Quick Facts
Biography
Sulaiman Abdul Kareem Mohammad Al-Fahim (Arabic: سليمان عبدالكريم محمد الفهيم ) (born 1977 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) is the ex-CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based Hydra Properties real estate development company, and president of the Arab Union for Real Estate Development. In March 2009, Al-Fahim was listed fourth in Arabian Business magazine's list of "The World's most influential Arabs". Sulaiman Al Fahim was number 87 in 2012 and number 83 in 2013 in "The World's most influential Arabs" prepared by Arabian Business.
Sulaiman al Fahim was also the Director of the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization IREO till 2010.
He is also the Director of Royal Football Fund based in Dubai which was formed in 2011–12 where he is responsible for the Public Relations. The Fund claims to be associated with the United Investment Bank which came into existence only in 2012.
Early life
Al-Fahim was born in Dubai in 1977. From the age of eleven he worked in his father's Orient Pharmacy after school. At the age eighteen he founded the "Sulaiman Al Fahim Group" which financed education and sports in the UAE. In 1998, when he was 21, his mother and younger brother and sister were killed in a road traffic accident near Dubai Airport. Following this loss he moved to the United States. There Al-Fahim received his MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, DC, USA.
Al-Fahim previously went by the title of Dr., as either he or one of his associates inferred that he had received a PHD in real estate from American University. The university, however, told reporters that it does not offer a PHD course in real estate, and Al-Fahim stopped using the title.
Other work
Television
Al-Fahim is the founder and host of the business themed reality television show Hydra Executives which was launched in Spring 2008.
Sport
A keen chess player, Al-Fahim represented his country as a youth and is currently president of the UAE Chess Association (not to be confused with the UAE Chess Federation, the official body), and was ranked fifth in the world in his age group at the age of nine. In June 2008, Al-Fahim was elected as a new president of UAE Chess Federation for 2008–2012. Al-Fahim is a fan of the football clubs Al Ain and Al Jazeera. Additionally, during his time at Hydra Properties, he was involved in sponsorship of Dubai sports television, a Costa Rican soccer team, the German Bundesliga as well as building a new football academy in Abu Dhabi with Italian football giants Internazionale.
In November 2008 Al Fahim was honored with a gold medal of excellence from HM Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, The King of Malaysia, for his work supporting Equestrian activities worldwide. Al Fahim was honored with this distinction during the FEI World Endurance Championship 2008 in Malaysia.
Manchester City
On 1 September 2008 Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of which Al-Fahim was a spokesman for, agreed to the take over of Premier League football club Manchester City. The deal was signed at the Emirates Palace Hotel in the presence of Al-Fahim, who represented ADUG.
Portsmouth
On 27 May 2009, it was reported that Al-Fahim had signed a deal to take over the English Premier League club Portsmouth. Owner Alexandre Gaydamak agreed a price of around £60 million, with the deal proposed to be completed by 28 July 2009, however this deal was never officially completed and the ensuring crisis in the aftermath ensured Portsmouth were placed into administration, forced to sell their best players and were eventually relegated from the Premiership - More Info required.