Hanif Merchant is the Founder and Chairman of Dubai 9 Group, Emirates Neon Group and Ruwaad Holdings. The holding company, Dubai 9 Group is a UAE-based investment company with holdings in more than a dozen countries across four continents. Established in 1971, the Dubai 9 Group has ventures in the fields of signage and visual communications, media and advertising, executive training, human capital consulting, consumer electronics, aluminium and steel fabrication, industrial coating, destination development, hotels and resorts.
The Group’s portfolio includes companies such as Emirates Neon Group (the biggest signage and visual communications company in the Middle East), Ruwaad Holdings, Leading Concepts and Paradigmz. Dubai 9 Group also is a stakeholder and one of three founding members of Enshaa Holdings, whose projects, through Emirates International Holdings and Emirates Sunland, include the Palazzo Versace Resort Development in Dubai and the Palazzo Versace Resort on Australia’s Gold Coast, in addition to many other real estate developments.
Hanif Merchant in his role as Founder and Chairman of Ruwaad Holdings is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company and for providing strategic counsel of all its initiatives.
Ruwaad Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai 9 Group, is a real estate, hospitality and tourism investment and development company that focuses on creating iconic destinations with a strong focus on entertainment, hospitality and lifestyle in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The company is in the process of creating a number of unique, high-end developments in cooperation with leading global brands in the real estate, lifestyle, hospitality, tourism and leisure entertainment industries.
Hanif Merchant has extensive experience across four continents as a very successful entrepreneur. His ambition and vision is what can be observed as the Dubai 9 Group today. His experience spans across business start-ups, business operations and strategic partnerships. Over the past five years, the Group has registered tremendous growth year after year, and Mr. Merchant has played an instrumental role in this achievement.
Hanif Merchant holds various degrees and certificates in Business Management and he has also attended executive education courses at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA; the Michigan Ross School of Business, USA; the Columbia Business School, USA, and the Center for Creative Leadership.