Management
Our management team offers unparalleled experience and expertise across industries and geographies where we operate.
Ahmed Galal Ismail
Chief Executive Officer
Ahmed Galal Ismail is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Majid Al Futtaim - Holding, the...
Ahmed Galal Ismail is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Majid Al Futtaim - Holding, the leading shopping mall, retail, and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia with assets in excess of USD 19 billion and 43,000 employees.
Mr. Ismail has been a long-standing leader at Majid Al Futtaim, having held several executive positions across the company’s portfolio of businesses during his 18-year tenure, and has played an instrumental role in the growth and development of the Group.
Most recently, Mr. Ismail served as the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Properties, from 2018 to early 2023 leading the company’s portfolio of shopping malls, hotels, and mixed-use communities across the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, and Lebanon. Prior to assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Properties, Mr. Ismail led Majid Al Futtaim - Ventures, overseeing seven business verticals including Leisure and Entertainment, Cinemas, Lifestyle, Facilities Management, and Consumer Finance. He joined Majid Al Futtaim in 2007 as the Group's VP of Strategy.
Mr. Ismail started his career with Procter & Gamble in Egypt and Germany, before joining Booz Allen Hamilton where he was named Principal, advising organisations in the retail, media, tourism, and transportation sectors.
Mr. Ismail serves on the Board of the Arab Investment Bank and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and the CEO Alliance for Climate Change, in addition to being a Trustee of the American University in Cairo.
Mr. Ismail holds an MBA with distinction from London Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the American University in Cairo.
Ziad Chalhoub
Chief Financial Officer
Ziad Chalhoub is the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Majid Al Futtaim - Holding. In his role,...
Ziad Chalhoub is the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Majid Al Futtaim - Holding. In his role, Mr. Chalhoub is responsible for the financial health and control of the organisation, overseeing all financial activities, including financial risk management, financial planning, financial reporting, and analysis of data in support of delivering against the company's strategic objectives. In addition, Mr. Chalhoub is responsible for the Group's sustainability strategy, ensuring the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles across the business. Mr. Chalhoub plays a key role in advancing the company's sustainability agenda, driving initiatives that align with its long-term vision for responsible growth and impact.
Prior to joining Majid Al Futtaim, Mr. Chalhoub spent 20 years at IBM, 14 of which were as a finance leader in New York. In 2011, Mr. Chalhoub served as Chief Financial Officer for IBM's Central and Eastern Europe-based businesses and in 2013 was appointed Chief Financial Officer for IBM's Middle East and Africa interests. Mr. Chalhoub has also served as Chief Financial Officer for IBM's Global Technology Services (GTS) business.
Mr. Chalhoub holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the University of Rochester, New York, USA and a Bachelor's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, USA.
Viviana Alberu
Chief Human Capital Officer
Viviana Alberu was appointed Chief Human Capital Officer for Majid Al Futtaim - Holding in January 2023, with responsibility...
Viviana Alberu was appointed Chief Human Capital Officer for Majid Al Futtaim - Holding in January 2023, with responsibility for the development and implementation of strategies that drive business growth and improve organisational performance through our 43,000 employees. Bringing Majid Al Futtaim's 'People First' ethos to life includes identifying opportunities for process improvements, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and trust and leveraging technology to enhance the employee experience.
She joined the company in 2015 to lead the Transformation Office but quickly stepped into the role of Head of Human Capital for Majid Al Futtaim - Properties, which she held for seven years.
Originally from Mexico, she holds an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Her previous experience includes roles at McKinsey, Empresas Polar, one of Venezuela’s biggest food and beverage manufacturers and CANTV, the telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela.
Elham Al Qasim
Chief Strategy & Technology Officer
Elham Al Qasim is the Chief Strategy & Technology Officer for Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, responsible for developing...
Elham Al Qasim is the Chief Strategy & Technology Officer for Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, responsible for developing our long-term strategy and operating model with a focus on driving sustainable value creation and growth. Her team operates as the strategic advisory function, setting the Group’s strategic direction, identifying key value levers, and overseeing the portfolio toward the aspired full potential. In this capacity, she also oversees Corporate Development, evaluating growth moves and strategic partnerships.
