Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb became the first woman in the MENA region to be appointed head of a free zone (Jafza) in June 2005.
In September of the same year, as CEO of Economic Zones World, Salma’s responsibilities widened to cover global operations currently spanning 13 countries and includes TechnoPark, Dubai Auto Zone and now Gazeley, a global developer of sustainable logistics space.
In 4 years she has contributed to Jafza’s tremendous growth by making it one of the most customer-friendly organizations in the region.
Salma completed her education in the UAE and the UK, in the fields of Medical Sciences, Information Technology and Business Studies. Her vast experience covers various executive positions in reputed organizations. Salma serves as a Board Member for Ports and Free Zones World and Dubai Exports Development Corporation. She also sits on the board of Forsa, a Dubai World venture set up to offer women in the UAE the opportunity to invest and partner in the country’s development.
Her services have been recognized with the “Business Women Award 2006 for Leadership”. In 2008, MEED magazine named her one of the 12 most influential business women in the region. Most recently, she topped Forbes Arabia’s list of the 50 most powerful Arab businesswomen.
Awards for Jafza under her leadership:
Best Port Special Economic Zones in the Middle East – Foreign Direct Investment 2006
Best Logistics Park – Sea -Middle East Logistics Award 2006 and 2009
Industrial Area of the Year - Supply Chain & Transport Award 2007
Free Zone Authority of the year - Seatrade Middle East and Indian Subcontinent Awards 2008
Outstanding Achievement of the Year’ and ‘Industrial Area of the Year’ awards - Supply Chain and Transport Awards 2008
Economic Zones World: ‘Best Innovator of the Year’ Middle East Logistics Awards 2009
Pat McGillycuddy
Chief Operating Officer
Pat joined the Asda-Gazeley Group in 1985 and was one of the core team that established Gazeley in 1987. He was appointed Director at Gazeley in 1990 and combined this role with that of Store Development Director of Asda from 1992 to 1994 to support the renewal programme led by Archie Norman and Alan Leighton.
He spearheaded Gazeley’s expansion to mainland Europe from 2001 to 2004, and in 2005, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Gazeley. Following the successful completion of his Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer in January 2006. While at its helm, Pat consolidated Gazeley’s position as a leading developer of distribution space in Europe, China and India, eventually leading to successfully joining forces with Economic Zones World in 2008, where he currently serves as Chief Operating Officer since.
Pat is passionate about bringing high levels of customer service to the infrastructure industry and developing young people to be all that they can be.
Asim Al Abbasi
Chief Financial Officer
Asim Al Abbasi joined Jafza in October 2005 as the CFO. He was also appointed the CFO of EZW at its inception in 2007. At present his area of responsibility in addition to finance also includes the legal function. He is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant and brings to the company more than 24 years of industrial experience. At EZW he was instrumental in raising finance through the issue of the largest AED denominated sukuk and has been a leading team member spearheading expansion including successful acquisition of overseas company.
Peter Gomersall
Chief Investment Officer
Peter Gomersall joined the Asda Group in 1984 as a Development Manager spearheading their expansion into the South of the UK. He was one of the core team that established Gazeley in 1987 and has developed projects as diverse as shopping malls, retail parks offices and leisure centres.
He was appointed Managing Director of Gazeley’s European business in 2005 and following a successful period, he took on the role of Managing Director for the EBU’s.
He is a Chartered Surveyor and is highly regarded in the development and investment arena following the successful development and sale of property portfolios in mainland Europe which set new benchmarks in the returns achieved and the way property is traded.
Peter is currently Chief Investment Officer of Economic Zones World, where his experience is invaluable to the global teams.
Nick Redwood
Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Europe & US
Nick Redwood joined Gazeley in 2002 as Development Director and was appointed Managing Director of Gazeley UK in June 2005. He has over fifteen years
industrial agency experience with Chestertons and worked alongside the Gazeley team in the early years of Magna Park, making a major contribution to its success. He was a director of Belgrave Land prior to joining Gazeley.
Nick has assembled one of the strongest development teams in the UK and is highly regarded in the UK property industry. He has led Gazeley UK to be one of the leading trader developers in the United Kingdom.
Talal Al Hashimi
Managing Director, UAE
Talal Al Hashimi has over 12 years of experience within Ports, Customs & Free-Zone Corporation (PCFC) in a number of senior positions, notably, 7 years
as HR Manager, 5 years as Senior Vice President of Property since 2005 and Managing Director of DAZ since 2007.
Subsequently, in 2009, Talal was tasked with the role of Managing Director of the UAE Region of Economic Zones World. He has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
