Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman, Al Habtoor Group recognized the top talent at the Al Habtoor Group’s annual Employee Excellence Awards on Tuesday 14 March 2017. Chairman Al Habtoor personally congratulated each of the winners at an award ceremony held at the Habtoor Grand Resort, Autograph Collection. The event was also attended by Sultan Al Habtoor, President, Al Habtoor Motors and senior management from across the Group’s businesses.
This year’s event marked the 10th anniversary of the Al Habtoor Group Employee Excellence Awards. The Awards brings together all the company’s units including Habtoor Hospitality, Al Habtoor Motors, Diamondlease, Emirates International Schools (Jumeirah and Meadows), and Al Habtoor Group Head Office.
The Chairman presented a total of 25 awards to recognize the high performers across all the Group’s unit. There were eight categories in this year’s event:
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The Chairman’s Award
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Distinction Award
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Business Unit Award
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Departmental Award
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Milestone Award
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Individual Excellence Awards
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Employees’ Choice Award
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CSR Award
Each of the winners were personally thanked by the Chairman, and were awarded with an engraved trophy, a certificate and a monetary prize.
Al Habtoor said, “This is the 10th Al Habtoor Group Employee Excellence Awards. I believe it is important to recognize members of staff who have proven to be exemplary. They deserve to be singled out for their hard work and commitment to the company. They also set the standards high for other staff to follow. We recognize every level of employee from the most junior members of staff to the senior management.”
He added, “The Al Habtoor Group has witnessed immense growth over the past few years, and our staff have risen to every challenge. Our hospitality unit alone now consists of seven hotels in Dubai, and another seven internationally; our real estate division is growing fast, with the soon-to-be completed Al Habtoor City Residence Collection, and the villas at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club. Our auto division is maintaining its high standards, and we are number one in the world for many of our auto brands. Our car rental unit, Diamondlease, is also performing well, and our two schools, Emirates International School – Jumeirah and Emirates International School – Meadows continue to produce exceptional results. I am very proud of all our unit. It is the employees that have contributed to our success as a Group.”
The winners, nominated by their managers, were selected from over 100 nominees across the Al Habtoor Group’s units. The submissions underwent a rigorous process, which, once selected were reviewed by several committees.
Chairman Al Habtoor personally selected five awards this year: Two in the Chairman’s Award category and three in the Distinction Awards category.
The winners were:
Chairman’s Awards
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The Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah
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Habtoor Grand Resort, Autography Collection
Chairman Al Habtoor said, “The reason I have chosen The Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah for this award is the fact that it has been an outstanding performer over the past 12 months thanks to the General Manager David Wilson and his team.”
He added, “I selected the Habtoor Grand Resort, Autograph Collection, because the management has turned around results of the hotel and brought it back to its former glory. This is down to the efforts of the General Manager Fredrik Reinisch, and Frida Audi, Director of Business Development.”
Distinction Awards
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Joanna Andrews, Director of Communications, Media & Communications Department, Al Habtoor Group
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Abdul Salam Al Marzooqi, Director of UAE Affairs & Community Relations, Al Habtoor Group
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The St. Regis Dubai (led by Faiek El Saadani, Hotel Manager and Jason Harding, Complex General Manager).
The Individual Excellence Awards, which recognizes exemplary staff with less than 15 years of service, were won by Binoy Kaladi, ERP Project Manager, Diamondlease; Muhammed Shereef, Administration Coordinator Diamondlease; Tamer Ayesh, Civil Engineer, Al Habtoor Group; Candice Abonite, Guest Relations Officer, Habtoor Grand Resort – Recreation; Ijaz Javed, Fleet Manager, Habtoor Hospitality – Transport; Sanjay Luthra, General Manager, Metropolitan Hotel Dubai; T B Vinodan, PDI Controller, Al Habtoor Motors (DIC); Muhammad Qaseem Owasis, a Bugatti Technician; Al Habtoor Motors (Prestige); Radhakrishnan V R, Workshop In-Charge, Ramoul Fuso Workshop, Al Habtoor Motors; Samantha Hodges, Year 4 Coordinator, Emirates International School – Meadows; Zahra Ahmed, Students Counsellor, Emirates International School – Jumeirah.
The Milestone Awards, recognizing top talent who have been with the Group for 15 years or more, were won by Nawab Nasir Khan, Lease Sales Manager, Diamondlease; Florida Herrera, Proctor, Emirates International School – Jumeirah (Primary).
The Employees’ Choice Award, the only award to be selected by the employees themselves, was divided into two categories: Leader of the Year and Employee of the Year. The objective of the Leader of the Year Award is to provide a platform for employees to recognize someone who motivates them. The winner was Ilias Aneefa, Senior Manager, HR & Administration at Diamondlease. The Employee of the Year award went to Mohammed Ashraf Kuruniyan, Office Assistant, Diamondlease.
The Corporate Social Responsibility Award was presented to both Emirates International School – Jumeirah and Emirates International School – Meadows for a second year running, for their active role in CSR.
The Departmental Award winners were The Arabic Department at Emirates International School – Jumeirah for raising the standards of Arabic at the school and putting in place a new system to evaluate students individually; The Legal Department at the Al Habtoor Group led by Hadi El Kadi, Group General Counsel and The Procurement Department led by Malek Moussa, Chief Procurement Officer, Al Habtoor Group.
The highly sought after Business Unit Award went to Habtoor Hospitality led by Kamal Naamani, Managing Director, Hospitality and Leisure Projects (UAE). Habtoor Hospitality has grown phenomenally over the past few years following the opening of five hotels within two years taking the Group’s UAE hospitality assets to seven: Habtoor Grand Resort, Autograph Collection; Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah; The St. Regis Dubai; The Westin Dubai, Al Habtoor City; W Dubai – Al Habtoor City; Metropolitan Hotel Dubai and the latest hotel – The St. Regis Dubai, Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club in Dubailand.
The audience were treated to a special performance by the Primary School Choir from Emirates International School – Jumeirah. The students sang a song to mark the school’s 25th Anniversary this year called: Go Go Silver Party, sung to the tune of Hi Ho Silver Lining.
The audience also got the opportunity to see a video featuring Chairman Al Habtoor making a surprise visit at two of the Group’s units.
To watch the video: https://youtu.be/dNSY1_gLsDI