Five figures delivering the UAE’s national rail project: Nasser Ahmed Alsowaidi, Nasser Saif al-Mansoori, Mattar Mohammed al-Tayer, Guy Mehula and Paul Abbosh
Nasser Ahmed Alsowaidi
Position: Chairman, Etihad Rail
Biography: Nasser Ahmed Alsowaidi is chairman of Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s federal railway. He is also chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development, the body driving the emirate’s economic agenda. Alsowaidi is also a member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the emirate’s highest decision-making body. He is chairman of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Higher Corporation for Specialised Economic Zones, and a board member of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company. During the past two decades, he worked for several government agencies, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). He has a degree in economics from California State Polytechnic University in the US.
Contact Tel: (+971) 2 499 9999
Nasser Saif al-Mansoori
Position: Chief executive officer (CEO), Etihad Rail
Biography: Nasser Saif al-Mansoori was appointed CEO of Etihad Rail in September 2012, having served on the company’s board of directors since 2009. He is overseeing the completion of the first phase of the UAE’s rail project; the first trains are expected to start running on the Habshan-to-Ruwais route towards the end of 2013. Major contract awards for phase two of the scheme are expected in the first half of 2013. Previously, Al-Mansoori was director-general of the UAE’s National Transport Authority between 2007 and August 2012. He began his career in 1988 as a city planner in the Abu Dhabi Public Works Department, before taking up a teaching position at UAE University. In 1997, he moved to the Department of Planning in Abu Dhabi. Al-Mansoori has a doctorate in urban planning from Portland State University in the US.
Contact Tel: (+971) 2 499 9999
Mattar Mohammed al-Tayer
Position: Chairman and executive director of Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), and vice-chairman of Etihad Rail
Biography: Mattar Mohammed al-Tayer is vice-chairman of Etihad Rail. He is also chairman of the board and executive director of Dubai’s RTA, where he is responsible for transport, including roads, buses, metro and marine travel, as well as formulating policies. Under his leadership, the RTA has completed several projects, including the Business Bay crossing, Al-Garhoud bridge, the floating bridge and the Dubai Metro. The Al-Sufouh tram is currently under construction. Before joining the RTA, Al-Tayer was the deputy director-general of Dubai Municipality. Prior to this, he was the assistant director-general of the municipality, responsible for the roads and general projects sector. Al-Tayer sits on a number of boards and councils, including Dubai’s Executive Council, the emirate’s highest decision-making body, since 2005.
Contact Tel: (+971) 2 499 9999
Guy Mehula
Position: President, Middle East and North Africa (Mena), Parsons International
Biography: Guy Mehula is president for the Mena region at Parsons International and is based in Abu Dhabi. Parsons, as part of a joint venture with Aecom, won the project management consultancy contract for phase one of the Etihad Rail project. The joint venture is responsible for the project implementation, from the preliminary engineering to testing and commissioning. Mehula took up his current position in April 2011, having joined Parsons in 2010 as vice-president and programme executive in the US. Before that, he was chief facilities executive for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he managed a $27bn construction programme. Mehula served in the US Navy for 25 years and was a captain in the Civil Engineer Corps. He has a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the US Naval Academy and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Florida.
Contact Tel: (+971) 2 614 2416
Paul Abbosh
Position: Project director, Atkins
Biography: Paul Abbosh is project director at the UK’s Atkins, the preliminary engineering designer on phases two and three of Etihad Rail. He joined the company in 1986 and managed key projects in the UK, including the Coulport and Faslane submarine bases for the Defence Ministry. In 1997, Abbosh became managing director of Atkins’ major projects unit, with responsibility for commissions including the Millennium Dome, the Shell European Retail Commission and due diligence on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. In 2003, he took on responsibility for Atkins’ rail business, overseeing commissions for Network Rail, the Docklands Light Railway, Transport for London and London Underground. Abbosh joined Atkins in the Middle East in 2006. He played a key role in the firm being selected as lead designer for the Japan/Turkey consortium that delivered the Dubai Metro Red and Green Lines.
Contact Tel: (+971) 4 405 9300
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