what is masdar city

His Excellency Abdulla Ahmed Balala is the chairman of Masdar City and Abu Dhabi's assistant minister for energy transition and sustainability affairs.

A seasoned commercial executive, urban planner, and civil engineer, H.E. has extensive expertise in developing strategies to accelerate profitable commercialization and partnership development for large-scale projects. This includes sustainable urban developments, some of which have required creative bespoke solutions, as well as asset monetization and optimization of financial operations. 

H.E. oversees development and operations at Masdar City, driving the growth of its strategy, partnerships, and industry clusters. He also led the successful establishment of the Masdar Green REIT, first green REIT in the MENA region, which is now worth over AED 2.8 billion. H.E. also serves on several boards of directors including Ennovate LLC, Masdar EDF ESCO JV, and Emerge Limited.

Previously, Balalaa served as the executive director of sustainable real estate and the director of real estate development and asset management in Masdar's Sustainable Real Estate Division, where he was responsible for formulating and executing strategies to establish Masdar City as a global R&D hub. 

He holds an executive education degree in business administration from Harvard Business School, a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Paris Sorbonne University, a leadership diploma co-validated by the University of Cambridge Abu Dhabi, and a bachelor’s degree in applied science and civil engineering from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi.

Ahmed Baghoum oversees operations and development at Masdar City. He is responsible for driving its strategy, innovation-focused initiatives, partnerships, and R&D cluster towards sustainable growth.

A Masdar veteran, Baghoum joined the company in 2009 as director of the Free Zone at Masdar City, where he oversaw all special economic zone functions. He then took the role of executive director of human capital and services at Masdar. In this position, he led the department on talent acquisition, development, and optimizing the company’s UAE national workforce. He also led the company’s corporate services activities. Prior to joining Masdar, Baghoum was the executive director of customer operations at the Dubai Technology & Media Free Zone Authority. This included Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and Dubai Knowledge Village. There he led the client interface and supported departments in the Customer Operations Division.

He also led the re-engineering of the Government Service Operations Department, where he helped develop and implement innovative servicing concepts by creating new partnerships with key government entities.

Baghoum holds an MBA from Texas Tech University. Additionally, he holds a master’s certificate in project management and management concepts from Regis University in the United States.

Mohamed Al Breiki is responsible for leading the advancement of sustainable development at Masdar City, from investment and planning to delivery and sustainable community management. Al Breiki provides strategic planning, value creation, and financial oversights in the development of real estate assets while maintaining highest standard of excellence.

He has over 20 years of development management experience, including planning and design, new construction, commercial tenant fit-out, operations optimization, and business plan execution. Previously, he has held roles at Mubadala, ADEK, and the Urban Planning Council. During his 10 years at Mubadala, he managed major projects in various sectors such as real estate, health care, education, aerospace, and information and communications technology. Some of his notable Abu Dhabi projects include the design and delivery of New York University, the Four Seasons Hotel, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and Khazna Data Center.

While at the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, Al Breiki contributed to the master planning of various mixed-use developments across Abu Dhabi and worked collaboratively with real estate developers to ensure their plans were professionally designed, sustainable, and well-managed. At ADEK, he managed the development and implementation of a schools master plan in Abu Dhabi.

Al Breiki holds a BTEC national diploma in business studies from Southampton City College in England. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, a post-graduate diploma in business administration, and a master’s degree in engineering management from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi.

Francisco Galan is the director of development and portfolio management at Masdar City. He is responsible for development and investment in residential and commercial projects across their full cycle, and for management of Masdar City’s real estate portfolio.

Galan leads the Masdar Green REIT, the first real estate investment trust in the UAE to invest solely in sustainable assets. The REIT’s portfolio currently includes 11 commercial properties in Masdar City with a value of around AED 2.8 billion.

A real estate industry veteran with over 20 years’ experience, Galan joined Masdar in 2016 as senior development manager, responsible for phases 1 and 3 of the Etihad Eco Residences project. Before joining Masdar, he was the general manager for auction.com, an online real estate platform in his native Spain. He has also held management positions at Hines Interests Spain.

Galan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management, a post-graduate diploma in urbanism and real estate development, and a master’s degree in finance from IE Business School.

Amier Al Awadhi brings business opportunities and investments to Masdar City by pioneering ways to attract companies, from start-ups to multinationals, to establish their businesses at the Masdar City Free Zone. He has successfully managed to increase the free zone’s business portfolio to over 1,100 companies. Key tenants include Siemens, Honeywell, and Lockheed Martin.

Al Awadhi brings more than 20 years of experience in business development and relationship management to his role. He has in-depth knowledge of international business research, sales and marketing, franchising, strategy, project management, financial management, and real estate and company development.

Prior to his time at Masdar City, Al Awadhi established the National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s real estate arm, Abu Dhabi National Properties (ADNP). Amier was appointed as ADNP’s deputy general manager and vice president.

Other previous roles include the head of special projects with Dubai World at Dubai Maritime City, the sales division lead with Dubai World’s Nakheel, the SME department lead with Dubai Development Investment Authority, and a relationship manager elite with HSBC. Al Awadhi holds a master’s degree in digital communication and marketing from Sorbonne University Paris and a bachelor’s degree in international business management from the University of New Hampshire in the U.S.