Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad

Position: CEO, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company

Biography: Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad is the most important figure in Qatar’s real estate market and holds senior positions at the two largest real estate developers in Doha. He became chief executive officer (CEO) of Qatari Diar earlier this year and is chairman of Barwa Real Estate Company, which is 45 per cent owned by Qatari Diar. The two companies are working on more than $21bn worth of projects in and around Doha. Qatari Diar also has significant interests overseas, with investments in Libya, Syria, Sudan, Cuba and the UK. Away from Qatari Diar and Barwa, Al-Saad is chairman of First Finance Company, First Real Estate Company, Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad & Sons Holdings, Al-Jazeera Academy, and Rizon Partners in Bahrain. He is also director of Urban Velvet (Architecture & Development Company) in London. He obtained his master’s degree from Kent University in the UK.

Contact Tel: (+9744) 974 444

Hussain al-Fardan

Position: Chairman, United Development Company

Biography: Hussain al-Fardan is one of the nine founders of United Development Company, the organisation developing The Pearl, Qatar’s reclaimed island project outside Doha. The project was the first major real estate project to be launched in Doha, and one of the first in the region to be sold on a freehold basis to expatriates. Born to a leading pearl merchant family in 1933, Al-Fardan established his first business, the Al-Fardan jewellery establishment, at the age of 21 and for the past 50 years he has managed the Al-Fardan Group, which also deals in the watches and automotive sectors, as well as the development of real estate, international money exchange and investments. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of Qatar’s first private bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, and was one of the founder members of Bahrain’s Investcorp.

Contact Tel: (+9744) 361 542

Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bin Khaled al-Thani

Position: CEO, Al-Waab City

Biography: Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bin Khaled al-Thani launched Al-Waab City in 2005. The $3.3bn mixed-use development is one of the largest real estate projects in Doha. It is located on the Salwa road and includes villas, apartments, retail and commercial space. Sheikha Hanadi is a prominent businesswoman in Doha and her interests span sectors including finance and general trading. She is chairwoman of Qatar Ladies Investment Company (Amwal), which she founded in 1998, and deputy CEO of Nasser bin Khaled al-Thani & Sons Group. She was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005 and serves as a trustee on the boards of the Arab Women’s International Forum and the College of Business & Economics at Qatar University, where she was a lecturing assistant at the Economics Department early in her career.

Contact Tel: (+9744) 502 442

Yousuf al-Hammadi

Position: CEO, Barwa al-Khor

Biography: As CEO of the Barwa al-Khor company set up to develop the city of the same name, Yousuf al-Hammadi is responsible for the delivery of Barwa Real Estate’s $8bn project. Aimed at people working in the oil and gas sector at the nearby Ras Laffan, the mixed-use development will be built over the coming five years, and includes hotels and apartment buildings, villas and sports facilities. Its estimated capacity is 63,000 people in 17,000 houses. Al-Hammadi is an electrical engineering graduate from North Carolina State University in the US and has been working in the construction industry for 24 years. In addition to his position at Barwa al-Khor, he is CEO of Barwa Building Materials, a company set up by Barwa Real Estate to guarantee that in the current tight supply market, Barwa projects have sufficient supplies of basic construction materials such as cement.

Contact Tel: (+9744) 998 844

Said Bahjat Said

Position: President, Land Real Estate Investment & Development Company

Biography: A civil engineering graduate of the American University of Turkey, Said Bahjat Said began his career in the civil defence and aviation industry, before founding Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arrab Contracting Company Group more than 20 years ago. Today, Al-Arrab is one of the largest contractors in the kingdom and in 2004, Said turned his attentions to the more profitable real estate development, establishing the Land Real Estate Investment & Development Company. In 2006, it entered the Qatari market, where it is now working on projects on The Pearl and at Energy City. The company now has three projects on The Pearl and is developing an office complex at Energy City. Said plans to take the company into Palestine and in December signed a $200m contract with the Palestinian Investment Fund to develop real estate on the West Bank.

ContactTel: (+9744) 554 446

Hesham Ismail Abdulrahman al-Emadi

Position: Deputy CEO and head of business development, Energy City

Biography: Hesham al-Emadi is responsible for developing the infrastructure for Energy City and working with companies that have invested in the development. The project is an initiative by the government of Qatar to bring together energy companies from around the world in one central hub. Al-Emadi has his origins in the energy sector. He has worked as a senior researcher on various energy and industrial studies for the Gulf Organization for Industrial Con-sulting and the Industrial Investment Pro-motion Department. Prior to joining Energy City in 2006, he established an industrial assessment programme for the GCC to help streamline the energy sector. He has master’s and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in the US.

Contact Tel: (+9744) 411 522