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The Emirates Human Resources Development Council (EHRDC) in Dubai hosted the graduation ceremony of the first cohort of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Program, under the patronage and in the presence of H.E. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director General of H.H. The Ruler’s Court of Dubai and Managing Director of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), and the directives of H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Chairman of EHRDC in Dubai, along with the participation of several senior officials from Dubai.
The program is one of the Council’s flagship initiatives through which it continues to establish an integrated ecosystem for strengthening Emirati human capital. By equipping national talent with advanced leadership and financial skills, the program empowers them to undertake executive roles in government, semi-government, and private sectors. Additionally, the program helps in developing a strong network of Emirati finance professionals and improving the exchange of knowledge and expertise among Emirati talent, fostering the growth of Dubai’s financial and economic sector while reinforcing the Emirate’s position as a global hub for financial excellence and innovation.
Commenting on the event, H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori emphasised that the graduation of 30 distinguished Emirati talents in the first cohort of the program indicates the Council’s dedication to nurturing specialised Emirati leaders and equipping them to drive financial transformation and decision making across diverse sectors, in line with the wise leadership’s vision of investing in human capital as the main driver of sustainable development. H.E. also noted that equipping national financial talent with the knowledge, expertise and ability to foresee future trends remains pivotal to enhancing Dubai’s competitiveness, supporting the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), and positioning the Emirate as a leading global destination for business and commerce.
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E. Al Mansoori said: “At EHRDC, we strongly believe that developing national talent is a strategic responsibility that needs effective partnerships between the government and private sectors and leading academic institutions. Aligning with this, we are constantly striving to launch high-impact initiatives that build Emirati financial leaders with the competence, resilience, and ability to lead transformation, improve institutional efficiency and create sustainable impact that fuels the Emirate’s comprehensive development journey.”
The graduation ceremony featured an insightful panel discussion with the participation of the graduates and the VIP attendees, highlighting the program’s outcomes and the innovative projects that demonstrated the knowledge and skills the participants acquired throughout their training journey. These projects offered practical solutions to address priority financial and developmental challenges and reflected the graduates’ capability to transform knowledge into strategic initiatives with sustainable impact, including enhancing economic growth, developing the financial sector, and supporting financial flexibility in the Emirate of Dubai.
Among the notable projects was the ‘Sovereign and Financial Intelligence’ project, which aimed to improve the efficiency of sovereign decision-making, safeguard and increase Dubai’s sovereign capital, establish governance principles and enhance project evaluation. The project titled ‘Education Without Borders’ explored new pathways for knowledge transfer and to expand access to education by offering flexible and inclusive learning options for learners from around the globe. Meanwhile, the ‘Freeing Liquidity from Frozen Inventory to Full Financial Flexibility’ project offered an innovative model to maximise asset utilisation and boost liquidity management efficiency, contributing to institutional financial sustainability. The graduates further presented an initiative to transform the aviation sector by enhancing strategic flexibility in upgrading the Emirates fleet, supporting the sector’s preparedness to address demands of the evolving future market.
The remaining projects included initiatives to create a strategic framework for investment decision-making, centred on transforming investment policy into a smart ecosystem that leverages modern technologies and human expertise, enabling decision-makers to make more efficient and effective investment decisions.
The graduation ceremony marked the culmination of an intensive five-month training journey, during which participants engaged in a comprehensive learning experience combining academic knowledge with practical application. The program comprised 84 training hours, three financial challenge simulation sessions, and several field visits to leading institutions, along with career mentoring sessions and leadership discussions with 15 global experts. This practical approach contributed to boosting participants’ confidence to assume leadership roles in the financial sector and empowered them to design innovative solutions supporting Dubai’s ambitious economic development goals.
The graduation of the first batch of the CFO program affirms the success of the council’s vision aimed at investing in Emirati talent by preparing national financial leaders that possess the ability to make an impact, support innovation, and promote Dubai’s competitiveness, in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).