(1 February 2021)
Aldar Properties (‘Aldar’)has adopted a new group operating model to drive the next phase of growth, which will focus on enhancing the customer experience, digital transformation, operational efficiency, and sustainability.
The new model promotes agility and accountability throughout the organisation, with two core businesses – Aldar Investment and Aldar Development – led by their own Chief Executive Officers, Jassem Busaibe as CEO of Aldar Investment and Jonathan Emery as CEO of Aldar Development, both reporting to the Group CEO.
Established as independent arms, Aldar Development and Aldar Investment will have their own decentralised governance models and support functions, while remaining aligned with Aldar’s overall business strategy. This will allow them to pursue the right opportunities, with a focus on expanding their specialised portfolios. Overseeing the two entities, Aldar will focus on the overarching brand, strategy, capital allocation, governance, as well as the people, legal, audit and excellence functions.
“The new group operating model reflects Aldar’s growth and maturity and builds on the robust governance and exceptional talent we have on board”, said Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group Chief Executive Officer, Aldar. “The diverse and dynamic business we are today requires a more agile operating model that will enable our next phase of growth. This is a very exciting moment for Aldar and a very positive step towards the creation of a more sustainable future for the company. Our strategy is clear, placing our people and customers at the heart of everything we do, while remaining at the forefront of sustainable development, digital transformation, and operational excellence. Guided by this strategy, the two entities will be able to make the right business decisions at the right levels and will contribute to Aldar’s commitment to creating value for all our stakeholders”, he added.
Aldar Development
Aldar Development will include three subsidiaries - Aldar Projects, Aldar Ventures and Aldar Egypt. It will build on Aldar’s market-leading position and the 75 million square metres land bank it owns to offer innovative, customer-centric products that integrate best-in-class technologies and sustainability practices.
- Aldar Projects, a dedicated project delivery arm, will focus on execution excellence in the delivery of integrated communities that adhere to the highest standards of operational excellence, supply chain management, and technology adoption, while keeping sustainability at the heart of its operations. Aldar Projects will be responsible for managing Aldar's fee-based development management business, including AED 45 billion of government housing and infrastructure projects.
- Aldar Ventures will incubate and nurture new business opportunities and innovation areas that will offer cutting edge solutions and services to customers, investors, and developers.
- Aldar Egypt will be the platform that is focused on the lucrative Egyptian property market as a key market to develop integrated mixed-use communities.
Aldar Investment
Aldar Investment will house Aldar’s core asset management business, the region’s most diversified and well-established platform. It will focus on maximising the value of the company’s diverse portfolio of AED 20 billion of recurring income assets as well as managing three core platforms, Aldar Education, Aldar Estates and Aldar Hospitality and Leisure.
- Aldar Education will include Aldar’s entire educational portfolio, including Aldar Academies, the leading education group in Abu Dhabi, with 20 schools, over 24,000 students and a growing network of 3,000 educators from over 100 nationalities, offering a wide range of curriculum and ancillary services such as a Teacher Training Academy.
- The newly established Aldar Estates will consolidate Aldar’s Retail Operations alongside existing Residential and Commercial real estate operations within Provis and will further include Community Management under one integrated property management platform. The focus of the Aldar Estates platform will be on customer centricity and adopting best-in-class technology and sustainability practices to maximise the value of Aldar’s assets in line with best practice.
- Aldar Hospitality and Leisure will look after Aldar’s portfolio of hotel and leisure assets, which are anchored around Yas Island and Saadiyat. It will focus on optimising hotel occupancy strategies within Aldar’s portfolio of 10 hotels, comprising over 2,900 hotel keys and managing operations across golf courses, beach clubs and marinas.
Building on this new group operating model, Aldar will be better positioned to continue delivering on its corporate strategy by investing in people, innovation, brand and digital transformation, as well as embedding the best practices of sustainability, and inclusion and diversity across its people and the communities in which it operates.