Smartworld, an Etisalat and Dubai World Central joint venture company, has announced the appointment of former government IT advisor Saeed Al Dhaheri its new chairman.
Al Dhaheri, a former IT advisor to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also former director general of Emirates Identity Authority, said UAE’s Smart Cities initiatives have “opened a sea of opportunities”.
Dubai joins a growing global Smart City movement, with Frost & Sullivan estimating a global smart city market potential of $3.3 trillion by 2025.
Al Dhaheri said: “I feel honoured to lead Smartworld particularly in wake of an array of new opportunities arising in the UAE. We are fortunate to have a visionary leader in His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, whose vision of making Dubai the smartest city in the world has opened wide range of opportunities for growth across all sectors, particularly the Information & Communication Technology sector.
“Along with focusing on strategic expansion across the UAE and GCC region, my goal is to lead Smartworld to contribute toward achieving this great vision.”
A PhD in Bio-Engineering, Al Dhaheri was the first Emirati to be selected in International Space Programme in the US, which was sponsored by NASA in 1988.
He said: “The UAE provides a global platform to companies and we have many large IT companies operating here, in a healthy competitive environment, which our visionary leadership has always encouraged.
“If we look specifically at developing smart cities, no single vendor can deliver total solutions. I believe the best approach to tackle this huge transformational programme is through phased approach and public private partnerships; in this regard will go a long way to ensuring success and each one has the opportunity to contribute their expertise.”
Established in 2008, Smartworld said it works closely with government entities, telecommunication operators, SMEs and large enterprises delivering them value using its state of the art next gen infrastructure and processes.
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