David Spearing, a University of Cambridge graduate, is a long-term resident of the UAE. Spearing came to Abu Dhabi in 1968 to manage a consultancy practice in the construction industry and established his own practice in 1973. He worked on some of the emirate’s most important buildings, including the Sheikh Khalifa Palace in Al Ain. He still sits on the board of the British Business Group in Abu Dhabi, and is the longest-serving honorary steward in the history of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Spearing was awarded an MBE “for services to British business and to the British community in Abu Dhabi” in June last year.