Board of Trustees

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq

UAE Minister of Economy

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri was appointed Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the new government structure approved in July 2020.

Prior to his appointment, H.E. Al Marri held important positions in the government as a senior, top-ranking official. He was the Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet since 2017, during which he was instrumental in strengthening the interdependence between the federal and local governments. In this role, he also spearheaded many initiatives to get the pulse of the people and know their sentiments, as well as build the UAE’s long-lasting relations with international organizations such as the World Economic Forum.

H.E. is also the former Director General of the Executive Office of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was part of the high-profile team that was behind the launch of ‘Area 2071,’ the nucleus of the future envisioned in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071. Furthermore, the UAE Minister of Economy, in his previous post, took part in the unveiling of the Hatta Economic Zone development project and the relaunching of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

In addition, he was the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, enabling him to play a vital role in the successful launch of Dubai 10X and other initiatives of national importance. The Dubai 10X initiative, in particular, aims to strengthen the emirate’s bid to become the city of the future.

H.E. Al Marri is a member of the Boards of Directors of different federal entities. His memberships allow him to actively support the development of priority sectors in the country such as the Golden Visa initiative, which seeks to attract talented individuals from across the world.

The UAE Minister of Economy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK. Also, he is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program and Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development.

H.E. Eng. Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Al-Shehhi

Undersecretary for Economic Affairs
Ministry of Economy

Engineer Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Al-Shehhi is Undersecretary for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates.
Since assuming the role in 2006, Al-Shehhi has played a major role in enhancing economic relations with other countries through heading joint economic committees and marking an active participation in global meetings, forums and visits.
Al-Shehhi has also contributed to strengthening the intellectual property landscape in the UAE and developing a registration framework for patents. To his credit, he played a vital role in establishing and developing the International Patents Centre at the ministry, the first of its kind in the UAE.
Currently, he is mandated to develop regulatory economic policies that reflect the UAE’s focus on economic diversification. In his capacity as Vice Chairman of the Higher Committee for Consumer Protection, he directly supervises the Consumer Protection Department in the Ministry of Economy. In parallel, he continues to lead the digitization efforts of the Ministry to ensure the delivery of advanced electronic services to internal as well as external stakeholders. Among the early success that he achieved in this area includes an electronic commodities monitoring system that was subsequently adopted in the GCC countries after proving its effectiveness in the UAE.
In addition to his role at the Ministry of Economy, Eng. Mohammed Ahmed Al-Shehhi is a board member of the Emirates Standardization and Metrology Authority. He also heads the Internal Audit Committee and Trade Marks Committee.
Previously, Al-Shehhi held senior executive roles at Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) across an eventful career that spanned 17 years.
Al-Shehhi holds an executive master’s degree in Business Management from the American University of Sharjah. He has also earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida in Florida, United States.

H.E. Eng. Hamad Buamim

PRESIDENT & CEO
DUBAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Holding his current position since 2006, Hamad Buamim is the President & CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He is also the Chairman of the Paris-based World Chambers Federation - International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Buamim serves as a Board Member of Dubai World, Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and acts as Chairman of National General Insurance PJSC.
Previously, Buamim served as Chairman of Emirates Financial Services, Emirates NBD Capital and Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance as well as a Board Member of the UAE Central Bank, Emirates NBD and Network International.
Educated in the USA, Buamim holds MBA with honor in Finance from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He also obtained a Bachelor of Science with Magna Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

H.E. AHMAD ABDULKARIM JULFAR

Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai

Mr. Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar has 30 years of experience with Etisalat Group in the UAE, during which time he held various positions, the most recent being Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ahmad has held other senior positions, such as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Thuraya Group and Etisalat Services Holding and Deputy Chair of the GSM Association. Mr. Ahmad has a number of achievements to his name, having been awarded Telecom Leader of the Year in 2014 by the Mobile World Congress and CEO of the Year – Telecom 2013. He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and Computer Science from Gonzaga University and is a graduate of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development. Currently, Mr. Ahmad is the Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai

