Ahmad bin Byat, chairman of TECOM Investments, announced that TECOM Investments, a member of Dubai Holding, has restructured its expansive portfolio, which includes the appointment of Abdullatif AlMulla as TECOM Investments Group CEO.

Abdullatif AlMulla, in turn, has mandated the creation of a new division, TECOM Business Parks as an umbrella organisation incorporating TECOM’s free zone clusters.

Overseeing the various companies under TECOM Investments, Abdullatif AlMulla will steer the growth strategies of Media Services Group, eHosting Datafort, Empower, EIT, SmartCity and the newly established division, TECOM Business Parks.

Headed by Dr Amina Alrustamani as chief executive officer, TECOM Business Parks will bring under its ambit Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai Studio City, International Media Production Zone, DuBiotech, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai International Academic City and Enpark.

Broadening TECOM Investments’ reach further to its international operations, Fareed Abdulrahman has been appointed CEO of SmartCity. SmartCity develops self-sustained townships worldwide based on the successful models of Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village.

With SmartCity Malta and SmartCity Kochi being the first two townships to create a global network, Fareed Abdulrahman will continue to expand SmartCity internationally to develop significant hubs of excellence for knowledge-based industries.

Meanwhile, Dr Amina Al Rustamani will be responsible for guaranteeing the timely delivery of projects, achieving greater cost and process efficiencies, enhancing customer satisfaction, while ensuring the entities remain aligned to the values of TECOM Investments.

Representing a landmark in its rapid growth curve, the restructuring process also involves the reorganisation of some of TECOM Investments’ centralized departments and the announcement of new corporate leaders.

Jamal Al Sharif is now Executive Director, Dubai Studio City, and Ismail Al Naqi will head Dubai Outsource Zone as its Executive Director.

TECOM Investments free zone clusters have registered remarkable success over the years and other countries in the GCC region and the Arab world have replicated the concept. In addition, attracted by the growth story of the cluster model, a number of countries, beyond the Middle East, are in talks with the Dubai government to establish similar entities aimed at either revitalising or diversifying their economies.