Avid BBC World watchers will recognize Nima Abu-Wardeh as the face of the channel’s weekly financial programme, Middle East Business Report, which is based in Dubai. Nima is the founder of MZone, a content provider and consultancy service specializing in media and business issues relating to the Arab world. She also provides media training for both organizations and individuals, including courses for university students.
A popular media personality in the region, she is a frequent moderator at several conferences and events such as the regional gatherings of the Arab Business Council and the World Economic Forum. One of the several panelists that she interacted with during the WEF last year include the CEO of Dubai’s latest airline…
Ghaith Saeed Khalaf Al Ghaith
The CEO of flydubai, Emirates’ new low cost carrier, Al Ghaith is confident of starting operations in the second quarter of next year. The executive vice-president of commercial operations at Emirates airlines, Al Ghaith has been with the company for more than 20 years now.
After graduating from the University of Arizona, he started as a trainee with Emirates airlines in 1986. Al Ghaith was promoted to deputy sales manager, then headed the London office, and in 1995, began to manage the airlines’ commercial operations.
Flydubai’s operations, however, will be entirely separate from Emirates Airlines, says the company, and the carrier plans to focus on regional flights.
Last week, Al Ghaith confirmed that flydubai was talking to Boeing about aircraft delivery after delays due to a strike at the US planemaker’s factories. During the Farnborough air show in July this year, Al Ghaith announced a historic order for 54 737-800 aircraft from Boeing. Beside him stood…
James McNerney
The chairman of the board, president and CEO of the Boeing Company, McNerney has been heading it since July 2005. He has served as a member of the company’s board since 2001. McNerney oversees the direction of the Chicago-based aerospace company, which is the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft in the world.
Earlier he served as chairman of the board and CEO of 3M, a global technology company. He has also worked with Procter & Gamble, McKinsey and General Electric Company (GE), where he held several top executive positions.
He was also one of the three people billed to become the company’s chairman after Jack Welch, but he lost out to…
Jeffrey Immelt
Immelt is the ninth chairman of GE, a post he has held since September 2001. Heading one of the biggest companies in the world, he is constantly criticized for living in Welch’s shadow.
Immelt, who was the president of the company, has held several top positions since coming to GE in 1982. He is also a member of the Business Council, and is on the board of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Currently, however, he is busy making decisions to help GE cope with the financial crisis. Late last month, he announced that costs and employment will be lower in 2009 across the board. There are many speculations about whether the cost cutting will involve selling GE’s stakes in NBC Universal, which is presently run by…
Jeff Zucker
Zucker has been the president and CEO of NBC Universal since February last year. The media and entertainment company claims to have annual revenues of close to $18 billion, and its assets include US broadcast networks such as NBC, Telemundo, cable channels such as CNBC and MSNBC, movie studios Universal Pictures and Focus Features, and theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando. NBC Universal is 80 percent owned by GE and 20 percent by Vivendi.
Zucker has spent his entire career at NBC Universal, joining the company’s Olympic unit in 1986, straight out of college. He has held several positions within the company, and spent nearly eight years as the executive producer of NBC News’ Today.
A five-time Emmy Award winner, Zucker managed to get very high ratings for the NBC network through shows like ‘Frasier’, ‘The Apprentice’ and the popular sitcom ‘Friends’, starring Joey, Phoebe, Monica, Ross, Chandler and Rachel aka…
Jennifer Aniston
Currently, the former Friends actress is denying widespread media rumors that she is pregnant, and that Aniston’s on-again-off-again beau John Mayer is the father.
Jennifer had her first taste of acting at age 11 when she joined the Rudolf Steiner’ School’s drama club. She later trained as a drama student at New York’s High School of the Performing Arts. In 1987, after graduation, she appeared in Off-Broadway productions such as ‘For Dear Life’ and ‘Dancing on Checker’s Grave’. She went on to get several small TV roles, but she only found fame when she joined the cast of ‘Friends’ in 1994. Rachel Green’s layered haircut and attitude sparked a huge trend and transformed Aniston into a style icon.
Aniston has since acted in other flicks such as ’The Break-Up’, ‘Along Came Polly’, ‘Rock Star’ and ‘Picture Perfect’.
In 2000, she married Hollywood king…
Brad Pitt
The two got divorced four and half years later, and Brad Pitt began romancing his ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ co-star Angelina Jolie. Currently ‘Brangelina’ (as the couple is called) have six children, three of whom are adopted.
Called the sexiest man alive (twice by people magazine), Pitt got his big break as the hard-bodied scam artist in ‘Thelma and Louise’. But it was his roles in ‘Fight Club’ and ‘12 Monkeys’ that earned him acclaim and an Oscar.
Earlier this year, the actor also revealed his true ‘passion’. “Whilst acting is my career, architecture is my passion,” Pitt said as he announced plans to design a five-star complex in Dubai. The project was announced by developers Zabeel Properties, who have appointed LA-based architecture firm Graft to oversee it.
From the article on KIPPREPORT
