. Under the management of Samir Gargash, this company has continued to grow in response to the increasing needs of the high-income populace in the region with exclusive premium cars from Mercedes-Benz all the way down the gamut to Alfa Romeo and GAC Motor. His strategic vision and change-sensitive ability in dealing with the demands of the market have ensured that Gargash Motors maintains its continued dominance in the marketplace of luxury car sales.

While Gargash Motors is probably the most prominent of all, Samir Gargash has business ventures spread over healthcare, real estate, and investments, among others, which have been successful under his leadership. Among the most celebrated ventures by the group is the Gargash Hospital, which is a multi-specialty health facility in Dubai that sets the healthcare standard in the emirate. Equipped with high-quality, well-trained medical teams and state-of-the-art technology, the hospital operates highly specialized departments in cases of obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, cardiology, and general surgery. His approach to quality healthcare endorses him as a contributor to the well-being of citizens and residents in the UAE.

Samir Gargash has led the investments sector also. Its financial group arm, Daman Investments, is the largest investment management company in this region. Daman Investments provides wide investment solutions to high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors in the UAE and more. It is a proof of the great depth and breadth of Samir Gargash’s capabilities in identifying lucrative opportunities and managing complex financial portfolios. Samir Gargash does not have ambitions inside the UAE. His influence stretches too many parts of Europe and the Middle East, where he leads a chain of other businesses. Gargash, with his foresight for growth and expansion, seized opportunities for emerging markets for which the Gargash Group now stands competitive globally.

Samir Gargash further brought international knowledge and innovation through strategic partnerships and collaborations, thereby further promoting the group’s ability to offer world-class products and services. For example, through his forays into Europe, he shows concern for a much more robust global agenda for the group, yet always true to the core values that have driven the success of this group in the UAE. What makes Samir Mohammed Gargash a business leader is his visionary approach with which he welcomes the changing market outlook. His leadership has been characterized through prudence and risk-taking while keeping an eye on excellence.

Whether it is the automobile industry, health care, or investments, Gargash’s companies have always exceeded expectations regarding quality and service delivery. His philanthropic activities also earn Samir Gargash accolades. Like most successful Emirati business owners, he believes in giving back to society and supporting various charitable causes while contributing to the socio-economic development of the UAE.

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Obaid Humaid Al Tayer: Leading the Al Tayer Group and Shaping the UAE’s Financial Future

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Obaid Humaid Al Tayer is a name that is identified not only with the successes of business and government in the UAE but also with leadership and innovative orientation. As the head of the esteemed Al Tayer Group and as Minister of State for Financial Affairs, the stake that Al Tayer holds cuts across fields and service in the public sector. Again, his career trajectory reveals more of the entrepreneurial spirit of the UAE, while depicting the crucial role of dynamic leadership in the country’s economic development.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer has immensely contributed to the growth and development of the conglomerate Al Tayer Group. His group was founded more than four decades ago, and he has hugely led the group successfully through different sectors-automotive, luxury retail, real estate, and engineering. One of the key ventures of the group is the Al Tayer Motors group, which distributes many leading luxury cars in Dubai. Which can display the most expensive car ranges, the showroom includes Ferrari, Jaguar, and Maserati brands. Al Tayer’s success in the management of these diversified businesses epitomizes his creative vision and strong management capabilities.

Public Sector Contributions: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer’s contributions to the UAE’s public sector are no less valuable either. Since 2008, Al Tayer has been the UAE minister of state for financial affairs, making the country set up proper policies and strategies concerning its financial needs. His function is vital in deciding the economic nature of the UAE, especially with how it holds fiscal policy, taxes, and monetary regulation. Al Tayer’s balanced approach in finance will keep the United Arab Emirates competitive yet responsive to national development objectives. Among these, notable ones are his decade-long tenure as Chairman of Etisalat, a leading regional telecoms company, and the impact of his management at Etisalat in demonstrating the strength of his influence both in the public and private sectors.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer’s entrepreneurial ventures go well along with the governmental responsibilities. The dual role allows him to leverage business acumen in advocating for policies that will eventually serve as the foundation toward the economic vision that the UAE is taking. He is credited by the business and political elite for ensuring fiscal sustainability, digital transformation, and innovation for the UAE. The strategic engagement of Al Tayer into the business and government sectors speaks to the salience of private-public partnerships in driving national growth. He connected two worlds, strengthening the UAE’s reputation as a global business hub while at the same time ensuring that there would always be economic policy in place.

Well, whether he is a businessman or a public servant, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer no doubt is a treasure of the UAE. Whether it is to expand the reaches of Al Tayer Group further into great success or to propagate financial policies for shaping the future of UAE, Al Tayer would remain at the heart of a progressive nation with continued growth. His entrepreneurial and public leadership, laced with integrity and innovation, would be a benchmark for the coming generations of entrepreneurs and policymakers.

The significance of this journey assumes importance given the visionary leadership that he has displayed both in the private and public sectors. Thus, he is always going to be a part of the continuous evolution of the UAE as a global economic powerhouse. Under the strategic leadership that he has been displaying, both within and outside government, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer is always a source of success, propelling growth, and fueling innovation in the UAE.

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