Khalifa Port: Facilitating Trade and Investment in the UAE Webinar

His Excellency Abdulla Al Saleh is the Under Secretary of Foreign Trade and Industry at the UAE Ministry of Economy. Among his responsibilities is to drive closer cooperation, increase trade and investment flows, and deepen economic ties between UAE and the world. He spearheads UAE Free Trade negotiations within the GCC framework with regional blocks and other countries. He is also Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the World Trade Organization. He oversees trade policies and UAE’s fulfilment of commitments. Amongst several divisions, he leads a trade and promotional team and oversees the network of economic missions at UAE Embassies.

Also, Al Saleh is Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for Exports; Honorary President of the Arab-Chinese Centre for International Exchange; Vice President of the Annual Investment Forum; Board member of the UAE International Investors Council, which enables UAE investors to invest in key markets; Board member at the Emirates Gender Balancing Council, which aims to increase women’s participation in national development across all sectors and develop their skills and provide them with the necessary tools to support the UAE’s future progress. He is member of the Advisory Boards at New York University Abu Dhabi, Zayed University Business and Management School, Sharjah University Business School and University of Wollongong in Dubai (Business School).

Earlier in his career, Al Saleh was a diplomat in UAE Embassies in the United States and France. He holds an MSc in International Politics from the American University in DC and a Bachelors degree of Political Sciences from the UAE University.

Mr. Kasper Castricum is of Dutch origin and has lived in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) for the last 9 years. He holds a B.Sc. in nautical engineering (master mariner), an MBA in global management, and a (pending) PhD in strategic management and is strong in lean (master BB) management and entrepreneurial organisations. Mr. Castricum has been on several Dutch industrial advisory boards such as VOW (liquid and gasses ship-handlers association) and VOTOP (independent terminal association) to provide guidance and reviews for liquid (hydrocarbons, chemicals and vegetable oils) and gasses handling as per ISGINTT or ISGOTT or other international standards.

Mr. Castricum has over 22 years of experience in several roles in the oil and gas industry, mainly the chemical sector. His employment record includes Vopak, NuStar, and Odfjell. He has sailed on chemical tankers as chief officer, and since 2006 ashore in various senior management positions at port industrial facilities such as tank-terminals and biodiesel refineries. Currently Mr. Castricum is GM for Arabian Chemical terminals greenfield tank terminal in Khalifa Port Abu Dhabi and for logistics company ICL in KSA under the same Alireza Investment Group.

Mr. Kim Larsen joined Abu Dhabi Ports in 2017 and is the Vice President of Commercial & Business Development in the Ports Unit. In his role, he is responsible for the commercial development of ports and other Abu Dhabi Ports’ facilities in and outside Abu Dhabi, in compliance with the vision of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and for driving and growing the Ports’ commercial business within and outside the UAE.

Mr. Larsen has more than 25 years’ experience in the maritime industry, including terminal development and management, logistics, line management, vessel network development and commercial feedering.

He has held a number of senior leadership positions within the AP Moller Group. Among those, he was the Commercial Director with APM Terminals and Chief Line Officer with SeagoLine. In addition, Mr. Larsen served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Unifeeder for 5 years.

Mr. Larsen completed commercial college education and emerged as a market economist from Aalborg Business College, Denmark. He also completed his professional Maersk International Shipping Education at AP Moller Group.

Mr. Larsen has accomplished a number of executive programs such as the Executive Development Program at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, and Finance for Senior Managers program at the London Business School.

Mohamed Eida Tanaf Al Menhali is the Director of Khalifa Port, providing the strategic vision and leadership management to ensure growth, efficiency and overall regulatory compliance at the Port.

Mohamed has extensive experience from his 12 years of service at Abu Dhabi Ports, his knowledge spanning key areas including Ports Management, General Management, Strategic Studies and Procurement.

His primary goal is to advance Khalifa Port’s stature as one of the globe’s leading ports by driving sustainable growth in collaboration with international partners and stakeholders, and in support of achieving Abu Dhabi’s vision as a global hub for maritime trade and logistic services.

Mohamed has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, and has participated in a Leadership programme at Harvard Business School and an intensive Master’s degree programme in Strategic Security Strategy at the National Defence College in Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Paul Vrijhof is a Dutch national. He graduated from Erasmus University Rotterdam with a degree in Business Economics and has 24 years of experience across Food, Oil & Gas, and Logistics sectors. Previously, he held leadership positions in Strategy and Commercial for employers including Cargill and Vopak. Paul has worked and lived across Europe, in the USA, Singapore and has spent the last seven years in the Middle East. He is responsible for Strategy & Business Development in Abu Dhabi Ports.

Mr. Saif Al Mazrouei is Head of Ports Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, owner and manager of nine commercial and community ports in Abu Dhabi as well as Fujairah Terminals, Kamsar Terminal (Guinea) and Khalifa Port Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi. He is responsible for spearheading all port functions and operations including organisation, direction, and coordination.

With over twenty years of experience in ports and across shipping and retail industries, Mr. Al Mazrouei is recognised for his ability to effectively manage all container terminal operations, in terms of planning, technical engineering and HSE. He formerly held the role of Chief Operating Officer at Khalifa Port Container Terminal leading the successful operations of the organisation.

Mr. Al Mazrouei joined Abu Dhabi Terminal in 2012 as Execution Manager for the day-to-day operations at the container terminal. Previously he served as a Board Director and Community Relations and Communications Director, at Al Habtoor Group. Prior to these appointments, he handled various roles at the Union Cooperative Society and DP World.

Mr. Al Mazrouei holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A), majoring in Geography from Beirut Arab University, Lebanon.

Salmeen Al Ameri is the Chief Executive Officer at Al Dahra Agriculture where he is responsible for all commercial and operational functions, leading, turnaround and growth plan implementations. He counts with global experience on strategy, portfolio monitoring and corporate development. Furthermore, Salmeen is a board member in various companies such as Agthia and Agility Abu Dhabi.

Salmeen holds a master’s degree in Management from Paris-Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from United States of America.