She also stewards the Technology, Data, and AI strategy roadmap to support company-wide digital aspirations to pivot existing businesses or enter new Tech/D&AI-enabled sectors.
Before joining Majid Al Futtaim, Elham spent 12 years in Abu Dhabi working with Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and Digital14 amongst others. Prior to that, she was based in the UK, where she started her career in Investment Banking at JPMorgan.
Elham holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the American University in Dubai and a Master's degree from the School of Social Policy at The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Hassan Basil Hassan
Chief Legal Officer
Hassan Basil Hassan is the Chief Legal Officer for Majid Al Futtaim - Holding. He is responsible for managing all legal,...
Hassan Basil Hassan is the Chief Legal Officer for Majid Al Futtaim - Holding. He is responsible for managing all legal, compliance, and regulatory affairs of the company, providing counsel on matters of strategy, M&A, joint ventures, partnerships and alliances.
Prior to joining Majid Al Futtaim, Hassan served as the General Counsel – Australia, Asia-Pacific, India, Middle East, and Africa for Mars, Inc.; the Associate General Counsel, Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Turkey, Russia, and CIS for GE Healthcare; and the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at Dubai Holdings’ Dubai Science Park.
Charles Awad
Chief Brand Officer
Charles Awad is the Chief Brand Officer at Majid Al Futtaim – Holding. He works closely with the Group’s different operating...
Charles Awad is the Chief Brand Officer at Majid Al Futtaim – Holding. He works closely with the Group’s different operating companies to shape the overarching brand agenda and drive customer lifetime value. Charles leads brand-building efforts across strategy, communications, innovation, loyalty, customer engagement, and experience, while overseeing marketing investment strategies. He also manages the Majid Al Futtaim corporate brand, leading group-wide media initiatives and company-wide marketing partnerships.
Charles has over 25 years’ experience in building and growing profitable B2C and B2B brands, and has held leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Estee Lauder and Allergan. He has a proven track record of leading marketing, R&D, and commercial teams to drive game-changing, customer-centric strategies and disruptive innovation.
Before joining Majid Al Futtaim, Charles was the Growth Strategy Adviser for Allergan in Zurich, where he developed strategies to triple the medical aesthetics business by 2025. Prior to that, as Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer for Oettinger Davidoff AG, he doubled the global Davidoff net sales and profit in five years through brand repositioning and breakthrough marketing strategies.
He also spent 17 years with Procter & Gamble in senior roles in the Middle East and Europe, driving strategy development, portfolio growth, and brand turnarounds in the FMCG business.
Charles holds an MBA from INSEAD, as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.
Peter Davison
Company Secretary
Peter Davison is the Company Secretary of Majid Al Futtaim - Holding. He is responsible for managing the systems and processes...
Peter Davison is the Company Secretary of Majid Al Futtaim - Holding. He is responsible for managing the systems and processes that uphold the Group’s corporate governance standards.
Peter brings over 30 years of legal and secretarial experience across Europe, the United States, the Middle East and North Africa region, and the Far East. Most recently he served as Company Secretary, Group General Counsel and Head of Compliance at Arriva, adding to the 17 years he was with British American Tobacco where he held roles including Assistant Group General Counsel, Regional General Counsel Europe, and Head of Commercial Legal.
Peter is admitted as a solicitor in the UK and Hong Kong, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Durham University, England, and has completed the Law Society’s Final Examination (LSF) and Common Professional Examination/Graduate Diploma in Law (CPE/GDL) from Northumbria University, Newcastle, England.
Ahmed El Shamy
Chief Executive Officer - Properties
Ahmed El Shamy was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Properties in January 2023. In his previous...
Ahmed El Shamy was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Properties in January 2023.
In his previous role as the Chief Financial Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Properties, Ahmed was responsible for the evolution of the finance function and oversaw the financial health, risk, and compliance practices. He helped deliver on business targets despite challenging market conditions, mitigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully executed programmes such as War on Waste and the C1500 plan.
