100100100GULF - ITALY

INTERNATIONAL

The names that count for doing business in Dubai, Abu Dhabi,

Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, as wellas all the job opportunities

100100100POWER

January 2015

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January 2015

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COVER STORY

The big names in the Gulf’s business world… INTERNATIONAL

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES1 MOHAMED BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN, head of the army, of the executive power, as well as of the main companies in Abu Dhabi, 2 MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM, Vice president of the UAE, ruler of Dubai, and head of Dubai Holding, which controls the emirate’s main activities, 3 HAMDAN BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN, President of the Red Crescent and governor of Emirates West, 4 MANSOUR BEN ZAYED AL NAHYAM, Deputy prime minister of the UAE and President of IPIC, International Petroleum Investment, 5 HAMDAN BIN MOHAMMED

AL MAKTOUM, Crown prince of Dubai, the youngest son of the current ruler is in line to succeed him, 6 AHMED BIN SAEED AL MAKTOUM, President of Emirates, the flagship company, he is the ruler’s cousin, 7 LUBNA AL RASIMI, Minister for Foreign Trade, the first woman to hold a government position in the Emirates, 8 SAIF BIN MARKHAN AL KITBY, general director of the Dubai Crown Prince’s office, 9 JUMÀ AL MAJED, President of the Dubai Economic Council and passionate bibliophile, one of the Emirate’s true wise men, 10 RASHID AL HABTOOR, head of one of the powerful families in Dubai, 11

SULTAN BIN SAEED AL MANSOURI, UAE Minister for the Economy, based in Dubai, 12 KHALDOON KHALIFA AL MUBARAK, CEO of Mubadala, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, which owns Piaggio Aero, 13 NASER AL BUDOOR, director of the UAE Health’s Minister Office, 14 HUSSAIN JASSIM AL NOWAIS, President of Senaat, has contributed in planning for the non-oil future in UAE, 15 ABDULLAH AL FUTTAIM, CEO of the Al-Futtaim Group, one 1 bn dollars invested in real estate (Dubai Festival City), 16 NASSER KHALIFA AL SOWAIDI, President of the Abu Dhabi National Bank

and of Etihad Railways, 17 KHALED AL TAYER, one of the Gulf’s largest retailers, 18 MOHAMED AL ABBAR, President of Emaar Properties, Dubai’s king of real estate, 19 HELAL SAEED ALMARRI, CEO of the Dubai World Trade Center, 20 ABDALLAH RAWEH, surgeon, active in the bilateral relations between Italy and the UAE.

SAUDI ARABIA21 FAHAD AL ATEL, President of FALHoldings, one of the Kingdom’s most significant conglomerates, 22 KHALID ABDULLAH AL FALIH, President and

CEO of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, 23 MOHAMMED BIN ISSA AL JABER, founder and CEO of MBI International, which has 9 billion dollars’ worth of assets, 24 KHALID A. AL ZAMIL, CEO of the Zamil group, involved in petrochemicals, construction and steel, 25 FAHD AL RASHEED, CEO of King Abdullah Economic City, the largest property development project in the world, 26 BAKR BIN LADIN, President of the Saudi Binladin Group, a powerful industrial holding company linked to the royal family, 27 BIN TALAL AL WALEED, the richest and most well-known Saudi

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The big names in the Gulf’s business world… INTERNATIONAL

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prince, he is the CEO of the Kingdom Holding Company, 28 AMER ABDULLAH ALIREZA, head of one of the top five companies in industry and services, 29 LUBNA OLAYAN, founder of the Olayan Financing Company, a unique example in Saudi Arabia, 30 FAHD ALMUBARAK, Director of Sama, the central Saudi Bank, the real finance minister.

BAHRAIN31 DAIJ BIN SALMAN BIN DAIJ AL KHALIFA, President of Aluminium Bahrain BSC, the largest company in the Kingdom, 32 MAHMOOD HASHIM

AL KOOHEJI, CEO of the sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakato, 33 ADNAN AHMAD YOUSIF, President and CEO of the Albaraka Banking Group, a leading personality in the Gulf’s world.

