A woman is the new boss at Majid Al Futtaim malls

In December 2019, Mrs Shireen El Khatib, a 25-year veteran retail executive, has been appointed C.E.O. of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Shopping Malls. She will lead a portfolio of 26 malls in the Gulf region (U.A.E., Egypt, Oman, Bahrain and Lebanon). She replaces Ghaith Shocair after his 9 years in the role. Mrs El Khatib previously worked as C.E.O. of Al Tayer Insignia, where she launched the high-end department stores Bloomingdale’s and Harvey Nichols into Dubai. She moved to be C.E.O. of Majid Al Futtaim’s fashion division for 2 years, developing customer-centric retail concepts and revamping brand portfolios.  

As the Gulf’s largest family conglomerate, this strategic change is at a critical moment for MAF. The Properties division posted revenue of about €500 million in H1 2019, a fall of 3%.