Ahmed Galal Ismail’s Post

Eid Mubarak to you and your loved ones. May this Eid bring everyone peace and serenity. كل عام وأنتم بخير و أعاده الله عليكم باليمن والبركات

Our 2023 Sustainability Report sets out the progress made on our sustainability journey. I’m particularly proud that we achieved 92% of Company-wide sustainability targets in 2023. A key highlight being the 24% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions across the Company compared to the 2019 baseline. Our focus on sustainable finance continued with the issue of our third Green sukuk, valued at $500 million, bringing our total sustainable finance instruments to date to $4.95 billion. I’m equally proud of reaching 26% women MAFers in senior management and recruiting almost 2,000 UAE Nationals as part of our commitment to the NAFIS program. Importantly, the report also highlights the notable progress made in 2023 towards securing the region’s long-term prosperity, demonstrating our resoluteness in delivering value-accretive, profitable, and sustainable growth. Download the full report below.

Congratulations to our Properties team on last night’s launch of Ghaf Woods, our latest real estate development. Having brought snow to Dubai with Ski Dubai, then tropical lagoons at Tilal Al Ghaf, we’re now thrilled to be creating the city’s first forest community. Ghaf Woods will cover an area of 738,000 square meters bringing together world-class design and architecture in a unique natural environment. The launch of this community is truly a proud milestone in our re-founding journey.

Yesterday we hosted our very first AI Symposium, with panels, presentations and demos to a packed house of MAFers at our Leadership Institute. The UAE is uniquely placed to be at the forefront of AI innovation and adoption. Not only is it rich in the energy and capital needed to fully leverage opportunities but we also benefit from astute leadership committed to ensuring the country has what it takes to become an AI power. It is clear that for Majid Al Futtaim to unlock the potential that AI presents, we must collectively focus on the full spectrum of these opportunities - that means an approach to AI that not only realises transformative productivity gains across our organisation but also invests in AI that enhances the creativity and ingenuity with which we develop the MAF of tomorrow. The astonishing pace at which AI is advancing means that this is a hugely exciting time to be an early adopter but it also presents challenges for organisations' wanting to embrace Responsible AI, as global regulation plays catch-up with developments. At Majid Al Futtaim, we’re deeply committed to the same ethical use of intellectual and digital assets as our ‘real-world’ assets. Collaboration and guidance from expert partners is also key, which this event certainly highlighted. Many thanks to Microsoft, IBM, Gartner and Builder.ai for helping to make this insightful event such a success. I look forward to sharing some of the exciting AI initiatives from across our business very soon.

What a night for Arab football with Al Ain crowned in Asia and Al Ahly crowned in Africa مبروك لكل العرب

البقاء لله و إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

Reflecting on a thought-provoking 2 days at World Economic Forum’s #SpecialMeeting24 this week, AI and the need to nurture the region’s burgeoning cognitive revolution was, unsurprisingly, a key theme. As part of the Economic Perspectives in MENA panel, I was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss this topic, whilst also deep-diving into the region’s economic prospects. Any discussion on this subject must acknowledge that MENA is a two-speed economy. To put this into perspective, if Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt were a trading bloc they would be the fastest growing economic bloc in the world, and yet GDP across MENA as a whole is still well below its potential. It is clear that economic integration is fundamental to replicating the success of the ‘Big Three’ across the wider region and unlocking the 1 trillion dollars of potential GDP growth.

This week has demonstrated the incredible resilience and resourcefulness of our communities in the face of huge challenges. As the weather stabilises and our own operations normalise I must recognise the hundreds of MAFers across the UAE and Oman who came together in these incredibly challenging circumstances to ensure the safety and comfort of our customers, tenants, colleagues and the communities we serve.   My heartfelt thanks to the frontliners, management, security and operations teams across our Properties, Entertaiment, Lifestyle and Retail businesses who went above and beyond to ensure any impact from the weather was managed quickly, safely and efficiently. From caring for those seeking shelter in our malls and cinemas overnight to delivering supplies from Carrefour to local communities in need and of course supporting our tenants in getting our malls back to full operations, I have never been prouder to be a MAFer.