KUWAIT34 MOHAMMED ALSHAYA, CEO of the Alshaya group, which has 70 brands in its portfolio and operates in 19 countries, 35 BADER AL KHARAFI, member of the executive committee of the Kharafi Group, one of the richest and most diversified companies in the Gulf, 36 MARWAN AL BOODAI, CEO

of Al Boodai, which has been active for 60 years, in fields from civil aviation to media, from engineering to logistics, 37 FOUAD AL GHANIM, President of Al Ghanim industries, an industry and services conglomerate active in 40 countries, 38 BADER M. AL SAAD, CEO of the Kuwait Investment Fund.

OMAN39 OMAN AHMED SUHAIL BAHWAN, CEO of Bahwan, the largest industrial group in Oman, 40 RASHAD M. AL ZUBAIR, his corporation, which is one of the most significant in the area, is active

in fields ranging from energy to tourism to real estate, 41 MOHSIN HAIDER DARWISH, number one importer of western brands, 42 HRITIK KHIMJI, CEO of the Khimji group, which has been active for 144 years in industry, infrastructure and retail, 43 OMAR ZAWAWI, President of the Omzest Group, one of the top five companies, 44 HASSAN AHMED AL NABHANI, CEO of the Oman Investment Fund, the SWF.

QATAR45 MOZAH BINT NASSER AL MISNAD, President of the Qatar Foundation,

she is a true political influence, 46 MOHAMMED BIN SALEH AL SADA, President of Qatargas and Energy Minister, 47 AHMAD AL SAYED, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund active in investments in Italy, 48 MOHAMMED AL EMADI, developer, opening one of the iconic malls in Qatar, 49 HANADI BINT NASSER AL THANI, Vice President of one of the most diversified holding companies in the area, 50 SAUD ALMANA, CEO of the Almana Group, one of the top five companies in Qatar working in industry and services.

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COVER STORYINTERNATIONAL

GULFITALY

1 CARLO ACAMPORA, President and CEO of the Jumeirah Grand Hotel, in Rome, which acts as an important link with the luxury tourism industry in Dubai, 2 PAOLA AMADEI, Italian ambassador in Oman, 3 FERDINANDO ANGELETTI, Gulf representative for Intesa Sanpaolo, 4 ANTONIO ARDIGÒ, Director of Pride, the joint venture of Pizzarotti and De Eccher in Saudi Arabia, which is in the running for some of the most significant public procurements, 5 GIORGIO ARMANI, still the most popular fashion designer in the Gulf, he has links to the owner of the property company Emaar, 6 FRANCO

AUDRITO, founder of Studio65, he has acted as a pioneer with significant Italian projects in Saudi Arabia, 7 MASSIMO BARNABÒ, CEO of the Permasteelisa Group, one of the Italian companies most involved in large construction projects, 8 GIAMPIETRO BENEDETTI, President of Danieli, one the Gulf ’s most popular steel companies, 9 ENZO BENIGNI, his company Elettronica supplies radar and defense systems for ships and aircrafts, 10 EDOARDO BETTO, lawyer for DLA Piper in Riyadh and Jeddah, 11 ALESSANDRO BOCCHI MAGNOLI, founder and President of Foresight

Advisors, one of the most senior advisers in Kuwait City, 12 MARIO BOFFO, Italian ambassador in Riyadh, 13 GIUSEPPE BONO, CEO of Fincantieri, a company which works in the Gulf in a joint venture with Etihad Ship Building, 14 GIOVANNI BOZZETTI, a consultant who boasts a special relationship with the Al Habtoor Group of Dubai, 15 ROBERTA CALARESE, head of the legal department at the DIFC untill November, one of the most successful careers for an Italian in Dubai, 16 ALESSANDRO CASTELLANO, CEO of SACE, the Italian export credit agency, which has put 1.2 billion dollars

into new projects in the steel, plant design and construction industries, 17 LUIGI CIMOLAI, is part of a small group of industrialists from the north-east of Italy with special links within the GCC, 18 FABIO CIPRI, General Manager of Jesa Investments in Riyadh, he is one of the most dynamic consultants, 19 MASSIMO D’AIUTO, CEO of Simest, the agency controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti for the internationalization of SMEs, 20 GUIDO DE SANCTIS, Italian ambassador in Qatar, a country which is investing in Italy, 21 PASQUALE DELLAPENNA, along with local shareholders, founded the

