Essa Al Ansari wasn’t afraid to embark on a challenging career path. The 25-year-old Emirati says the reason he chose the hospitality industry was because of the long working hours involved, rather than in spite of them.
“The workload is huge, but that’s why I wanted to do it,” says Al Ansari, who manages Tulip Hotel Apartments in Dubai. “I know it’s a challenging industry. That’s what I like.”
His father, Ahmed Redha, who founded Redha Al-Ansari Exchange in Dubai 37 years ago, encouraged his son’s ambitions to join the hospitality sector.
“My dad’s dream was always to open a hotel,” says Al Ansari. “He knew my personality would fit best within that industry, compared to my brothers, so he was very encouraging for me to study at one of the world’s top universities for hotel management.”
Al Ansari took a degree in hospitality management at Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, then took two six-month internships in events and marketing with Jumeirah in Dubai.
By the time Al Ansari started his first job, as a marketing executive for Le Méridien Mina Seyahi in 2013, he was in the habit of eating junk food. His weight crept up to the point where it was affecting all aspects of his life. “At some points, I used to get sick. I couldn’t find any clothes to fit me anymore. I didn’t feel comfortable to go out anymore.”
Al Ansari’s twin brother Hamad spurred him into making a change. “My brother is very fit. He told me I have to lose weight.”
Al Ansari embarked on a strict diet and exercise regime that involved going to the gym “at least six days a week”. During the next two years, he lost 70 kilograms.
Al Ansari does allow himself a “cheat day” every Friday, however. “I stick to healthy foods – say Subway rather than McDonald’s – or I go to a good-quality restaurant.”
Al Ansari is now encouraging others to embrace an active lifestyle too. “I have actually started giving other people some advice on exercise. I really want to help others lose weight too.”
What’s your favourite book?
The book My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid [Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai].
What would most want to take with you to a remote desert island?
Can it be a person? My mum, because she has done so much for me in my life – she is a friend to me, and is very close to me.
What’s your favourite hidden gem in the UAE?
The souq at Madinat Jumeirah. I find the beautiful water and the abra boats there very calming.
Where’s your favourite holiday spot?
Geneva in Switzerland. It is an amazing city with nice people, beautiful views and nature.
What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you when you were young?
To train and be healthy all through my life.
If you were an animal, what would you be?
A lion, because lions are brave, strong and wild, which I am in certain ways. But I am more easy-going than a lion.
Who inspires you the most in your life?
My parents. I credit them with giving me a strong work ethic and encouraging me to study hospitality.
What’s your guilty food pleasure?
A bar of chocolate.
What sort of car do you drive?
A dark grey Mercedes GT S.
What do you do to relieve stress?
I go out with my friends.
What’s your favourite word?
Habibi. I use that word a lot.
What music are you listening to at the moment in your car?
Virgin Radio, because it has a good variety of music.
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
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The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
