New Dubai Holding chief appointed
Dubai Holding, the investment conglomerate owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has appointed Amit Kaushal as its new chief executive, replacing Edris Alrafi who had held the position since last April.
Mr Kaushal was previously chief financial officer at Dubai Holding. He was also senior vice president of funding and treasury management at real estate developer Meraas Holding, and, before that had worked for Goldman Sachs Group, UBS Group and Deutsche Bank in London and Dubai.
“We confirm that Edris Alrafi has stepped down from his position as CEO of Dubai Holding and will be succeeded by Dubai Holding’s CFO Amit Kaushal who has been with the company since April 2017,” a spokesperson from Dubai Holding said yesterday.
No reason was giVen for the departure.
Mr Alrafi was previously chief commercial officer at Meraas and joined Dubai Holding – wHose investments include real estate Dubai Properties developer, free zone operator Tecom and hotel operator Jumeirah – as it created a new organisational structure at the start of 2017.
“Dubai Holding is in a significant phase of its corporate evolution as it addresses legacy liabilities and reshapes its business model to drive further growth,” said Dubai Holding chairman Abdulla Al Habbai last March.
“Dubai Holding will continue to operate as a standalone entity and there are no plans to merge it with any other company. The new model is intended to achieve a stronger balance sheet and greater financial capacity for the group at large.”
Mr Kaushal’s appointment as Dubai Holding’s new chief executive coincides with the resignation of Dubai Properties’ CEO Abdulla Lahej, who will be replaced by Raed Al Nuaimi, who previously headed North25, an entity created last year to manage multibillion-dollar projects for both Dubai Holding and Meraas Holding.
“We would like to thank both Edris and Abdulla for their contribution to Dubai Holding’s success and growing performance,” Dubai Holding said.