Harwal Group, which is one of the leading companies in Dubai, 22 DANIELA DI FRANCIA, an international lawyer, she works as a legal adviser for small and medium sized enterprises, 23 GIOVANNI FAVILLI, the Italian Consul to Dubai, he offers support to the Italian community, which amounts to more than five thousand residents, 24 FERDINANDO FIORE, in charge of the ICE (Italian Institute for Foreign Trade) in Dubai, where he has lived for a number of years, also maintaining links with Oman, 25 PIERROBERTO FOLGIERO, CEO of Maire Tecnimont, the engineering company

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...and the most influential Italians from Muscat to Kuwait CityPower 100

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26 ROBERTO GRANELLO, has run the Middle-Eastern branch of Kelmer & Partners since 1997 in Dubai, where it operates permanently, 27 MARCELLO GRASSELLI, an executive working in luxury fashion retail, has lived and worked in the Middle East for the last 15 years, 28 LUCIANO JANNELLI, chief strategist of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, one of the most significant banks in the region, 29 MAURIZIO LA NOCE, CEO of Mubadala Petroleum, executive director of the energy unit, he is involved in large projects in the gas sector, 30 ANTONELLO MARTINEZ,

lawyer in the law firm (Martinez & Novebaci) which officially represents the government of Dubai in Milan, 31 MATTEO MARZOTTO, President of the company Fiera di Vicenza, has secured an agreement with Dubai in the jewellery industry, 32 GIORGIO MEDDA, senior manager of AZ Global Sukuk, the largest European sukuk investment fund, 33 LUCA MONTEZEMOLO, the former Chairman of Ferrari and candidate for the chairmanship of Alitalia, he has close friendships with members of the Al Nayhan family, 34 CAIO MUSSOLINI, the trusted manager of Finmeccanica in

the Middle East, 35 ALBERTO NENCHA, President of the Italian Business Council in Abu Dhabi, 36 FABRIZIO NICOLETTI, Italian ambassador in Kuwait, 37 MICHELE PIGNOTTI, head of the Africa and Middle East branch of Euler Hermes, a prominent corporate credit insurer in the Gulf, 38 PIETRO PAOLO RAMPINO, consultant and Vice President of the Arab-Italian Chamber of Commerce, he is the representative for commercial and cultural development in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, 39 LUCIO RISPO, from the Qatar Foundation Endowment, he played a leading role in the negotiations regarding

investments in the hospital in Olbia, 40 PIETRO SALINI, CEO of Salini-Impregilo, the most active Italian general contractor in the Gulf, 41 ANGELO SANNA, has had a career in Saudi Arabia, working in engineering and construction companies, he is now a ‘super consultant’ in Riyadh, 42 STEFANO SASSI, CEO of Valentino, now owned by Qatar, 43 FABIO SCACCIAVILLANI, a member of the investment committee of the Oman Investment Fund, one of the most influential Italians in the Sultanate, 44 RICCARDO SENSI, a lawyer in the Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli firm in Abu Dhabi,

45 GUIDO M. SOLARI, a lawyer at Roedl & Partners in Doha, a legal reference point for Italian companies, 46 GIORGIO STARACE, ambassador in Abu Dhabi, the most senior diplomat in the area, 47 MAURIZIO TAMAGNINI, CEO of the Italian Strategic Fund, which is working in a joint venture with SWF from Qatar and Kuwait, 48 MATTEO TRIGLIA, CEO of Italferr, a reference point for investment programs in transport in the Gulf, 49 ALBERTO VECCHI, ambassador in Bahrain, 50 UMBERTO VERGINE, CEO of Saipem, plays a leading role in the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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January 2015

INTERNATIONAL

GULFITALY

SUCCESS STORIES

“With AMOS (asset manage-ment operat ing sys tem)

keeping operating costs on a ship under control, one can offset their investment within a few months”. According to Nencha, this was a crucial el-ement of SpecTec’s success. The company is now aiming for further development, with an application which optimises energy consumption, organis-ing the fleet’s refuelling where prices are most advantageous. Since 60% of the cost of mari-time management is spent on fuel, this new application has a direct effect on one of the larg-est outgoings. Another string to SpecTec’s bow is the Saudi mar-ket. “Saudi Aramco has spent 3 billion dollars on SAP programs, to which our AMOS software can connect. This is a poten-tial area for growth,” Nencha told us.

