Source: Gulf Business
A total of 21 awards were handed to the winners during the ceremony
The seventh edition of the prestigious annual Gulf Business Awards was held in a glittering ceremony on Monday evening hosting some of the region’s top business leaders.
The event, held at the Oberoi hotel in Dubai, saw a total of 21 awards given away during the evening.
Each winner was selected by an independent judging panel, and for the first time this year, Gulf Business also opened all the categories to public vote, which acted as the sixth judge.
The awards recognised companies and business leaders across across seven industries including energy, tourism and hospitality, aviation and transport, real estate, banking, healthcare and retail.
Winners were also honoured across four special categories – SME of the Year, Innovator of the Year, Businesswoman of the Year and Happiness and Positivity Initiative of the Year.
The esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award for 2018 was awarded to Emirati icon HE Sheikh Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, the UAE’s first female minister, president of Zayed University and founding CEO of governmental business-to-business e-marketplace Tejari.com.
Airport retail giant Dubai Duty Free won the coveted Gulf Business Company of the Year award for 2018, while the recipient of the 2018 Business Leader of the Year award was HE Maytha Al Habsi, CEO of Emirates Foundation.
The judging panel included Crescent Enterprises CEO Badr Jafar, Kanoo Group chairman Mishal Kanoo, Mumzworld.com CEO and founder Mona Ataya, Motivate partner and group editor-in-chief Ian Fairservice, and Gulf Business editor Neil King.
The evening was hosted by Motivate Publishing in association with headline sponsor King’s College Hospital London and category sponsors: Eaton Middle East, Finesse, Crowe, HumanSoft, Jacobsons Direct marketing (voting partner), Design Studio (flower partner) and African + Eastern (beverage partner) and The Oberoi, Dubai (venue partner).
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS
Lifetime Achievement Award: HE Sheikh Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, the UAE’s first female minister and president of Zayed University
Gulf Business Company of the year: Dubai Duty Free
Gulf Business Business Leader of the Year: HE Maytha Al Habsi, CEO of Emirates Foundation
Companies of the year
Aviation and transport
Careem
Banking
National Commercial Bank
Energy
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
Healthcare
King’s College Hospital London in the UAE
Real estate
Emaar
Retail
Dubai Duty Free
Tourism and hospitality
Rotana Hotels & Resorts
Business leaders of the year
Aviation and transport
Sir Tim Clark, president, Emirates
Banking
Abdulhamid M Saaed, CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank
Energy
HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO, ADNOC
Healthcare
Dr Azad Moopen, chairman and managing director, Aster DM Healthcare
Real estate
Hussain Sajwani, chairman, DAMAC
Retail
Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, CCO, Ahmed Siddiqi & Sons
Tourism and hospitality
Manuel Rabaté, director, Louvre Abu Dhabi
Special categories
Businesswoman of the year
HE Maytha Al Habsi, CEO, Emirates Foundation
Innovator of the year
DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One
SME of the year
Pure Harvest Smart Farms
Happiness & Positivity Company of the Year
Landmark Group (Happiness Movement)
