DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE & TOURISM – ABU DHABI

Horse riding in the Al Ain Oasis

“ It is not often that someone has the opportunity to build a department in effect , help build an industry ,” he says .

“ At ENEC there were managers and specialists from all over the world , all committed to the project and all experts . This gave me , and other UAE nationals , exposure to processes , methods , technologies and best practices that would have been difficult to acquire in a more mature , settled industry .”

After 18 years working in procurement in the energy sector and achieving FCIPS certification and developing his procurement competency , Al Saeedi was presented with a new opportunity and a new challenge with DCT .

“ DCT presented an opportunity to be involved in significant government initiatives – for the non-oil , or post-energy economy ,” he says .

“ DCT had just been formed out of the merger of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage Department , so there was the challenge of building a new procurement function in what was really a new organisation .”

The key role of tourism The tourism industry has been identified as a critical component of this vision and Al Saeedi is all too aware of the key role that DCT will play in developing and enabling this industry .

“ Tourism impacts the emirate on a visible scale ,

18 February 2018