Hesham Al Qassim
CEO, wasl Asset Management
Dubai’s real estate sector is booming. In 2021, Dhs151.07bn worth of properties were sold, the highest value of real estate sales transactions in 12 years. Overall, its real estate market witnessed transactions worth Dhs300bn last year. As CEO of wasl Asset Management, whose real estate division manages over 47,000 residential and commercial properties in Dubai, he’s a central figure to the city’s property market. Beyond it, Al Qassim is key to the city’s economic planning as well by way of him being the vice chairman and managing director of Emirates NBD, chairman of the Emirates Islamic Bank, and on the boards of DIFC Investments as well as e& (formerly Etisalat), among others.