AD Ports Group Appoints Afif Saif Al Yafei as New CEO

AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS) announced the appointment of Afif Saif Al Yafei as the group's new Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, who had led the company since 2014, that is, for 12 years, according to the outlet Splash Cruise.

Al Yafei joins from TAQA Transmission, where he served as Chief Executive and drove the growth of the national infrastructure network alongside an extensive capital investment program. He has more than two decades of experience in the infrastructure, utilities and industrial sectors, and previously held senior executive positions at Tabreed and ADNOC Gas, in addition to serving on several boards of directors.

Under Al Shamisi's leadership, AD Ports Group grew from a local port operator into a global trade and logistics conglomerate, with a presence in more than 50 countries across five continents and a network of 40 terminals.

AD Ports Group Chairman Shadi Malak noted that Al Yafei brings extensive experience leading major industrial and infrastructure groups, together with a deep understanding of the strategic and operational challenges facing complex organizations, which he considers key to the company's next phase of development.

The leadership transition comes at a time of expansion for the group's cruise business, which operates six terminals in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt, and also coincides with a move by ADQ, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, to take AD Ports private following a tender offer that raised its stake to 98.93%.