TECOM Investments, a member of the Dubai Holding group, has named executive directors to lead two of its media free zones, Dubai Media City (DMC) and International Media Production Zone (IMPZ). Mohammad Abdullah, who has spent 20 years working in the media in the Emirates, was named executive director of DMC, while Saeed al Falasi was appointed to lead the IMPZ following a nine-year stint at the Dubai World Trade Centre, as well as working at Dubai Aluminium. Mr Abdullah, who began his career as a broadcast journalist and news anchor at Abu Dhabi TV, said he hoped he could bring his knowledge from inside the industry to bear on his new job, which entails administering a free zone that is home to more than 1,000 media companies.
"We are looking forward to having a better understanding of the industry and of our partners, in terms of a partnership between media city and our business partners," he said. "I am hoping that this experience might bring us closer together, in terms of understanding their needs and requirements. Coming from the other side, which is the industry side, I think that this will make me able to understand their needs."
Mr Abdullah's first day on the job, yesterday, ends a period without a leader for DMC. It has been without a chief since November, when its former executive director, Mohamed Almulla, was appointed to the same position at the Arab Media Group, another subsidiary of Dubai Holding. Former colleagues spoke highly of Mr Abdullah's appointment. Abdulraheem al Bateeh, the director of news at Abu Dhabi TV, worked with Mr Abdullah from 1997 to 2003, when Mr Abdullah was head of news. "He has got a charisma," Mr al Bateeh said. "And he has a very good sentiment to be a leader."
Following a period in television, Mr Abdullah moved to print, working as press director and later as director of strategy and planning at Emirates Media Incorporated. Most recently, he served as the executive vice president of CNBC Arabia, where he helped the broadcaster relaunch many of its programmes. Steven Hall, the chief executive of CNBC Arabia, worked with him on the relaunches. Despite being sorry to see Mr Abdullah go, he too applauded the appointment, from the perspective of a resident company of the media zone.
"He has a lot of management experience and journalistic experience," Mr Hall said. "Having a media guy running media city is bound to be good for those of us who are here, because he will understand what we are up to." Mr al Falasi could not be reached for comment. khagey@thenational.ae