Dubai Holding, a global investment holding company, has announced the appointment of a new board for Tecom Investments, which owns and operates several free trade zones to support knowledge-based industries.

This move is in continuation of Dubai Holding’s efforts to further strengthen corporate governance at its entities, said the company in a statement.

Dubai Holding’s Corporate Governance model constitutes of three independent non-executive directors and two executive directors.

The board will be responsible for defining the investment philosophy, setting long-term business strategy and overseeing implementation; ensuring adequacy of internal controls and strategic risk management.

Ahmad Bin Byat, the chief executive officer of Dubai Holding, said: 'Strengthened corporate governance forms a key pillar of Dubai Holding’s strategic guidelines. In accordance with global best practices, Dubai Holding is pleased to announce the appointment of a strong and experienced board for Tecom.'

Abdullah Sharafi, the president, Gerab National Enterprises, has been named as the chairman of the Tecom board. The other members are Arif Alharmi, the Amlak Finance CEO; Ayesha Sultan, the director corporate strategy, DP World; Adrian Bradley, the chief financial officer, Jumeirah Group; and Abdullatif AlMulla, Group CEO of Tecom.

Tecom's largest portfolio companies are 'Tecom Business Parks', comprising 10 business parks under five industry clusters across the information and communication technology (ICT), media, education, sciences, as well as manufacturing and logistics sectors.

The free zones are home to over 4,500 companies, including major multinationals and many Fortune 500 companies.-TradeArabia News Service