SAVINGS WITH AMOSThe success of SpecTec Middle East in Abu Dhabi was born out of failure, as Alberto Nencha,

the man who founded the branch, sportingly admits. “In the Gulf, more so than elsewhere, a negative experience is necessary to get a good company going”, the current President of the Italian Business Council in the Emirates’ capital explained. In 2009 Nencha had tried to start up a company producing pleasure boats, able to ensure high quality and pristine finishing touches, while maintaining a competitive price. The brand, Emocean Marine, was not as successful as had been hoped. In the meantime, Nencha moved to the Gulf and, in 2011, accepted the offer of SpecTec in La Spezia, to give himself to developing business in the UAE. SpecTec in La Spezia was the Italian branch of an American multinational which produces software for management of maritime assets and is particularly involved in the oil and gas industry. Taking advantage of the large-scale expansion of the offshore oil industry, SpecTec’s product easily gained a foothold. Even in Dubai, where

SPECTEC – SOFTWARE

IT and low costs the way to successcommercial traffic has compensated for the lack of oil in the immediate territory, SpecTec managed to do very well. The real leap forward came in 2012, when the company from La Spezia was bought by Constellation Software, a Canadian company founded by venture capitalist Mark Leonard, which had been doing extremely well on the Toronto stock exchange. Constellation’s main business idea is to acquire specialist software in the most diverse industrial sectors and in the tertiary sector. Their first move was to propose that SpecTec’s sales network, with 25 branches worldwide, enter into a partnership with the parent company. Each distributor was offered the opportunity to buy out their branch, with the guarantee of a lengthy and exclusive contract giving them products from the parent company. “The Emirates are focusing a lot on the savings that can be made through the application of IT in key sectors such as transport, energy, defence, industrial production and public administration”, Nencha, who has managed to ensure a wider use of his software in defence and general industry, revealed. With

offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, SpecTec Middle East has a multi-million euro turnover; the company is also looking to set up in Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. In the maritime sector in particular, SpecTec software almost has a monopoly, as it is the only platform which easily integrates management programmes from SAP, Oracle and IBM, at a cost of between five and eight thousand dollars.

Alberto Nencha is also President of the Italian Business Council in Abu Dhabi.

X FACTOR

The company’s flagship is the Clock Tower in Makkah, a masterpiece of engineering

and design. Other than being the largest clock tower in the world, five times the size of London’s Big Ben, its design and finishing incorporate procedures which were studied ad hoc. MAPEI had to develop a special adhesive, Kerapoxy, in order to stick together the 98 million tiles which make up the mosaic on the face of the giant clock. They also had to make a varnish would resist the intense sunlight in the desert climate, which the clock is exposed to all day long, throughout the year. Furthermore, thanks to their achievements in Saudi Arabia, the company run by Giorgio Squinzi had a special role in putting the finishing touches to the Armani Hotel, on the 80th floor of the Burji Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world. Completion of this work necessitated high quality materials and also great speed of execution, so that areas treated with the adhesive could be used within 24 hours. MAPEI’s business in the Gulf region has

MAPEI – CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

To f ight competi t ion f rom Switzerland and Germany,

where the two multinational com-panies most involved in MAPEI’s target market come from, the Italians have focused on flexibil-ity; in other words, the ability to offer tailor-made solutions to their customers, as well as follow-up support. This led to commissions in some of the most prestigious pro-jects: Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi; terminals 1, 2 and 3 at the airport in Dubai; the Burji Al Arab in Dubai; and the lavish Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the height of luxury.

FLEXIBILITY

How to survive the sun in the desert

products to serve large-scale civil construction, such as roads, tunnels and underground transport systems. They are a supplier for the main contractors, such as Salini-Impregilo. The company is also looking, in the immediate future, to enter two other markets in the area, Oman and Kuwait, which are both involved in large public investment programmes.

X FACTOR

grown continuously since 2005, with double digit percentages, arriving at a turnover of 100 million euros in 2013. “The margins are pleasing”, explained Stefano Iannacone, the company’s General Manager in the area, who runs operations from the factory in Dubai. In addition to the Saudi market and that in the UAE, MAPEI is aiming to do business in Qatar, where they have opened a second production plant, over an area of around 80,000 square metres, with 140 employees. In Qatar, business is mostly focused around

The clock tower in Makkah, with the clock face, in mosaic, pictured below. Below: Stefano Iannacone