Dr. Ayesha Mohammed Abdullah, Managing Director of the ...

Cover StoryCover StoryDr. Ayesha MohammedAbdullah is a woman whoknows how to work underpressure. As ManagingDirector of the SciencesCluster of TECOM Investments BusinessParks, she oversees Dubai HealthcareCity (DHCC), Dubai Biotechnology andResearch Park (DuBiotech), and the Energyand Environment Park (ENPARK), jugglingher time between the three distinct entities.She’s also a wife and mother who takes thetime to talk to her sons about their future,and be a companion and partner to herhusband. And last, but not the least, she isan Emirati woman who takes her role in theworld quite seriously, representing her fellowcitizens on a global level in her industry.But express any fascination on how shemanages to successfully manage everyaspect of her life so well, and she dismissesit with a shrug. “There’ve always been lotsof expectations on me, so I’m used todealing with it,” she smiles.Dr. Abdullah is the oldest of four children,born in the UAE, “before Dubai becameglamorous”. Coming from a family of welleducatedprofessionals meant that, eventhough she was a woman, what wasexpected from her was no different fromwhat was expected from her brother. “Myparents empowered us with education.They allowed us to do whatever wewanted. I would say that my father wasahead of his age, because he neverdifferentiated between my brother andme. In fact, at a time when women werepushed into traditional roles of teachersor doctors, he gave us the freedom andresources to tread a different path,” shesays.biomedical and electric engineering.“It was quite an experience. I had my firstson during my first semester there, and bythe time I was an undergrad, I was alsoa mother to two boys!” she laughs. Whilea situation like that may be unimaginablefor some, for Dr. Abdullah, she took it inher very confident stride. “Although, to behonest, I did choose not to go to medicalschool because I thought it would be toooverwhelming with two little boys. I waslucky to have had supportive neighbours,but I had to make a choice,” she says.The most valuable support though, camefrom her family. “I truly believe that men andwomen can’t go through life alone. Theyneed the support the other offers. The menin my family have been that way. My fatherwas an enabling person who helped megrow and never put any limitations to whatI can achieve. Even my mother was verysupportive – she helped me hands-on inraising my own kids,” says Dr. Abdullah.And Dr. Abdullah has the motivation togive her best. “More than anything, I can’tlet myself down, mostly for my children,because I am their role model. There wasmany times in my life, with school, familyand a job when it got difficult, but I had topush on,” she asserts.While in the USA, Dr. Abdullah absorbedmore than just what her curriculumincluded. “It was a different time back then.Americans were not suspicious, rather,they were friendly and hospitable. Therewas no negativity, although there was a lotof curiosity. At first, people thought I worea headscarf because I was bald! I had toexplain to them that it was for religiousreasons,” she laughs.It’s importantto beconfident,and good,perhapsbetter at whatyou do thanyour malecolleaguesTrue to her father’s ideals, Dr. Abdullahwent to a non-conventional school, whereboys and girls studied together. “It wasnot very common, and at that time we hadvery few schools like that,” she explains.But the freedom that she and her siblingswere allowed never translated to lack ofdiscipline. “We were still a conservativefamily, and I would simply say that I imbibedthe values and importance of discipline andhard work from my upbringing,” says Dr.Abdullah.Which meant that although Dr. Abdullahwas pursuing her education, her personallife was not put on hold. She was marriedat the age of 18, after which she went tothe United States on a scholarship to studyBut the questions and curiosity neverhad a negative impact on Dr. Abdullah. Ifanything, it made her keener to continue.“They were the best years of my life, wheremy curiosity was fuelled by the thingsaround me and I learned a lot,” she says.Once back in Dubai, Dr. Abdullah went towork as Director of Engineering for the UAEMinistry of Health, becoming one of the fewwomen who were part of the working force.“Did I face discrimination because I wasa woman? Sure. But that’s not exclusiveto this region. Women across the worldhave the same issues – they just don’tget the opportunities that men have. Andsometimes, we too can have a defensivestance. I think we should be more normal,not wait to pick up negative vibes and beparanoid. It’s important to be confident,and good, perhaps better at what you dothan your male colleagues,” she advises.From there on, Dr. Abdullah trained atan engineering firm, and completed a lotof projects that gave her the technicalexpertise she needed. She then went backto the UK to do her MBA. She came backto the UAE, and a year and a half later, wasback in the UK for her PhD.“By then, I had four sons and one daughter.I could not leave them all behind for such along time, so I took along my three youngerboys and daughter. As you can imagine, itwas not easy,” she smiles.Alternating between attending schoolevents, home, sorting out the usualproblems, taking her children out forentertainment, and of course, keeping upwith her own coursework ensured she hadto cope with huge struggles. “There aretimes when you have to compromise. As awoman and as a mother, you do try to doas much as you can. You have to explainto your children that you appreciate theirtime, enjoy their company, and try to makeup for lost time as much as you can. Aslong as you are sure you did the best youcould in that situation, that’s enough,” shesays.For Dr. Abdullah, who herself came froma modern-thinking family, it is important toimpart the same values to her own kids.