THE BUSINESS CHIEF INTERVIEW

With more than two decades of experience holding senior positions across the UAE ’ s private and public sector , Adel previously served as Executive Director in the UAE Prime Minister ’ s Office before moving into management consulting .

An expert on large-scale transformations , Adel is passionate about solving problems for his clients .

He is passionate too about fostering future Emirati talent , both leading Oliver Wyman ’ s Consultant Development Programme in the UAE and sitting on the board of non-profit organisation Injaz .

And when he ’ s not working with clients or young talent , Adel can be found writing ( he is co-authoring a book on The New Silk Road ) or practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu .

Adel , give us an overview of your impressive career to date , what have been the highlights ? During my time at the Prime Minister ’ s Office and since moving into consulting , I ’ ve worked closely with the country ’ s leadership to translate visions into reality – these moments will forever be a highlight for me .

Working both in the private and public sectors throughout my career , it ’ s been great to see partnerships and synergies really working . For instance , I was a key team member on two mergers of the largest banks in the UAE . Seeing these coming together to create financial powerhouses made me fall in love with transformation .

Many people get excited about M & A , the deal side , but I get particularly excited dealing with the aftermath . For me it ’ s about the ambitions , the scale , realising the synergies , and it ’ s also about the details , and getting the most out of the integration .

Experiences like this also mean that , in my current role at management consultancy Oliver Wyman , I really understand what the clients are going through .

How important is sustainability when it comes to transformation ? Should it drive every decision ? There are a few things that absolutely cannot be put aside when it comes to crafting strategic plans , and sustainability is one of them . It doesn ’ t matter if you ’ re in manufacturing , a service provider , or an investment company , ESG must be core to any decision-making .

The nature of a transformation is changing things , and this gives you a chance to insert things that weren ’ t there before , or to highlight things that weren ’ t properly highlighted . ESG policies can be one of those things .

Also , sustainability as an objective can be driven through digital transformations . Digital maturity improves efficiencies , helps reduce waste , enhances productivity , and supports better decision making . In short , sustainability

14 September 2023