Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed and Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan have been named as the Middle East's prominent leaders by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its 2023 Class of Young Global Leaders.
Sheikh Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai, has several roles at the federal level in the UAE and holds important positions in Dubai.
As chairman of several government and economic authorities and councils, he plays an important role in contributing to shaping the future of Dubai.
Sheikha Shamma, president and chief executive of UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators, works to fight climate change and continues the sustainability legacy started by her grandfather, Sheikh Khalifa.
In October 2022, Sheikha Shamma, also the co-founder of Aurora50, received the Young Leaders in the Field of Climate Change award from Trends Research & Advisory in Washington.
This year's WEF class consists of nearly 100 of the most promising young global leaders under the age of 40. They are involved in activities from green energy and health equity to refugee rights and education reform.
The class is packed with brilliant minds and passionate leaders from business, civil society, academia, and government, the Young Global Leaders website said.
Of the 100 members this year, 13 are from the Middle East and North Africa. Regional figures who are part of the class include:
UAE
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai
Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan, head of UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators
Khaled bin Braik, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Paolo Petrocelli, head of Dubai Opera
Saudi Arabia
Moath Alnaeem, co-founder and chief investment officer, Alpha Capital
Noura bint Faisal Al Saud, founder and managing director, Global Culture House
Haifa bint Mohammed Al Saud, Assistant Minister for Strategy and Executive Affairs, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia
Hussain Hanbazazah, director of the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture, Aramco
Bahrain
Wafa Al Obaidat, chief executive, Obai and Hill
Mohamed Almaraj, chief executive, ila Bank
Jordan
Hussam Hammo, chief executive and founder, Tamatem Inc
Morocco
Wafaa Jemali, secretary general, Head of Government of the Kingdom of Morocco
Israel
Idan Roll, Member of the Knesset, Israel
They join the Forum of Young Global Leaders, whose members have gone on to become Nobel prize recipients, heads of state, chief executives of Fortune 500 companies and Grammy Award winners.
The forum has more than 1,400 members and alumni from more than 120 countries and includes the likes of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
The members take part in a three-year leadership development programme that helps them to reach their next level of effectiveness.
The programme offers executive education courses, expeditions and opportunities to collaborate and test ideas with a trusted network of peers.
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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.”
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