Prior to joining Majid Al Futtaim, Ahmed was Partner and Group CFO of Qalaa Holdings, one of the Arab world's largest private equity firms. He has also worked with Procter & Gamble, Citadel Capital, and Al Ahram Beverages and Orascom Development Holding.
Dr. Günther Helm
Chief Executive Officer - Retail
Dr. Günther Helm is the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, tasked with delivering the company’s growth...
Dr. Günther Helm is the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Retail, tasked with delivering the company’s growth aspirations for its grocery retail business. This includes the expansion of its discount retail operations, identifying new opportunities for growth, strengthening and expanding its private brand offering, accelerating its omnichannel prowess, and investing in development areas that support the long-term sustainable growth of the business.
Günther brings more than two decades of retail sector experience, underpinned by a consistent drive to innovate and evolve both customer and employee experiences across the organisations he has led. He has led large-scale revitalisation programmes that have fostered industry-first innovations, created high-performance cultures, and transformed mature organisations to become more efficient and customer-focused.
Prior to his stint as the CEO of Cenomi Retail in Saudi Arabia, Günther was the CEO of Müller Holding, Germany’s largest multicategory retailer, where he oversaw operations in 850 stores across 7 countries and led a workforce of more than 35,000 colleagues. Under his leadership, Müller Holding underwent a transformation journey resulting in a notable increase in revenues exceeding EUR 5 billion and doubling EBIT within two years. He has also held leadership positions in Hofer KG and ALDI South for 16 years, including the CEO of ALDI South Group.
Günther is a recipient of a Grand Golden Cross of Merit of the Republic of Austria for Sustainability and was deputy chairman of the supervisory board of the Austrian state-owned investment portfolio company, ÖBAG.
Günther holds both a Doctorate and a degree in Law from the Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria.
Ignace Lahoud
Chief Executive Officer - Entertainment
Ignace Lahoud is the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Entertainment. In his role, he leads the company's Entertainment...
Ignace Lahoud is the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim - Entertainment. In his role, he leads the company's Entertainment business in line with Majid Al Futtaim's long-term strategic direction and growth agenda.
Ignace has 30 years of experience, having spent most of his career leading transformational changes across three continents and multi-billion-dollar businesses within the Walt Disney Company. He joined Majid Al Futtaim from Valence Media/MRC Entertainment, a Beverly Hills-based privately owned company that produces quality content for both TV and film, in addition to live events, where he was Chief Financial Officer. In this role, he was responsible for the integration of the functional areas across all brands, optimising capital structure, and developing the framework for long-term strategic plans. Prior to that, he enjoyed a very successful 26-year career with the Walt Disney Company where he held several senior roles.
He holds an MBA from the Madrid Business School and the University of Houston and a B.Sc. from the American University of Beirut.
Fahed Ghanim
Chief Executive Officer - Lifestyle
Fahed Ghanim is the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Lifestyle. In his role, Fahed manages world-renowned brands...
Fahed Ghanim is the Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Lifestyle. In his role, Fahed manages world-renowned brands across Home, Fashion, Specialty Retail, and Multiband Concepts covering retail stores across the GCC, while developing expansion strategies for high-growth markets and new concepts. He joined Majid Al Futtaim - Fashion in February 2018 as Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to joining Majid Al Futtaim, Fahed was the General Manager Retail for L’azurde PLC, a Saudi-based jewellery company. This was the third business turnaround for Fahed after Bvlgari.
His journey in the real estate industry included the management of various high-profile projects, such as negotiations on a partnership deal with The Trump Organization for a $1.5 billion development.
Fahed has led acquisitions, successful IPOs, business transformation, new brand launches, development, and the growth of globally acclaimed fashion, home and jewellery brands including Bvlgari, Boucheron, Pomellato, Gucci, Harvey Nichols Dubai, L’azurde, LEGO, and lululemon to name a few.
Fahed is a board member of multiple organisations and holds an MBA degree with distinction from ESCP Europe Business School.
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