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    Steps to women empowerment in the business landscape with Haif Zamzam

    Life

    by Camille Macawili
    2 hours ago

    In celebration of International Women’s Day, Haif Zamzam, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Marketing at TECOM Group PJSC, shares a written essay that highlights how the incredibly driven and entrepreneurial women in the UAE are driving transformational changes in the business landscape.
    Here, Haif insights the initiatives in place, how the UAE has elevated the women in the various fields including creative, tech, and more. Plus, the milestones, opportunities, and challenges faced as they have built brands and organizations.
    Haif Zamzam, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Marketing at TECOM Group PJSC
    Responsible for overseeing the strategy and marketing teams, Haif leads the way in analysing short and long-term development that drives the goals onwards and upwards through a stellar combination of remarkable leadership and exceptional vision.
    Scroll through the below to read her personal essay.
    The UAE is demonstrating how empowering women can catalyse sustainable economic progress. Women’s leadership and innovation are driving growth across the country’s diversified economy, and their entrepreneurial spirit and expertise are transforming the business landscape.
    Women are actively shaping the economy with their growing role in the country’s workforce, comprising about 75% of positions in the crucial education and health sectors, in addition to about 20% of the social affairs sector. Moreover, 23,000 Emirati businesswomen lead projects valued at over AED 50 billion and hold 15% of board positions in chambers of commerce and industry nationwide.
    Far from being spectators, women are the architects of economic and social progress in the country. Achieving such progress requires consistent action, and the UAE’s global example must be lauded as International Women’s Day is observed this year under the theme of ‘Accelerate Action’.
    Solid Foundations
    The innumerable contributions of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, have laid the foundation of the UAE’s past, present, and future growth.
    The pathways to advance women’s roles are further shaped by the guidance of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment (DWE), and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court.
    Image: Supplied
    This is supported by women’s representation in key leadership roles. From Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi’s appointment as the UAE’s first female Cabinet minister in 2004 to the appointment of Khadija Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3) to DWE’s board in 2024, women’s contributions – and potential – are nurtured at all levels of government. The UAE’s achievement of full parliamentary gender parity, as recognised by the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, exemplifies this progress.
    Accelerating Action
    As the accelerator of business excellence in Dubai and beyond, TECOM Group is actively nurturing an environment that encourages women-led innovation for the greater good. Women comprise one-third of our workforce, and our commitment to accelerating gender-balanced innovation is also reflected across the four sector-specific verticals of our in5 incubator, which has nurtured more than 1,000 start-ups since its inception in 2013.
    Today, 30% of in5’s active start-ups are owned by women. The incubator’s repertoire of women-led businesses includes Peri.care, a femtech innovator under in5 Design and RelphaCare Technologies, a biotech firm at in5 Science, both of which demonstrate how women’s empowerment can contribute towards holistic, socially impactful innovation. Nurturing such female entrepreneurship and leadership is a key pillar of the National Policy for Empowerment of Emirati Women 2031, and with women representing 56% of STEM graduates from government universities, the future is promising for female-driven innovation in the country.
    Such success is possible thanks to the UAE’s supportive policy environment, including robust legislation protecting women’s workplace rights, that enables consistent opportunities to empower women in the workforce. The private sector must proactively leverage these frameworks to create pathways for women to thrive and lead in all spheres of life – be it within or beyond the workplace.
    Image: Instagram @tecomgroupdubai
    Mentorship, particularly in high-growth sectors like technology and healthcare, is vital for women entrepreneurs and professionals. We activate such support through initiatives like TECOM Group’s Backyard Internet Talks at Dubai Internet City and The DSP Leadership Network at Dubai Science Park, which ensure professionals in these key knowledge economy sectors are routinely offered peer support and networking opportunities to achieve business and individual growth.
    Such accelerated action, supported by strong policies and greater female representation in leadership, is essential to unlock sustainable economic growth. As we observe International Women’s Day this year, we must learn from the UAE’s successes to accelerate action that supports inclusive and gender-balanced socioeconomic prosperity.
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Image: Supplied & Unsplash More

