Chief Transformation and Business Excellence Officer
Emirates District Cooling (EMICOOL)
Total years of experience :24 years, 2 Months
• Developed and now manages digital, IT, business excellence and technology strategy including a new Digital Roadmap. Established and now leads the Digital Transformation Function.
• Develops / implements digital programs and initiatives with a focus on customer and supplier journeys, energy management and delivery, and the digital workplace.
• Has introduced fact-based metrics to determine the ROI of digital efforts.
• Also supports IT throughout the company and has successfully implemented Agile ways of working.
• Established and led the Strategy Function, including setting-up effective strategy methodology and working practices. Developed new strategy and annual plan with the CEO and Executive Committee.
• Advised colleagues how to use digital technologies to influence their strategies and achieve better results.
• Drove compliance towards industry frameworks including ISO standards 9001, 14001, 45001 and 50001.
• Introduced a digital balanced scorecard with KPIs to assist in performance monitoring.
• Involved in Financial Planning & Analysis and Business Development work with senior colleagues.
• Provided the CEO with decision support.
• Continually improved products, processes, and policies.
• Led the development and implementation of new Sustainability Strategy in line with UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria.
• Delivered Sustainability Annual Report in line with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines.
• Led the implementation of a new Business Continuity Management Framework in line with ISO 22301.
• Created / managed the Enterprise Risk Management Framework including operational, financial and regulatory risks / controls / processes. Managed a small team and owned risk / insurance budgets.
• Carried out risk assessments, evaluations, monitoring and reporting.
• Educated the Board of Directors, departmental heads and employees about significant business risks.
• Worked with departments to support them in the implementation of recommendations.
• Filed regulatory reports and other documentation
• Led policy and compliance audits, which included liaison with internal and external auditors.
• Reviewed any new major contracts or internal business proposals
• Created business continuity plans to limit risks.
• Introduced a new risk register listing risks by department / function and introducing Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and their acceptable thresholds.
• Implemented strategies to minimize the exposure to financial and credit risks; re-negotiated bank loans and reduced rates by 15 basis points, reduced customers-at-default portfolio by 15%.
• Advised senior managers on the potential risks of projects; reduced project delays by 15% and costs by 7%.
• Implemented ISO 9001, 14001, 5000, and OHSAS 18001 standards; increased client satisfaction by 12%, waste reduction grew by 8%, and reduced energy consumption by 3%.
• Worked closely with Dubai RSB (Regulatory Supervisor Body) to establish a regulatory framework for district cooling and required annual compliance reporting
• Won several industry including: Gold - Energy Efficiency Award Private Sector 2017; Gold Award - Emirates Energy Award 2017; IDEA Silver Award 2017 - Number of Buildings Committed; Carbon Champion Award - IDEA 7th International District Cooling Conference.
• Implemented a risk-based internal control framework / process; enhanced governance, reduced risk and better aligned strategic objectives with business goals.
• Established and monitored key risk indicators and implemented corrective action plans to mitigate risks.
• Managed / motivated a team.
• Led system reviews and in-depth verification of accounting, financing and operating information.
• Introduced a new data quality methodology including a uniform set of processes for determining, investigating and resolving data quality issues, and defining data quality audit procedures.
• Analyzed commercial agreements and the risks related to project delays or penalties.
• Prepared regular bank reports to demonstrate full compliance with syndicate loan covenants.
• Carried out detailed financial analysis of each cost centre and made recommendations.
• Embedded automated controls into the ERP system; improved the reliability of financial reporting.
• Built strong relationships with the Audit Committee and ensured there were systems and resources in place to deal with any of their queries within 24 hours.
• Introduced a new financial reporting system; improved reporting efficiency by 50%.
• Streamlined Accounts Payable and Receivable systems; increased process efficiency.
• Analyzed client portfolios to identify lower-performing accounts. Using this data, I was able to improve these accounts; increased average clients’ revenue by 16%.
• Met with all Senior Managers to discuss their budgets; reduced overall expenditure by 15%.
• Led several projects; the analysis, design, execution, and training phases for Prometia's risk management solutions (ALM, Fund Transfer Pricing, Credit Risk, Loan Origination and MIS).
• Managed consultants on-site and helped them to achieve the project scope within timeline / budget.
• Involved in client negotiations to scope new projects.
• Also played a key role in pre-sales activities (demos and RFPs), and proof of concept workshops for risk management solutions software for prospective clients in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
• Trained employees in credit risk and loan origination.
• Major Clients: Yapi Kredi (Turkey); Alex Bank (Egypt); Al Baraka Bank (Egypt), Intesa Sanpaolo (Albania)
A senior Oracle Database Consultant and Technical Lead; responsibilities included:
• System Architecture Advisory for Path Solutions Islamic banking software
• Scope assessment, definition and contract negotiation
• Initial oracle database architecture design, installation and configuration
• Capacity Planning and performance tuning
• Security Assessment and recommendation
• Disaster recovery, business continuity planning and implementation.
• Conducting thorough ICT policy and methodology drafting
Major Clients: Muscat Bank (Riyadh); ARCAPITA (Bahrain); SEERA Bank (Bahrain); Muthanna Investment Company (Kuwait); Kuwait Asset Management Company (Kuwait), Bobyan Bank - (Kuwait), National Bank of Abu Dhabi - (Abu Dhabi); Qatar National Bank (Qatar); International Arab Islamic Bank (Jordan); RHB Islamic Bank Berhad (Malaysia); Amana Investment Limited (Sri Lanka); First Community Bank (Kenya)
In charge of the IT department operations including daily systems administration of windows and database servers.
Performed studies for several clients regarding infrastructure setup. Studies included Hardware sizing and selection, choice of operating system and services design and implementation.
Accomplishments include:
- Migration from Microsoft Exchange 2000 to Lotus Domino R5
- Migration from Oracle 6i Designer Repository to Oracle 9i Designer Repository
- Implementation of Software Configuration Management using Oracle 9i Designer
- Developed using Lotus Designer workflow applications to control internal IT operations
- Implementation of Microsoft Project Server, Lotus Sametime 3.0
Windows NT/2000 platform Systems Administration
Lotus Notes Server Administration and Application Development
Administration of 5 Lotus Notes servers (Hub and spoke Topology) and 150 users
Formulated several ISO forms to more applicable workflow databases through the use of Lotus Notes Domino Designer
Performs the activities necessary to ensure the smooth running of HW &SW
Installing and monitoring networking equipment.
Developing & implementing policies (User and Server Level)