Issa Ataya
CEO of Alef Group since January 2014. Issa is an experienced business professional with a proven ability in strategic planning and business development.
As a CEO, Issa sets and leads Alef Group’s overall strategy and revenue growth initiatives. Along with a deep understanding of business operations aspects, including budgeting, forecasting, sales and marketing, and customer relationship management. Issa brings strong organizational, analytical, and interpersonal skills that have proved invaluable in dealing with the Group’s suppliers, customers, and staff members.
Issa’s years of experience are reflected in the scope and scale of his impressive success portfolio. His objective is to create Alef as a brand with a vision to grow in the Emirate of Sharjah and beyond. Issa aims at elevating Alef’s vision in creating new premier lifestyle communities destinations and experiences through investment and strategic joint ventures.
Rizwan has over 20 years of extensive experience in accounting and finance field, currently the Chief Financial Officer of Alef Group. Backed with a strong set of hard skills including technical and analytical competence along with soft skills, such as strategic communication, commercial, interpersonal, and managerial competence.
His expertise in finance decision-making, cash liquidity management and in-depth knowledge in retail business (accounting and operation wise) has driven Alef Group since its nascent stage from 2014 onwards and moulded the organization that it stands to be now.
Rizwan has demonstrated track record of working with reputed companies including Gulf Greetings, Chemlink and UNIKAI with Cash Flow Forecast/management, FP&A, Business Strategy Formulation, Shared Services, Restructuring, Project Budgeting apart from overseeing day to day accounting matters of these companies.
An expert in the field of Mixed-Use development in the GCC with more than 20 years of field experience.
Prior to the current role in Alef Group, Jamal worked at Majid Al Futtaim’s joint venture-Sharjah Holding, helped in setting up the Sales and Leasing Department and the first gated Mixed-Use community in Sharjah comprising of 15 million sq. ft. Jamal also held the position of a senior Leasing Manager at Majid Al Futtaim Properties managing over 3.6 million sq. ft of GLA. Jamal is the Regional Board Representative for the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres & Retailers.
In addition, Jamal held the position of a Sales Manager of IFA Properties closing over 2 billion AED of property deals, achieving IFA’s highest sales record.
Our Leadership Team
Naren Vish, the Head of Marketing at Alef Group since 2021.
An Award-winning Brand Strategist & Marketing Professional, an early adopter of technology with a passion for digital storytelling.
Naren develops marketing strategies and development of brand presence in the UAE market. He ensures inheriting the newest marketing techniques and applying them through all the marketing channels.
With over 16 years of digital marketing & branding experience, He brings to the table practical knowledge, business acumen & a proven track record of delivering cutting-edge innovative strategies that accelerate growth, increase revenue, and maximize emerging market share.
He has been a part of a digital revolution in the Middle East, UK & Indian diaspora of Media, Real Estate, Education & Technology Sectors.
Naren’s experience at agencies gave him an opportunity to work with some of the top industry leaders that led to the success of over 20 Global brands in B2C, B2B, and B2G segments.
Ahmed Salaheldin, Head of Business Development at Alef Group since 2019.
Ahmed’s expertise lies in handling and expanding the Local and International Agent Relations & Activations, he leads and trains the telesales teams, plans for promotional venues, and ensures maintaining and operating the leads.
During the start of his journey at Alef group, he succeeded in increasing Alef’s Market Share, while managing and expanding the income streams of Alef Group with a rise of international and diverse buyers.
Being a successful revenue generator with a strong telecommunications background, Ahmed found his way to the world of real estate in 2013.
Prior to Alef Group, Ahmed has built his career in real estate with leading developers in the UAE and gained an expertise in Business Development in the EMEA & Far East Asia region.
His specialty lies in Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Marketing. Ahmed taps into new markets and ensures discovering new and innovative ways to accelerate business is his area of expertise.
Muhammad Khan Painda Gul, Head of Construction at Alef Group since 2015.
Khan manages the construction of Alef Group’s Developments and ensures accurate execution for these projects.
Khan has over 18 years of experience in the UAE, Spanning multiple disciplines in Development, Project Management, Project Controls, System, Planning, Programming, Design, and Construction.
Khan is a Certified PMP Project Manager. Over the last 18 years, Khan has worked in multiple well-known organizations/construction firms, such as ARABTEC, his experience includes working in a series of landmark development and prestigious projects across the UAE. Khan also works with the international engineering consultant Dorsch, he gained experience across all disciplines such as infrastructure work, MEP, and Civil works.