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    Solutions Leisure Group’s CEO on foundational breakthroughs and key business insights

    Solutions Leisure Group co-founder and CEO Paul Evans, on foundational breakthroughs and the key insights that have ignited and grown a global business.
    What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?
    I usually wake up around 6am and have a quick coffee on our terrace with my partner, Dom. We’re for- tunate to live on Palm Jumeirah, and that sense of calm you get overlooking the water as the sun comes up over the horizon is something special. I’ll then check messages and scan emails, touch base on any meetings I have during the day and get ready for a workout. Depending on the day, I’ll either walk the beach and take some time to reflect and ground myself or go to the gym. We’ve been training with the boys from Benzone for a few years now and they’ve been epic. So-much-so they now host a bootcamp for our team three times a week on our office rooftop, which I’ll try and get to once a month, too.
    What are the pillars of DNA that define Solutions Leisure Group as a brand?
    Our mission is to create the moments people live for, and we’re working hard to ensure we live and breathe that through every channel. From our team members to our guests, the brand design and the experience creation, the moments matter, big and small. Whilst we fly by the seat of our pants at the rate of change, we’re often steering, we remain grounded with our pillars: Excellence is the standard; Leadership is the strength; Relationships are the source and Mindset is the solution.

    “our mission is to create the moments people live for, and we’re working hard to ensure we live and breathe that through every channel”

    Solutions Leisure Group offers lifestyle and holistic experiences. Was this the plan from the outset?
    Freek and I first landed in Dubai in 2013 after 13 years developing the entertainment destination that is, today, Egypt’s Hurghada Beach. Our little brown Dutch bar soon turned into 20 venues, turning the sleepy seaside town into a tourism and nightlife hotspot. But the Arab Spring came, and we lost it all, making the move to Dubai with nothing much more than the clothes on our backs. It was here we noted that, amidst the glitz and glam of the Dubai social scene, there was very little for the everyday patron; the average guest who just wanted to enjoy quality food, great vibes and a consistently good time. So, we introduced the once-favourite Q43 restaurant and bar to the region, quickly followed by our acquisition of the iconic Karma Kafe, and conceptualisation of Asia Asia and Lock, Stock & Barrel. We saw our brands growing with our guests, and realised it wasn’t about creating a product anymore, but, instead, a lifestyle. Something that serviced various needs, both emotive and physical. People wanted community and experience – a break away from the day to day with a guaranteed consistency of enjoyment. So, we focused on the quality and experience as the heart of our venue design to enable our product to, not just meet, but exceed expectations. We introduced the family entertainment sector with Wavehouse, and then Central, which soon saw the industry follow. Both within the group itself and within our venues, we are focused on lifestyle experiences that are brand-led and culture-based. We no longer hire for the experience our rockstars have, but for the experience they can create. They are brand ambassadors – a visual and verbal representation of who each brand is and what it stands for. We see every person who joins us as entering our home, creating a lifestyle experience that exuberates fun, energy and ignites trust through a relationship that is, both, valued and nurtured.

    You built everything yourself from the outset. How did you overcome the challenges?
    We’ve always been known for our middleman sector, but that’s certainly changed these past few years. The F&B scene in the UAE is becoming fiercer and fuller than ever, and I think our team has gone above and beyond to really set the bar across design, marketing and operations. They own their brands – own their careers and have blown me away with their dedication and passion as a whole. It might not have changed the industry, as such, but it’s certainly separated the term employees from the team. I feel our real ability to overcome challenges has been our ability to come together. The last few years has seen a real shift in the way brands unite. We no longer deem ourselves as competing, but rather complementing each other, creating opportunities that feed our industries and create epic moments we really do live for. And that’s pretty remarkable. Big brands are opening doors to smaller ones, enabling some incredible creative collaborations that feel authentic and accessible. Similarly, competitive brands are working together to bring out the best in one another and enter entirely new markets. It’s like the world began to trust and open its mind and stop working so hard against one another. That openness has led to some super cool experiences being created – and some we are looking forward to being a part of.

