Fatima Al Kharousi is a modern-day Ibn Battuta. She has travelled extensively in the past five years as part of her job.
Her journey began in 2009 with Etihad Airways.
After completing 18 months of a graduate management programme, Al Kharousi was given a list of career options.
“I chose international airports purposely,” says the 29-year-old. “I have been a very shy person and I am also agoraphobic.”
By choosing to work in airports, she thought, she would break her fear of being in crowded places and eventually become more “assertive”.
At the beginning of her career, Al Kharousi wanted to work in an Australian airport, but Etihad’s chief executive, James Hogan, suggested she try Heathrow in London first.
“At that time, I didn’t fully comprehend the decision to put me in London,” she says, with a laugh. After spending four months as a duty manager in London, she understood.
“Four months in London was sufficient to transform me into the person I desired to be – strong and confident,” she says.
Coming from a conservative family in Al Ain, it took Al Kharousi a while to convince some of her family members to give her the green light to work in such an environment.
After working in airports in Singapore, Doha and Sydney, Al Kharousi proved herself to herself first, then to her family.
“Our families are overprotective. My siblings thought that I would get influenced by the western culture and forgo my values,” she says. “I travelled to many places, but I have remained the same.”
Today, Al Kharousi has climbed the ladder to become the first Emirati female Etihad airport manager, in Nagoya, Japan.
How do you unwind?
The best book I have read is Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir. I read about everything except politics.
What have you learnt during your five-year career in different airports?
Exchanging cultures and learning from them. We are all different human beings. You don’t have to accept everything, but respect it.
Where do you go after work?
When I was in Singapore and Manchester, I visited several museums. I have visited a number of museums in London, such as the British Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. I enjoyed Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum the most.
What's the best country you've worked in?
Singapore, without a doubt. Singapore follows a simple philosophy: talk less and do more.
What qualities make you unique?
I am a knowledge seeker. When I learn something new, I try to implement that knowledge in my actions.
What's the secret ingredient to your success?
My parents. They raised me properly and gave me the right foundation from the start. Now, I can be anywhere in the world and not have the fear of being deviated.
Who's your role model in life?
After my mother, Oprah Winfrey. Oprah’s life has been a series of struggles, but regardless of her past, she became a great personality and a great Samaritan.
A principle you live by?
Success doesn’t come on a gold plate, you need to strive hard to get it. I worked hard to reach the level I am at today. I went through many obstacles, embarrassment and uncertainty, but reaped the rewards.
In which place have you enjoyed living the most?
Sydney. I have worked with different nationalities, but the Australians I worked with were different in terms of their manner and judgement. I was in Sydney when the Sydney cafe attack occurred. I was a little anxious and feared I might be attacked because of my headscarf, but my Australian colleagues consoled me and told me not to worry, which I found very overwhelming.
aalhameli@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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