Periods of crisis are an opportunity to reevaluate and restructure

On the sidelines of the “Make in the UAE 2026” platform, which launched its activities in Abu Dhabi yesterday, a high-level session was held with the participation of an elite group of leaders of leading family companies in the UAE.

These leaders confirmed that institutions have become more prepared to deal with crises, noting that the reality of crises requires family businesses to enhance their readiness through flexibility and speed of decision-making, and they considered that periods of crises represent an opportunity for re-evaluation and restructuring.

The founder and managing director of Emaar, Mohamed Alabbar, said that crises represent a recurring reality in the course of the global economy, as the world has witnessed major events over the past decades, including world wars, the Gulf War, the events of September 11, the “Covid-19” pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, all the way to the last war, all of which left direct impacts on various markets.

He stressed that institutions have become more prepared to deal with these fluctuations, but some crises remain unexpected, pointing out that the UAE demonstrated during these challenges a high degree of institutional stability and the strength of long-term planning, thanks to the vision of the wise leadership, which enabled it to achieve continuity and overcome challenges efficiently. He said that benefiting from the lessons of previous crises contributed to strengthening the ability of institutions to adapt to changing circumstances.

For his part, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abdullah Al Ghurair Group, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, stressed that the reality of crises requires companies to enhance their readiness through flexibility and speed of decision-making, indicating that these factors represent critical elements in crisis management.

He also pointed out the pivotal role played by family businesses, which contribute a large percentage to the gross domestic product and are characterized by their high ability to adapt and respond quickly, which gives them a competitive advantage during periods of challenge, in addition to their ability to anticipate opportunities that may arise in the midst of crises.

For her part, the founder and president of Ghada Al-Fardan Jewelry Company, Ghada Hussein Al-Fardan, stressed that periods of crises represent an opportunity to re-evaluate and restructure, as they allow organizations to temporarily pause to re-arrange priorities and plan for the future.

She explained that crises such as the “Covid-19” pandemic represented an opportunity for her to restructure the company’s business, considering that such circumstances may contribute to launching new projects and taking advantage of periods of relative calm to rebuild growth strategies.