“It’s an empowering environment for kidswhen they see their mother working hard,balancing family, work, etc. I believe it reallyhad a positive impact on my boys,” shesmiles.Old-fashioned and restrictive mentalitiescan only be changed it the next generationis taught new lessons. And that change,believes Dr. Abdullah, begins at home. Itis this staunch belief that pushed her on inher darkest days.“Sometimes I was working so hard, I feltdejected, and felt there was no light at theend of the tunnel. But then, I would thinkof my children. What message would I begiving them? That it’s ok to give up whenthe going gets tough? Life is not easy, youare going to have challenges, bottlenecksthat threaten to break you. But you need topersevere. This became a self-empoweringagency for me, where I told myself I coulddo anything I set my mind to. You don’thave to be a rocket scientist – anybodycan achieve what they want if they put theirmind to it,” she states.Her replies come easily because Dr.Abdullah has been asked quite often whyshe does what she does. What motivatesher to push for the best on all fronts inher life, be it work or at home? “As asociety, I owe a lot to my country. It’s asense that you have to do something, not3435

Cover StoryHow we bringabout that changeshould not beconfrontational.As women, weneed to becomecontributingmembers ofsociety, raise ourchildren well, breakthe normonly to make yourself proud, but to goabroad and excel academically, become arepresentative for your country and religion,and break the stereotype,” she says.But although her words come fast andfurious, there is no aggression in her belief.“How we bring about that change shouldnot be confrontational. As women, weneed to become contributing members ofsociety, raise our children well, break thenorm. We have to do a lot of ourselves,and once we get that opportunity, we provethat we are as smart as anyone, and thesame people who wrote us off earlier willgive us another chance,” she says.However, Dr. Abdullah is also careful aboutnot using her status as a woman to gainany special privileges. “It’s about beinghuman, not about men and women. Ishould not be asking for a break becauseI am a woman. I have always worked withmen – most of my life, my bosses weremen – but they always gave me the break.In the UAE, we are very fortunate. It’s just amatter of time as more women get into thework force. Mostly because today, womenare not only working for themselves, butalso for economic reasons as families needtwo incomes for survival and for a betterlifestyle. And it’s not going to impact familylife, because women can strike the balance.We will never make a choice betweencareer and family,” she asserts.Today, Dr. Abdullah is achieving onesuccess after another at the workplace,growing from one leadership positionto another in her six years with DubaiHolding. “The time that I have spent atDubai Holding is phenomenal. It has beena time of growth, time of achieving theimpossible, thinking out of the box. It hasbeen about positioning Dubai at a globallevel – a fantastic joy ride,” she gushes.And there is true passion behind her lovefor the work she does. “The advantage wehad was that we started with a clean slate.It was a blue sky project, where we coulduse all our creativity, learn from others, anddo something totally new,” she says.Dr. Abdullah’s career has beenpredominantly in healthcare. So whenshe was offered this once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity, she could not refuse.“Coincidentally, my paper during my thesiswas on how we grow knowledge-intensivescientific industry in a developing country.I explored how one can create knowledgepartners, what works, what does not,drew on experiences from other countries,and I was fortunate that, on some level,I had the chance to implement that inDubai. It was basically putting what I hadlearned over four years into practice,” shesmiles.So Dr. Abdullah first established theregulatory framework for DHCC, which sheachieved in two years. Her backgroundhelped as she could draw on her ownexpertise, and was in a position to tapresources from all over the world. Sheasked the questions and got the answers.And she does not fail to thank thepeople she works with. “I have a team ofwonderful, passionate, committed, andextremely intelligent people, people whowant to change the world. They want alegacy that will outlive them – that’s theirlevel of commitment,” she says.But with all the joy and compliments forwork well done comes an indication thather head is still firmly set on her shoulders.“I am not going to claim that we haveachieved everything. We have a long wayto go. This is only the tip of the iceberg –we have the capacity for a lot more,” shesays.Her reward, she says, comes from the factthat they have managed to bring qualitymedical services close to home, to seepatients and how the medical servicesare improving the quality of their lives –you can’t out a dollar value on that, it’s afeeling that transcends you.Today, Dr. Abdullah can proudly saythat she has grown, personally andprofessionally, not just in terms ofacquiring knowledge, but also in dealingwith different people, different cultures,learning how to close major deals, howto deal with partners, taking collaborativeapproach, etc.For Dr. Abdullah, the next five years seemto be just as daunting as the early years ofher career. “My children are going to maketheir career choices, and I hope they growup to be intelligent individuals. In addition,in my new role, I have to establish synergybetween the entities, and explore newavenues for growth,” she says.Given her history, and apparent ease withbalancing personal and professional lifewith equal dedication and passion, thisdoes not seem like a hurdle Dr. Abdullahwill not be able to tackle successfully. Andtherein lies the secret to her success.ADVERTISEMENT36