The Sawalef team:
Noura Badawi
Radwa Wagdi
Michaela Podkovcik
Joanna Andrews
Atef Mousa
Subhro Chakraborti
Premjit MP
Gilda Gastro
Photography by:
Jo Cole Photography
DigitalEye Studio
Joanna Andrews
Noura
Badawi
A
NOTE
TO
OUR
READERS
We begin
this issue by wishing our
employees a Happy New Year!
The past year was filled with successes
for the Al Habtoor Group and the UAE. We
achieved numerous milestones across
the Group in 2013. To mention a few, we
started the year with the launch of the Khalaf
Ahmad Al Habtoor Foundation, a charitable
organisation, which holds 20 per cent of the
shares of The Group.
March was a busy month. We rebranded the
AHG logo, announced our official support
for the Expo2020 bid and re-launched
our Emiratisation programme. In April, we
announced a new partnership with the world
famous Franco Dragone Entertainment
Group. In October, we saw the launch of
the landmark project Al Habtoor City, which
is still the ‘talk of the town’ and the launch
of Mr Khalaf’s autobiography in the UK, the
same autobiography that was awarded
‘Best International Book on Business and
Economics’ in November by the Sharjah
International Book Fair. In December, our
newest property, the Waldorf Astoria Dubai
Palm Jumeirah received its first guests.
Of course, during the course of the year Al
Habtoor Motors acquired two new Chinese
car brands and three tyre dealerships. Let’s
not forget that in November, Dubai won the
bid to host Expo2020.
It’s been a great year, well done to all, and we
look forward to many new business ventures
across the Group.
A few days after the publication of this
issue, we will be announcing the winners
of the 2014 Employee Excellence Awards.
Congratulations to all our nominees and may
the best man (or woman) win!
Contents
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THIS ISSUE’S MESSAGE
By Paul A. Rayner, Advisor to the Chairman
Chairman’s New Year’s message
AL HABTOOR CITY
About the project
Special thanks
AL HABTOOR GROUP NEWS
KAH lifetime achievement award
Sharjah International book fair
Kid’s tennis clinic
Welcome to new staff
Charbel Yazbeck, MBA achievement
Congratulations - Baby news
AL HABTOOR MOTORS NEWS
Chery debut
Dubai International Motor Show
Sumo Firenza
AL FAROOQ MOSQUE & CENTRE NEWS
Arabian Adventures
EIS NEWS
Supporting charity
Insurance scheme
Aquathlon
HABTOOR HOTELS
Tower rooms renovation
Met. Deira blood donation
Chef's Challenge
MEET THE DEPARTMENT
Emiratisation Steering Committee
COMPETITIONS
Winner: Elixir Spa AED 500 Voucher
Two prizes up for grabs!
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
Fatma Al Haddad, Emiratisation Manager
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
Habtoor Group employee NY resolutions
HEALTH TIPS
Fighting the flu: Tips from Dr Hala
