Hussain Sajwani

Company: Damac Properties
Position: Chairman

Hussain Sajwani is the founder, owner and chairman of UAE real estate developer Damac Properties, which, to date, has completed 37 buildings with 7,817 units, and has a further 66 buildings at various stages of progress across the Middle East and North Africa.

The company was inevitably affected by the financial crisis, but, unlike some firms, it has continued to build and has launched a variety of new schemes, including the 28-storey Damac Tower in Lebanon in association with Italy’s design house Versace; a $1bn development with US group Paramount Hotels & Resorts in the Burj Khalifa area of Dubai; and a number of projects in Saudi Arabia.

In October 2011, the company launched a new hospitality division for more than 4,000 serviced hotel apartments, which will be completed or will be under development by the end of 2013. Sajwani has a degree in industrial engineering and economics from the University of Washington in the US.

Website: www.damacproperties.com