Dubai-based property and retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC abruptly ousted Alain Bejjani, a high-profile executive who’s led the firm since 2015, in a shakeup just over a year after the death of its eponymous founder.
Ahmed Galal Ismail is now the chief executive officer, the company said in a statement, without elaborating on the reasons behind the move. Ismail has been head of the group’s property unit since 2018 and was responsible for its shopping malls, hotels, communities and project management operations. He also previously led the firm’s ventures business.
The group is among the country’s biggest employers and of strategic importance to its food security. Bejjani was one of the most visible executives in Dubai, frequently appearing on TV and a regular at Davos.
Majid Al Futtaim has long been seen as an anchor of Dubai’s economy. The company controls $16.5bn in assets including a renowned indoor ski hall, the opulent Mall of the Emirates and the Carrefour hypermarket franchise in the Middle East. It has activities in 17 countries, extending into Africa. Investors also hold some $3.7bn in corporate debt. Following its billionaire founder’s death in December 2021, the ruler of Dubai appointed a special judicial committee to oversee any potential disputes — a relatively rare occurrence reserved for high-profile cases.
Majid Al Futtaim was in transition to multiple owners and that process could lay the groundwork for more sweeping changes, Bloomberg reported in April. Options include selling parts of the group, an investment by a sovereign wealth fund and a public listing, people familiar with the discussions said at the time.
Bejjani told Bloomberg TV in August there were no plans to list any of MAF’s businesses, though the sudden change in leadership could signal a shift in those plans.
Dubai’s stock market has seen a flurry of listings over the past year, amid a push by the government to increase liquidity on the local bourse. Still, family conglomerates, the pillars of the emirate’s economy, have been absent and MAF, which regularly taps the bond market, has been widely seen as a top candidate among domestic firms to pursue a listing.
The city merged its economic and tourism departments in 2021, and one of the new entity’s main tasks is to prod private and family-owned businesses to sell shares on the Dubai bourse.
Bejjani started working at MAF in October 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile. He held multiple of roles at the firm’s property business, including chief corporate development officer, before taking over as CEO of the entire firm in February 2015. The operator of Carrefour stores in the Middle East reported a 15% increase in first-half revenue and a 42% jump in profit in August, coinciding with a rebound in Dubai’s economy.