Emaar, The Economic City strengthens management team with key appointments

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; June 25, 2008: Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), has strengthened the company’s management team with the appointment of Mr Dirk Backhaus as Chief Financial Officer; Mr Sami Al Halabi as Acting Executive Director - Commercial Affairs and Mr Imad Hashem as Senior Director of Communications & External Relations. Reporting to Mr Fahd Al-Rasheed, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, Emaar.E.C, Mr Backhaus, Mr Al Halabi and Mr Hashem will lend their extensive expertise in developing KAEC. 

Mr Al-Rasheed said: “Emaar.E.C is on schedule with development of King Abdullah Economic City, which has emerged as a preferred investment destination for several international investors. The new senior management appointments, which are part of our continuous efforts to invest in human resources, will provide further strength to our operations and management as these professionals bring in several years of global experience.”

Mr Backhaus has over 12 years of experience in corporate finance, and has held senior management positions at Siemens as CIO and COO at Siemens Russia; Vice President Corporate Finance at Siemens Germany; Managing Director at Siemens Corporate Finance India and Executive Vice President & CFO at Siemens Ltd Saudi Arabia.

Mr Al Halabi has over 16 years of experience at Proctor & Gamble working in various commercial related positions. Prior to joining Emaar.E.C, he was Marketing Manager of Eastern and Central Europe, Middle East and Africa with Proctor & Gamble, Geneva. Mr Hashem has over 13 years of experience in management and marketing. Prior to joining the company, Mr Hashem was Business Development and Strategic Marketing Consultant at Cornerstone Marketing. He was Board Member and General Manager at Fitaihi; and General Manager – Business Development in Unilever in China, Ukraine, Russia, Pakistan and Iran. 

KAEC has six key components – the Sea Port, Central Business District, Industrial Zone, Educational Zone, Resort District and Residential Communities. Work on the project is progressing on-schedule with several contracts already awarded for construction and infrastructure development work. The first phase of KAEC has been launched to overwhelming investor response.