Jeffrey Sampler & Saeb Eigner launch new book on the awesome growth of Dubai in three decades

Indeed former US President Bill Clinton has described it as "A great business story waiting to be told".

Now in their new book "Sand to Silicon", authors Jeffrey Sampler and Saeb Eigner have told that story of the groundbreaking progress the city-state has made under the visionary leadership of the Al Maktoum family.

Published by Profile Books of the UK, the release of "Sand to Silicon" in the UAE has been timed to coincide with the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund hosted by Dubai.

Jeffrey Sampler was in Dubai to launch the book as he prepared to take an active part in the upcoming Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the IMF. He said, "With the focus on the international financial and business community on Dubai during the meetings, we thought it an ideal time to launch our book. It also serves to commemorate the meetings and the spirit of Dubai in hosting it.

"We also hope that our story of how Dubai has developed can be used as a lesson and inspirational example to any organisation on how to achieve such rapid economic growth."

Austrian-born Saeb Eigner has spent a great deal of his business career in the Gulf and other Arab countries and speaks Arabic. Describing his contribution to the book, he said: "I guess this is like giving something back to this place, after over twenty years of travelling all over the place. I continue to be amazed at the speed with which development happens here, and I salute the spirit that drives this phenomenon."

In the book, Sampler and Eigner chart the growth of the emirate of Dubai from a creekside fishing and diving community to the bustling, ultra-modern metropolis it is today.

Over a period spanning close to 50 years, the change that has been brought about by the visionary leaders has put Dubai on the international map as a case study for levels of progress. Dubai is shown in true colours as run with tight organisation, open door policies by the leaders, and excellent communication channels up and down the structure.

The authors have drawn interesting comparisons between Dubai and two other purpose-developed business hubs in the world, Silicon Valley, USA, and Singapore. The authors argue that Dubai has positioned itself between these two centres and have used best practices to make Dubai the economic hub that it is today. The ancient trading port with a natural water inlet has now become one of the most dynamic and upscale cities in the world, and is a re-exporting, manufacturing and intellectual hub.

The 'Pearl of the Arabian Gulf' and the 'Crossroads of the new Global economy' are Dubai's aliases, fitting tags to a city that defied all the odds to serve as a connecting point between the financial markets of Singapore and Frankfurt.

Sand to Silicon is now available at leading bookshops in Dubai and will later be available in other Gulf and Middle East countries.

Jeffrey Sampler is Associate Professor of Strategy and Information Management at London Business School. Saeb Eigner is CEO of Lonworld, a financial services company he established. He is also a London Business School governor and chairs its International Alumni Board and Middle East Regional Advisory Board.