Omar Karim is a Director on the Board. Omar also serves as the Dubai Holding Group Chief Investment Officer. Since his appointment to this role in 2017, he has been responsible for steering the overall investment strategy for the group and managing its strategic and financial investments across real estate, hospitality, leisure and entertainment, telecommunications and media, travel and tourism, consumer retail and sustainable and renewable energy, the majority of which were, since late 2021, consolidated into a dedicated vertical of the group, Dubai Holding Investments.
During his tenure he has successfully concluded a range of transactions, the more recent ones including the 100% take-private of DXB Entertainments (the region’s largest integrated theme park and leisure destination) and its integration into the group, the landmark merger and integration of Meraas (one of the largest real estate, hospitality and entertainment holding conglomerates in the UAE) and a U.S.$1.2bn partnership among Dubai Holding and a consortium of multinational investors to build and operate one of the world’s largest waste to renewable energy facilities in the UAE.
He has also been instrumental in expanding Dubai Holding’s international footprint through a series of cross-border investments across multiple sectors, including travel and tourism, real estate and hospitality, consumer retail and technology.
Prior to joining Dubai Holding, Omar served as an investment banker at UBS Investment Bank where he was responsible for the execution of a broad range of mergers, acquisitions and debt and equity financing transactions with global public and private clients. Omar started his career at KPMG in Australia in their corporate finance practice, where he held several roles focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and valuation of businesses and infrastructure assets.
Omar holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Monash University in Australia.
Omar also serves and has served as a member of the board of directors of multiple companies spanning the retail, hospitality, travel and tourism and maritime sectors both in the UAE and beyond as set out below.
| Position | Start Date | End Date (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| Member of the board of Dubai Hills Estate LLC | May 2021 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Dubai Hills Estate Retail LLC | May 2021 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Dubai Hills Estate Hospitality LLC | May 2021 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Dubai Hills Estate District Cooling LLC | May 2021 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Certares Investments LLC | September 2020 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Certares Travel Ventures LLC | September 2020 | N/A |
| Chairman and Member of the board of Merex Investment Group LLC | December 2019 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Nirvana Travel and Tourism LLC | July 2019 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Shamal Venture Cruise Terminal LLC | May 2019 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Azadea Holding Company DIFC Ltd | December 2018 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Certares Holdings (Blockable) LLC | July 2018 | N/A |
| Member of the board of Dream Holdings Inc (Aerofarms) | June 2017 | N/A |
| Member of the board of D-Marin Dubai LLC | February 2019 | December 2020 |
| Member of the board of Rove Hotels LLC | July 2017 | September 2020 |