Mohamed Alabbar, the developer behind the Burj Khalifa and chairman of Emaar, told an Abu Dhabi audience at the “Make it in the Emirates” summit on May 5, 2026, that Indian professionals are central to his global hiring strategy as he gears up for a $60 million expansion. Alabbar said winning on a global scale requires people who will work through crises and odd hours — “who picks up the phone at 1:00 am” — and he repeatedly praised the Indian work ethic as “number one in the world.”
Speaking to business leaders and attendees, Alabbar argued that diligence and persistence translate into opportunity: “The harder you work, the luckier you will get,” he said. He credited Indian talent with a readiness to shoulder heavy workloads and respond when others are off the clock, a quality he views as essential for firms operating across time zones and volatile markets.
Alabbar expanded on what he calls “positive paranoia” — a disciplined, constant focus on risk and execution that he believes helped Emaar survive the 2008 financial crash and the COVID-19 pandemic. He listed three traits he admires in Indian workers: the ability to endure high-pressure cycles without cracking, an obsessive attention to checking work and managing daily risk, and the intellectual agility to learn new technologies quickly. Reflecting on his own approach, he added, “My IQ is average, but my hard work is the best.”
Backing his remarks with action, Emaar has partnered with Raffles University in Rajasthan to create a recruitment pipeline. Each year the company will select the top 20 students, plus five graduates from the Alabbar School of Management, and place them in roles across Dubai, Europe and Asia — a direct “campus-to-global-career” route intended to supply skilled staff for ongoing projects.
When asked why he is so bullish on the region, Alabbar was blunt: “Is there anything better, bigger, more stable, and that keeps growing than India? There is nothing.” His comments underscore a strategic bet on Indian human capital as Emaar expands its global footprint and seeks resilient talent to navigate future crises.
Original Source: https://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-talent-is-number-1-in-the-world-burj-khalifa-builder-mohamed-alabbar-on-why-indians-top-his-hiring-list-14007721.html
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Publish Date: 2026-05-05 11:39:00
