DP World’s senior project engineer selected as member on board of federal transport authority - land & maritime

Abdulla Al Haidan attends his first board meeting. His selection follows mandatory Cabinet Resolution on engaging youth to become members of boards of federal government companies

A young Emirati senior project engineer working at DP World has been appointed to a high-level government board.

Abdulla Al Haidan now serves on the Board of the Federal Transport Authority - Land & Maritime. He attended his first board meeting on February 12, 2020. He works at Group Planning & Project Management at the company that has an interconnected global network of more than 150 operations in over 50 countries across six continents.

Abdulla is one of 33 young Emiratis selected as members on the boards of key federal government entities. The selection followed a process in which more than 3,000 applications were thoroughly evaluated.

The move followed the approval of the mandatory Cabinet Resolution for engaging youth to become members of boards of federal government companies.

The resolution was earlier approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. It called for the participation of at least one young Emirati who is not over 30 years of age on the boards. An e-portal was also launched for the registration and application to these boards.

“I am indebted to the UAE government for their trust and the investment in young Emiratis to engage in national work”, said 30-year-old Abdulla, who holds a Masters degree in Engineering Management from the University of Wollongong Dubai and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He joined DP World in 2012 after graduating from Higher Colleges of Technology Dubai with BSc in Civil Engineering.

“I will be serving as a board member in the Federal Transport Authority – Land & Maritime, in addition to my current role in DP World that has given me the opportunity to be selected. It will be a great experience and a challenge. It is also a great opportunity to represent DP World on the board”, explained Abdulla.

He added: “My field of work will have a maritime focus, which I believe requires concentrated efforts to further improve services and standards. I will also focus on creating awareness on the role played by DP World in the UAE’s national economy”.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: ''We congratulate Abdulla on his appointment to the high-level government board. We also congratulate ourselves at DP World on this selection, which carries a big responsibility that Abdulla will shoulder in the service of the homeland”.

“DP World will extend all support to Abdulla in his new duties, which will contribute towards the enhancement of the UAE’s competitiveness globally”, Bin Sulayem added.

HH Sheikh Mohammed had instructed the Federal Government to create the appropriate environment for the youth to innovate and excel and unleash their potential and harness their energies and abilities to modernise government work.

The young board members, who will serve a term of between two and three years, are expected to provide creative solutions over a set of national issues so as to better serve the country and the people.