ALDAR senior management reinforced in support of new projects

Ronald Barrott has been appointed the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and John Shaw the new Chief Investment Officer (CIO). They are a management team who have worked together for over a decade in the United Kingdom and Europe. Reporting directly to the board and the Chairman of ALDAR, they will jointly be responsible for developing business strategy and the day to day running of the company.

Barrott, began his career as a site engineer in the UK in 1969. In the late 1970s he founded his first real estate company as CEO, and in 1991 negotiated a management buy-out that led to the creation of the highly successful nation-wide retail developer Stannifer. In 2005, among other property initiatives, Barrott merged the company with the UK's well-known Chelsfield Group.

Shaw joined Ronald Barrott in 1995 at Stannifer as Group Managing Director. Shaw's expertise is in community based development. Starting as a planning officer, he became successively Technical Director and Managing Director of a major government-owned Scottish development corporation.

Barrott said yesterday: "We hope to add value to ALDAR by utilizing our extensive knowledge of operational property development, investment and company management."

Shafqat Malik has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for ALDAR. He has moved from London property outsourcing and management company Mapeley where he managed financial strategies for flotation and rapid growth in a highly competitive national market.

Messrs. Barrott and Shaw together with Malik join the experienced existing ALDAR team, led by Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman; Abdulla Zamzam, Chief Administrative Officer; and Riyad Al Mubarak, Audit Advisor.

In announcing the new positions, Ahmed Al Sayegh commented: "We have an exciting but demanding schedule ahead of us. Our total current development program is worth over AED 65 Billion, which will take between two and ten years to complete. In order to achieve these objectives, we have restructured our staff organization. We now have both an unrivalled set of development opportunities and the skill and organization to deliver them."

He added: "Further strategic master planning and infrastructure planning are required. I have every confidence that our expanded management team will meet the expectations of both our shareholders and our customers."