    What are the pivotal milestones you are most proud of – and how has this shaped your understanding of success?
    From seven venues, to 21, and counting, in the space of 24 months, my proudest achievement? My team.
    The past decade of business has shown that, throughout everything Solutions Leisure has grown through; all that the group has come to be known for – it was because the team are, as I call them, Spartans. Commitment, discipline, courage, and the fortitude required to stand one’s ground to push through. Those are the characteristics of a Spartan. We have come together in adversity, learning through the challenges and celebrating the wins, because I know they are stronger together. Through the hard work, kindness, and all-embracing nature of each team member, it’s honestly one of the best places to work in the Middle East – if not the world. The team’s ability to take it all in their stride pushed Solutions Leisure into an entirely new ballgame. And that invigorating sense of reaching new heights in the group has put us where we are today; confident, motivated, inspired and ready for the next challenge.
    How do you approach scaling without compromising quality and what factors do you consider when launching a new venture?
    We decide against the safe route, branching into partnerships that enable us to conceptualise projects that aren’t just hospitality-focused, but experience-led, driven by brand immersion and memorable moments. It isn’t about how hard we work, but how smart; how creative we are and how much we trust our gut when it comes to what’s next for the industry.
    This mindset grew the group from six to 21-and-counting venues in just three years, introducing a whole new sector of beauty, wellness, fitness and retail to its portfolio, and expanding into Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. Our approach? As a group, we don’t define our target market anymore. And, as controversial or as ridiculous as that may sound, it’s because they’ve become such an integral part of us; so, embedded in how we design, operate and imagine the brands we deliver, they naturally evolve into what we need them to be.
    Instead, we’re conceptualising experiences. The Boujee Boot Sale at So Much Trouble makes our consumers the brand ambassadors, giving them a place to sip and shop one another’s vintage and pre-loved luxuries. Our bespoke brunch crawl personalizes our venue with an exclusive chauffeured party bus between each stop. What had worked before, didn’t work now, so finding an omni-channel approach to dining and socialising slowly opened doors to a new sector for the region; one we wanted to grab by the horns and make our own – entertainment. Be comfortable in what you don’t know, both in leadership and collaboration. A key player to some of the leadership partnerships we’ve implemented in our group leans exactly to this – complementary skill sets and ideologies that drive our senior management to think differently, more laterally and outside their own box. Similarly, we’ve removed the stigma around aligning ourselves with our competition. We’re not here to gate keep – we want to work with those that better us; that better our product and service and create more enhanced moments for guests. From putting branded F&B outlets into our own, to branching out from our usual entertainment, we don’t say now, and we don’t keep our secrets to success to ourselves. It’s all about the end game.

    Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what knowledge did they impart?
    Freek and my business partners. You don’t succeed alone. I think that’s something many people overlook. They see success as solely individual – as something they need to achieve by themselves. But I’ve learnt that isn’t the case. Success is collaborative. You need to surround yourself with individuals that bring out the best in you; that inspire you, compete with you and drive you to be the absolute best you can be. Individuals who know when to push the gas as much as when to slow down.
    What advice would you give to yourself starting out?
    Embrace the challenge. It’s meant to be hard – that’s the thrill, that’s what makes it all worthwhile, that’s what gives it a purpose.
    Where do you get the motivation to be consistent and are there any practices which have helped you with this?
    I am big on perspective. We spend so much of our early life worrying; comparing ourselves and try- ing to keep up. Time wasted trying to be something we think we should be, instead of leaning into the journey and grabbing a hold of opportunities as they arise. Enjoy the absurdity and find excitement through the growth. Celebrate the milestones and find passion through the journey. That’s what keeps it interesting.
    What new projects are in the pipeline for Solutions Leisure Group?
    2025 is our biggest year yet. We’ve got an entire new destination to develop with one of the most iconic brands in the GCC, an exciting partnership with one of the world’s most recognised five-star hotels for our wellness division, and a further expansion of some of our staple brands including some pretty major collaborations and experiences, like Stanley Cup, Roll DXB, Namshi, Ounass and more…
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