Key projects he has worked on include AL Mamsha in Sharjah, Zero 6 Juraina Mall Sharjah, Central park -Residence Dubai, and other well-known Projects in the UAE.
Wojciech Jozef Chyla, Head of MEP at Alef Group since 2016.
Wojciech is an MEP and an Infrastructure Engineer with almost 20 years’ experience working in these fields.
His previous roles included working with international engineering consultants such as WS Atkins and WSP in Ireland, United Kingdom, and Bahrain.
Wojciech is a Certified Chartered Engineer (CEng) obtained from UK Engineering Council.
In addition, he is a Member of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (MCIBSE) and American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (MASHRAE). He has an extensive construction experience including design activities.
Wojciech’s major previous projects include Al Mamsha in Sharjah, Zero 6 Juraina Mall, City Walk Phase 2 in Dubai, Passenger Terminal Building of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Downtown Al Areen in Bahrain.
Dileep Ramakrishnan is the Head of Commercial at Alef Group since 2015.
Dileep oversees and manages the Commercial & Contractual matters involved in the company’s projects by creating feasibility studies, budgeting, bids for new projects, identifying projects risks, awards, and collaborating with other departments to ensure accurate and timely completion of Alef’s projects.
Dileep is a Civil Engineering professional with more than 20 years of experience in various fields of Construction.
His experience includes working in the field of Residential community, Commercial, Retail building development, Oil & Gas retail development, Multistore & Industrial building development and Indian Railway Construction.
His mission is to place his customers first by embedding sustainability, quality, technology, and innovation in all the aspects of his work.
Lisa Stephanie Bizri, Head of Government Affairs at Alef Group since 2014.
Lisa is focused on managing all Government Relations matters to ensure that all Government requirements related to Alef Group are managed effectively.
Holding an experience of over 15 years, Lisa handles Government Relations compliance issues and manages the risks that might arise. She ensures that the policies, procedures, and systems align with operational compliance requirements.
In addition, Lisa coordinates and monitors all Government Relations activities and identifies resolutions and actions needed, and determines areas where further strategies are required to continually improve and enhance the processes.
Prior to joining Alef Group, Lisa held several leadership positions with reputable companies in Sharjah and the UAE.
Hassan Yousuf Ahmad Abdulqader AlNasser, Head of Community at Alef Group since 2022.
Hassan works on maintaining the community in Al Mamsha Sharjah, he ensures a profitable Real Estate Business for both the Residents and Alef Group by providing time delivery as promised to the customers.
Hassan supports the needs of Residents in Al Mamsha, by finding reasonable solutions for any problem that might arise in the community.
Hassan is a professional community manager with more than 50 certifications from reputable organizations.
Prior to Alef Group, Hassan has worked with well-known organizations in the UAE, including Dubai Police, Dubai Airport, Chief Officer in RTA, Dubai Civil Defence and Dubai Air show.
Hussain Th Mohammed, Head of Legal Affairs at Alef Group since 2018.
As Head of Legal Affairs, Hussain manages all the legal processes for Alef Group. He guarantees giving accurate and beneficial legal advice, developing successful contracts, and looking into the integrity of the legal procedures by coordinating with legal advisors. Hussain ensures that the legal aspects are investigated and pays attention to details during each stage of the process to match the applicable laws and aims to provide more for his organization.
Hussain is a professional in the field of Law and is well-trained in both Civil and Real Estate Law Systems. He takes into consideration the cultural and business practices to provide better solutions for any legal inquiry.
Prior to joining Alef Group, Hussain was working with a reputable Finance Corporation in Dubai. He played a major role in developing the business and the legal practices for the projects of the company.
Nader Kachtouli, Property Manager for Alef’s Retail Projects since 2020.
Nader has tremendous knowledge and expertise in his field, which includes but not limited to Customer Service, Facility Management, Financial, Health & Safety which are gradually applied in Alef to enhance the shopping destination environment, customers experience and tenants’ relations.
Nader evolved and pursued his career in the shopping mall sector, as it was a trending line of his career growth.
During his 20 years career, he handled new openings and operational projects with reputed companies in the UAE, such as Meraas Holdings, Majid Al Futtaim and other reputable organizations in the UAE.