Alain Bejjani, the chief executive of Majid Al Futtaim Holding for eight years, has been replaced in what is seen as the biggest shake-up in the organisation since the death of founder Majid Al Futtaim just over a year ago.
The region’s leading developers and owners of shopping malls, communities and retail and leisure business, Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) posted a short statement on their website late Friday announcing that Ahmed Galal Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Properties, is taking over from Beijani with immediate effect.
Bejjani has been a part of MAF’s senior management team since October 2006, and was named as CEO of the entire firm in February 2015 after holding multiple of roles in the company.
The reasons behind the sudden change were not immediately clear and the company did not respond to queries sent by Bloomberg.
In his previous roles with the company, Ismail has been responsible for Majid Al Futtaim’s malls, hotels, communities and project management operations since 2018. He previously served as CEO of Majid Al Futtaim – Ventures and Vice-President Strategy of Majid Al Futtaim – Holding.
Ismail commented: “I am committed to building on our strong, customer-focused strategy that has allowed us to deliver sustained growth. Our prudent financial discipline and strong governance mean that we are well-positioned to remain focused on sustainable value creation and creating great moments for everyone, everyday.”
As Dubai’s economy started returning towards normal from the pandemic-related issues, Majid Al Futtaim reported revenue of AED18 billion ($4.9 billion), an increase of 15 percent year on year in the first half of 2022, EBITDA rose 18 percent to AED1.9 billion ($0.52 billion). The group has total assets valued at around AED62.9 billion ($17.13 billion) as against current det of AED11.2 billion ($3.05 billion).
The importance of the Group to Dubai’s overall business system can be gauged by the fact that following the death of founder Majid Al Futtaim, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and Vice-President of the UAE, appointed a special judicial committee to oversee any potential succession disputes. Financial Times had said at the time that “it was a relatively rare occurrence reserved for high-profile cases”.
MAF owns and operates 29 shopping malls and 13 hotels across the Middle East, and more than 400 Carrefour hypermarkets and supermarkets, apart from VOX Cinema and leisure companies like SkiDubai and SkiEgypt.
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