Man on a mission

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Rashid Abdul Wahab Galadari, chairman, GIO.

At just 32-years-old Rashid Galadari is head of a multi-million dollar real estate empire with plans to bring new levels of luxury to the region's property market. Diana Milne meets Galadari and finds out what makes him tick.

I was hoping that my job was going to be like a politician and I was just going to be photographed kissing babies in public," says Rashid Galadari, whose job at the helm of the Galvest holding group, parent company of Galadari Investment Office hasn't quite turned out like that.

As the son of the late Abdul Wahab head of the multimillion dollar Galadari Group, the 32-year-old had a tough act to follow.

"Sometimes it does get to you a bit. I won't lie," says Galadari.

"It's not just because of the family background but it's the fact that it was my choice to say I'm going to take the lead. I'm going to be the chairman of the company."

Rashid made the decision to set up his own branch of the family business after graduating from university.

And so far the bargain has paid off. Today GIO, which was set up in 2005 at the same time as Galvest, boasts a vast portfolio of luxury properties and he reveals, it could be considering becoming the latest Arab company to launch an IPO.

"We've discussed it. The company is still young, it's still small. Hopefully I think at one stage we would probably look at it. It's not something that is completely not in our heads," he says adding that this probably would not happen in the next 12 months.

It has been a busy few months for Galadari following the launch last month of GIO Emporium - two towers, one commercial the other residential within the City of Arabia development.

Celebrated French designer Philippe Starck has designed the interiors for the residential G Tower while his interior design firm yoo@work designed the interiors of the G Office development.

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