H.E. Salama Al Ameemi

Director General of Ma’an Authority for Social Contribution

• A fully dedicated and passionate professional, Salama’s focus revolves around the development and implementation of highly efficient and sustainable innovative solutions which translate the vision of the UAE Leaders into tangible and measurable outcomes.
• Salama brings years of leadership in executive functions achieving and sustaining excellence in delivery through her strategic, operational financial and business development acumen, fostering empowerment and motivation in others and building highly successful teams. Whilst continuously seeking personal and professional development opportunities, she was consistently successfully leading and delivering against expectations in highly challenging, evolving and dynamic environments.
• With more than 20 years of hands-on strategic and operational experience, Salama has successfully managed many high-stakes transformational projects, which included but not were not limited to projects with the Abu Dhabi Center of Government, the health sector, the education sector and other sectors. Not only has she acquired in depth exposure to central-government wide level programs but has also successfully lead large cross functional teams including SMEs and consultants from recognized international strategic consulting firms, in addition to working with inspirational leaders and international coaches who helped shape her leadership skills.
• With a diversified industry understanding, Salama’s functional skills and competencies cover the areas of corporate governance, strategy formulation and planning, public policy planning and development, performance management, change management, human capital management, organization development, organizational excellence, business process improvement and customer excellence.
• Prior to being appointed as the Director General of Ma’an Authority for Social Contribution, she actually lead the establishment of Ma’an which included the development of the institutional set-up and strategic plan for the Social Engagement and Contribution platform and ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, in addition to the launch of the Social Incubation and Outcome Based Contracting agenda and the creation of the Social Enterprises in Abu Dhabi.
• Prior to joining Ma’an, she assumed different Executive Directorship positions in the General Secretariat of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council in Support Services, the Department of Education and Knowledge in Organizational Excellence and Support Services and lastly in the Department of Community Development as the Executive Director of Strategic Affairs. Her role in the Department of Community Development included but was not limited to the provision of strategic advisory and operational support to the leadership in the areas of Strategy, Institutional Set up and Capability Building and Excellence of as well as spearheading and co-leading several strategic initiatives including but not limited to the development of: the Social Sector agenda, the institutional set up and strategic plan of the Department, the Abu Dhabi Emirate People of Determination integrated strategy, the Abu Dhabi Emirate Early childhood Development integrated strategy, the blueprint for the restructuring of the Community Development Sector in addition to the regulatory and legislative framework for the Third Sector .
• Salama holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Zayed University and was awarded the HRH Sheikh Rashid Award for Academic Excellence . She was nominated and selected for the Leadership Program Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the UK and the Leadership Program of the London School of Government.

H.E. Nasser Ismail

Assistant Undersecretary for Social Welfare

Excellency Nasser Ismail holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance & Banking from the University of Dubai, and a graduate of the UAE Leaders Government Programme-Executive Leadership Programme. Excellency Nasser Ismail worked for more than (15) years as: Head of Statistics Analysis Division in Future Foresight & Decision Making Support Center at Dubai Police, Senior Project Manager of Research & Studies in Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program, Head of Government Services Performance Division and Director of Government Services Program in the Prime Minister’s Office, A Certified Evaluator and Assessor in Dubai Government Excellence Program, and Member of Supreme Assessment Committee-Abu Dhabi Award For Excellence in Government Performance.
Excellency Nasser Ismail also a member of a several committees and councils such as: National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, Board of Trustees-National Fund of Community Responsibility for Corporates & Enterprises, Higher Committee to Oversee UAE Mutual Evaluation Process to Measure its Compliance with International Standards to Counter Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, National Committee to Counter Money Laundering, Combating Financing Terrorism & Illicit Organizations, Higher Committee for UAE Registration Census 2020, Executive Committee for Education Council, Board of Directors-Emirates Foundation for School Education, and Zayed University Board member.

H.E. Humaid Bin Butti ALMuhiri

Assistant Under Secretary for Companies & Consumer Protection

Graduated from United Arab Emirates University - Major in Economics in 1986. Received a certificate of appreciation and honor from HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid for the annual performance results for 2013 and 2014.

Functional tasks

• Assistant Undersecretary for Commercial Affairs, Ministry of Economy 2008- present
• Director of the Ministry of Economy office, Dubai – 2008
• Economic Researcher, Ministry of Economy -1993
• Social Supervisor, Ministry of Education -1986-1993

Memberships and Committees

Current Memberships

• Member of the Board of Directors of Securities & Commodities Authority
• Member of the Board of Insurance Authority

Former Memberships

• Former member of the Board of Credit Information Council
• Former member of the Board of Emirates Transport
• Former member of the Board of Oman & Emirates Investment Holding

Committees

External Committee

• Member of the Financial Regulation Committee, Ministry of Finance

Internal Committees

• Vice-Chairman of the Competition Regulatory Commission
• Vice Chairman of the Commercial Agencies Committee
• Rapporteur of the Committee for Coordination and Economic Cooperation
• Vice Chairman of the Competition Committee
• Member of the Higher Committee for Innovation
• Member of the Policy and Strategy Council of the Ministry
• Member of the Executive Affairs Council at the Ministry
• Member of the committees of excellence in accordance with the fourth generation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid program
• Chairman of Services Development Committee
• Member of the Board of Trustees (CSR Fund)

Ayman Farouk Heikal

Legal Advisor at the Securities and Commodities Authority

Ayman Farouk Heikal is the Legal Advisor at the Securities and Commodities Authority and has been in this position since 2008. In 2017, he appointed as Legal Advisor to His Excellency the Minister of Economy in addition to his position with the Securities and Commodities Authority. Between 1996 and 2008 he was the Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Economy and prior to that, he was a legal adviser at the Arab Investment Bank.
Ayman Heikal participates as a member of legislative committees, involving Securities and Commodities Authority and Ministry of Economy created for preparing various draft legislations, including Insurance Regulatory Authority Law, Foreign Direct Investment Law, Arbitration Law, the Law Regulating Auditors’ Profession and many other Laws, regulations and resolutions.
Legal Advisor Ayman Heikal took the leadership of the legal team for the preparation of the commercial companies Law issued for 2015 and its amendments.
Legal Advisor contributed in providing many programs and lectures to the shareholders of public shareholding companies and members of their boards of directors and the financial market.
Legal Advisor Ayman Heikal holds a Bachelor of Laws from Ain Shams University, Cairo and a Master and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Trade Law (International Trade Contracts, Commercial Arbitration, and Banking Operations) from the same University.
In addition, He has legal research in the field of banking, corporate default and commercial cover-up.