Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday led tributes following the death of a leading UAE businessman.
Majid Al Futtaim was one of Dubai's commercial pioneers and was among those who spearheaded Dubai's growth as a global city.
Most prominent among his many achievements was the establishment of the Majid Al Futtaim group in 1992.
The group oversaw the development of Dubai's Mall of the Emirates, which is known around the world for its indoor ski slope.
Sheikh Mohammed said Al Futtaim was one of the emirate's “most important merchants and senior men".
“May God have mercy on him,” said Sheikh Mohammed on Twitter.
My dream is to create great moments for everyone, every day.
Majid Al Futtaim
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, also paid tribute.
“I extend my sincere condolences to the family of Majid Al Futtaim, a groundbreaking UAE entrepreneur and a pioneer in charitable and humanitarian work,” he said.
“He was an inspirational model of business success combined with a deep commitment to society. May he rest in peace.”
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said Al Futtaim had served his country with distinction.
"Today we bid farewell to a ... man who spent his life serving his country and his family," said Sheikh Hamdan on Twitter.
Sheikh Hamdan also appeared with his brother Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, offering condolences.
Al Futtaim founded the Majid Al Futtaim group in 1992 and it is now one of the Arabian's Gulf's biggest employers, with tens of thousands of staff on the books.
It counts the Mall of the Emirates among its most notable projects.
The group is also the exclusive franchise holder for Carrefour, the world’s second largest hypermarket chain, and has developed, owns and manages at least 27 shopping malls.
It also owns numerous hotels operated by Sheraton, Kempinski, Aloft and Pullman, while Vox Cinemas is also a Majid Al Futtaim brand.
Al Futtaim also had commercial interests encompassing property and retail from Asia to Africa.
But his home was always Dubai and Al Futtaim was among a key group of businesspeople who helped to oversee the development of the city from the 1960s onwards.
He was part of a core group who worked tirelessly to transform what was a small town by the Creek, known for pearl fishing and dhow trading, into the global metropolis it is today.
In essence, he helped make the vision of the late Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, a reality.
“My dream is to create great moments for everyone, every day,” said Al Futtaim.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, tweeted a photograph showing Al Futtaim with Sheikh Rashid.
“Future generations will remember him for the economic and societal achievements he left over these years,” said Sheikh Maktoum.
The company was also known for encouraging more Emiratis into its workforce. In September, Majid Al Futtaim began a drive to recruit 3,000 Emiratis.
At the time, Sheikh Mohammed tweeted his “thanks and appreciation” to Majid Al Futtaim. He mentioned this again in his message on Friday.
The Majid Al Futtaim group said he was a “visionary entrepreneur who transformed the face of business in the entire region".
“Majid Al Futtaim believed wholeheartedly in robust, world-class private sector institutions and the role they should play in driving sustainable economic growth [and] human development,” it said on Twitter.
“He worked tirelessly on turning this purpose and vision into a reality that acts as a role model for others. His legacy lives on in Majid Al Futtaim’s business and culture.”
A cause of death was not revealed.
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
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Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
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1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane
2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth
4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
