Top Human resource professionals celebrated at Middle East HR Excellence Awards 10.10.2013: - Etihad Airways big winners taking home two awards; - Abu Dhabi Police win Achievement in Government HR accolade

- Etihad Airways big winners taking home two awards;

- Abu Dhabi Police win Achievement in Government HR accolade




photo caption:  The winners of the 2013 Middle East HR Excellence Awards celebrated their achievements last night at the Ritz-Carlton DIFC in Dubai.


The Middle East HR Excellence Awards have celebrated the best in regional Human Resource Management at a prestigious gala dinner and ceremony last night, with Etihad Airways the standout achievers of the evening.


The awards were presented by His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Federal Authority of Human Resources.


Contested among 18 finalists in nine categories, the winners were announced at the Ritz Carlton DIFC, as Abu Dhabi’s national airline carrier took the top prize for the Best Leadership Programme, and the Best Learning and Development Programme.


Other standout winners last night included the Abu Dhabi Police who won the Achievement in Government HR accolade; and Dubai Airports, which came out on top ahead of Mahindra Middle East and the evening’s host, the Ritz-Carlton DIFC, to win the coveted Employer of the Year Award.


Sponsored by Frazer Jones Global HR Recruitment, the Middle East HR Excellence Awards was a feature of the 10th HR Summit and Expo, which concludes today (9 October) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.


Qatar’s Commercial Bank of Doha won the HR Initiative of the Year award, while the Best Recruitment Programme award went to the National Bank of Oman, and the Nationalisation Initiative of the Year gong was awarded to Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group.


 Individuals were also honoured, with Aliya Mohammed Al-Aufi of Takatuf Oman Oil Companies and Sharoq Al Malki of Qatar Museums Authority were joint winners in the highly competitive award for the Young HR Professional of the Year, and Masdar’s Maha Al Mansouri winning the HR Professional of the Year award.


Ramy Bayyour, Show Director of the HR Summit and Expo, said: “The Middle East HR Excellence Awards is the ultimate showcase celebrating the best HR talent in the region. This is the annual setting for the industry to honour professionals for their outstanding contributions to HR best practice and in creating a high performing workforce for the future.


“The quality of entries for this year’s awards has certainly raised the bar in terms of how individuals, departments, teams and organisations have contributed to the growth and development of the Middle East HR industry.”


The HR Summit and Expo opened on Monday 7 October and is the largest annual gathering of HR professionals from across the Middle East, attracting a speaker line-up of more than 40 HR heads from some of the biggest regional and multinational organisations in the world.  The three-day event also features 45 free-to-attend HR seminars, while an exhibition floor provides a dedicated platform for more than 50 companies to share their latest HR solutions.


The HR Summit & Expo is supported by headline sponsors, Profiles International, Daman, and CEB – SHL Talent Measurement; platinum sponsors IBM and TTM Associates; gold sponsors BTS, and Oracle; and silver sponsor Aetna. The strategic partner for the event is Gulf Talent; more information is available at www.hrsummitexpo.com.




photo caption:  His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Federal Authority of Human Resource presented the awards to the winners.




The 2013 Middle East HR Excellence Awards winners at the 10th HR Summit and Expo:


Category    Winners

Employer of the Year    Dubai Airports

HR Initiative of the Year    Commercial Bank of Doha

Leadership Programme    Etihad Airways

Nationalisation Initiative of the Year    Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group

Recruitment Programme    National Bank of Oman

Young HR Professional of the Year    Aliya Mohammed Al-Aufi, Takatuf, Oman Oil Companies

Sharoq Al Malki, Chief HR Officer, Qatar Museums Authority

HR Professional of the Year    Maha Al Mansouri, Masdar

Achievement in Government HR    Abu Dhabi Police

Learning and Development Initiative    Etihad Airways




Sharrah Kapadia, Total Communications Dubai -  also photos