As CEO of WASL Asset Management group, he Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim is responsible for one of the largest real estate management companies in Dubai. In an exclusive interview, he talks growth, iconic projects, and the fate of the Emirate’s real estate market.
Prior to making some key announcements at GITEX Technology Week, the CEO of wasl Asset Management Group was in Bali for the 2018 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. And just days earlier he launched wasl gate onto Dubai’s freehold property market – the latest project to come out of the Dubaibased real estate management company.
The high-profile appointments he keeps are testament not only to his business acumen in a number of fields, but also to the widespread respect he commands in the UAE and across the globe.
You don’t need to take my word for that. As well as his main role with wasl, Al Qassim is the vice chairman and managing director of Emirates NBD, chairman of Emirates Islamic Bank, vice chairman of the Dubai Real Estate Corporation, chairman of BNP Paribas Egypt and board member of such companies as Etisalat, DIFC, Amlak Finance, National General Insurance, International Humanitarian City, and more.
Yet with so many hats to wear, the man who has led wasl since 2007 has remarkable clarity of vision, as demonstrated when we meet at the company’s o ces in Bur Dubai to discuss the city’s real estate landscape.
“Thee state of the real estate market is exactly where it needs to be,” he assures, as we talk about the market’s recent dip.
“Every prosperous economy is bound to go through a cycle, and this is Dubai’s calm before the storm that we are taking advantage of by evaluating our next ventures and carefully studying the market.
This story is from the November 2018 edition of Gulf Business.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2018 edition of Gulf Business.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Green lights
It hasn’t even been a full year that Stellantis, one of the world’s biggest auto companies, has been in existence. Still, its wheels are spinning furiously. Here’s what it has in store for the region
Purpose through corporate responsibility
Every organisation must deeply reflect about whether they are leaving behind a legacy or a liability, says Abdulaziz AlSowailim, EY MENA chairman and CEO
Analysing the layers of a coconut
When we have a sense of clarity as to our purpose in life, then we institute the correct practices and habits around us, and set realistic and achievable results
DUNES TO DOMINION
FOR A COUNTRY RICH IN TRADITION AND DRIVEN BY AMBITION, THE UAE’S JOURNEY DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS HAS BEEN UNPRECEDENTED. WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE NEXT 50?
Building strong
International investors are boosting Dubai’s residential property market, which has rebounded strongly from the Covid crisis, writes Aarti Nagraj
CHASING THE AMERCIAN DREAM
FOR SHAI ZAMANIAN, THE US IS A LAND OF LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES, AN AVENUE HE AIMS TO OPEN FOR FAMILIES WORLDWIDE VIA IMMIGRATION. HERE’S HOW HE IS BRINGING HIS GOAL TO FRUITION
OBITUARY: JOCELYN HENDERSON (1921-2021)
THE GRANDE DAME OF ABU DHABI – THE WIFE OF A FORMER DIPLOMAT – PASSED AWAY IN THE UAE CAPITAL AGED 100
THE DIGITAL DISRUPTORS
IN THE COMING YEARS, THE GCC IS EXPECTED TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SECTORS SUCH AS HEALTHCARE, MANUFACTURING, EDUCATION AND RETAIL, WHICH WILL HELP BOOST THE GROWTH OF ITS NON-OIL ECONOMY
Signed, sealed, delivered
Nicolas Baretzki, CEO of Montblanc, partnered with one of the world’s most recognisable luxury brands, Ferrari, earlier this year. Here’s where the partnership, and the German company as well, is headed next
UP, UP AND AWAY
AS THE FIRST IN-PERSON AIRSHOW TO TAKE PLACE SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF THE PANDEMIC, THE EVENT SAW SEVERAL DEALS ANNOUNCED
