Air Transport

The man who dreamt up DAE, Rashid Al Malik, came up with the idea while preparing to do his PhD. The newly-promoted deputy chief executive of DAE, and former Emirates first officer and Cambridge University graduate, never started his doctorate, deciding instead to convince Dubai's rulers and potential investors of the wisdom of his plan.

He says he was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Maktoums, particularly Sheikh Ahmed, who he says is a "guru in this region". A native of Dubai, he says he wanted to "get inside their vision. I wanted to contribute." His initial PhD research exposed what he says was a gap between the burgeoning demand for aviation and aviation services in the East, and a Western-dominated industry struggling to cope with this new global marketplace due to undercapacity, poorly-organised supply chains and ageing infrastructure.

Dubai, he concluded, was the ideal platform from which to launch a new aerospace services player, better able to service these emerging markets than existing suppliers able to offer established companies partnerships to better reach these new customers. "There are lots of problems in the industry. Suppliers don't want to do it the way they have before. They want to properly manage their supply chains. They want to develop new technologies," he says.

Dubai is also one of the world's "true global cities", says Al Malik. "We can have our pick of people. We offer good education, good connections and a great lifestyle. Everyone wants to be a part of it. Many people come here because they want their kids to see the growth. It's an entrepreneurial environment and tremendous credit has to go to their highnesses for setting all this up." Bob Johnson typifies the new kind of business person prepared to relocate to the emirate, says Al Malik. "Ten years ago, he might have said 'Where's Dubai?'. Today, Dubai can attract the right people."