MAF Shopping Malls' top official appointed trustee of International Council of Shopping Centres

As part of that accolade, Shahram Shamsaee, Senior Vice-President, Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, was recently appointed to International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) board of trustees. Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls is a subsidiary of the Majid Al Futtaim Group.

In his capacity on the board of trustees, Shamsaee's primary responsibility along with other members will be to assist ICSC in the implementation of its mission statement, which is to provide education programmes and publications in all aspects of shopping centre development, finance, management, marketing, and other specialised areas of professional interest.

Shamsaee will also be responsible for conducting meetings and other programmes designed to promote the exchange of ideas among members; collect and disseminating information pertaining to the shopping centre industry; developing and maintaining professional certification programmes to encourage high standards for shopping centre professionals; and advocating the interest of the shopping centre industry to policy-makers and the public.

Speaking on his appointment, Shamsaee commented:

"It is indeed an honour to be able to represent the Middle East / North Africa region on this prestigious board for our industry. The retail sector in this region is growing steadily and is achieving excellent world-wide recognition for its efforts and many successes. Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, over the years, has implemented some of the best projects in the region and it will be interesting to share a platform with experts from around the world to devise policies and programmes for the future of this industry."

As Senior Vice-President of Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, Shamsaee leads a team of 650 employees in five markets, overseeing an existing operating shopping mall portfolio of five million square feet and responsible for all future shopping centres within the group's portfolio in the MENA region.

Shamsaee is a graduate of the prestigious AMP at Harvard Business School. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from the University of Toledo, OH, USA. Shamsaee is the former executive member of the MECSC and an ICSC member since 1997. He teaches regularly at ICSC's workshops on issues such as shopping mall leasing and development.