Emirati in legacy with a spirit to innovate, we at the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba (MHAO) Group have nurtured people, communities, and businesses since 1946.

The Group as we know today evolved from the founding vision of late Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba, a prominent Emirati trader and pearling master. He believed in building partnerships and bringing quality products and services to the UAE.

Our way of doing business is to bring new ideas, foster growth through people, and help employees, partners, and customers live better. These principles have been passed down generations.

Sector expertise

We have contributed to the UAE’s growth in key sectors - transportation, technology, retail, F&B / FMCG, fabrication and services. We have done so by establishing long-term partnerships and franchises with international brands. We have provided products and services to communities, government entities and private companies.

We have grown into a successful family business by meeting changing market needs and embracing digital transformation. As we fulfil our family legacy, we are proud to see our ideas and concepts live and breathe as sustainable enterprises.

Partner of choice

We have been a partner of choice for global brands. Examples include Xerox and Avis – leaders in their respective industries, and household names Bosch and Beko retailed through Homewide.

Our homegrown businesses drive everyday innovation.

Our portfolio has Corporate Connection in technology, Al Otaiba Kitchens in high-end and commercial kitchens, Brightspark in automotive maintenance, Mohamed Al Otaiba Facilities Management Services (MAFS) in support services, Arabian Horeca in F&B concepts, and recently, our expansion in electric vehicle leasing solution.

Family Legacy

Past years have emphasized the importance of unity as a vital necessity for providing a better life to the people, for ensuring stability in the country and for realizing the hopes and aspirations of our people.

- Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Former Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Founding President of the UAE

The words the late Sheikh Zayed, the Father of the Nation who served as the first President of the UAE from 1971 to 2004, and Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2004, ring true for one of the oldest influential families in the UAE, the Hareb Al Otaiba family from Abu Dhabi.

Nurtured locally with global recognition

Following the footsteps of our ancestors who were pearl traders doing business with France and India, our founder Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba rose in recognition and rank in business. He held positions in the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce among other policymaking institutions.

Against the backdrop of the UAE’s economic transformation, he went from pearling to trading in high-end goods and establishing in 1946 the local business Al Otaiba General Trading Company.
As of 2020, for three generations, we as members of the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba family have shared many an ethos with the story of the UAE from its progressive policy, a vision for diversification, building the right infrastructure, and fostering a culture in which people come first.

By the 1970s, the company provided kitchen fitouts and began to seek partnerships with global brands. The second generation Hareb Mohamed Al Otaiba took over the company. Through a joint venture with Avis in 1975, he brought a renowned American car rental company to the UAE, and with this milestone, launched the company’s transportation division. 

The Trading Company established itself as the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba (MHAO) Group with a number of businesses across key industry sectors. In 1995, Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba, the son who shares the same name as the grandfather joined the Group as Chairperson after his father passed away, and in 2018, his younger sister, Muzna Al Otaiba joined as Managing Director. The family members of the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba family provide strategic direction and manage operations across more than 15 businesses. The Group also serves as a family office for the private businesses owned by the family.

Let’s build on our legacy, let’s innovate - together

Staying united is not easy. Upholding shared vision and values is not easy. Thriving as a local family business for over 70 years, again, is not easy. Neither is bringing diverse ideas, people, and businesses to work towards one direction.

What is easy is the sense of pride and humility that comes from having built a legacy we call the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba (MHAO) Group. From my grandfather’s pearl trading days to my father’s big strides in joint ventures, and our priorities for innovation today, we are on this journey together.

For over seven decades, the Group has seen the growth of the UAE right up to it becoming the first Arab country to reach Mars.

Like the nation, we want to embrace and live the spirit of innovation in all that we do.

We want to seize market opportunities so we can create value for our partners and customers. We want to bring new ideas and build sector expertise so we create sustainable businesses. We want to digitally transform so we can become more efficient and future ready.

And we want to do all this together.

This sense community is part our Emirati culture. With honesty, trust, and a collective spirit of overcoming our differences, let’s build on our shared legacy.

Let’s innovate. It may not be easy, but let’s try - together.
 

Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba
Chairman, MHAO Group.

The Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba (MHAO) Group is an Emirati family company established in 1946.

We have seen the growth of the UAE before it became an independent state and after 1971, as one of the most open economies in the world, welcoming partnerships, business, trade, and staying true to its culture and heritage.

We too evolved with the country’s growth. The UAE progressed from an oil dependent economy to a diversified one built on the pillars of trade, transport, logistics, research, technology, and renewable energy. And for us as a local business, we expanded and built a diversified group of companies.

Thousands of employees, partners, and customers have been on our journey and have found an institution to look up to and shared values to live by.

After almost 75 years, we are used to adapting to market needs and enabling everyday innovation. Our journey ahead will focus on digital transformation across our operations and at every step of the way, we remain committed to excellence in service and experience.

Vision
 

To become the preferred Group in the UAE for world-class brands and solutions in trading, transport, and technology.

Mission
 

To improve our customers’ lifestyle by providing superior quality products and services in trading, transport, and technology.

Values
 

• Integrity: Honesty in all we do.
• Trust: Reliability and professionalism in conducting our business.
• Diversity: Embracing our people’s differences.
• Innovation: Continuously improve our processes, products, and services.
• Quality and Safety: Our commitment to excellence and safety.

For us at the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba (MHAO) Group, corporate governance ensures our investors, shareholders and partners work together with integrity, and promote long-term financial viability.
Our corporate governance framework covers independent boards and committees comprising members from diverse backgrounds and representing expertise in relevant areas. In addition, we have policies to ensure oversight across operations, risks, and opportunities.
We aim to:
 

• Facilitate accountability, transparency and trust among partners and shareholders.
• Create a business environment based on integrity, ethical behavior, and long-term growth.
• Empower decision making with care and responsibility

Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba LLC's Senior management is committed to providing welfare and protecting the health and safety of our employees, our customers, our suppliers and our society in which we operate.

We strongly believe that managing Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility which starts by creating a strong health and safety culture; driven by the Senior Management. Our commitment towards Health & Safety is evident in the number of employees trained on health and safety in every area of work and growing. Our employees’ commitment in improving the organization’s health and safety is resulting in a very low number of occupational injuries; coupled with identifying hazards, assessing risks and opportunities and implementing mitigation plans by following the hierarchy of controls to avoid recurrence of incidents and maintaining the risks to as low as reasonably practicable.

Occupational injuries aside; the Senior management is also committed to keeping the number of occupational health issues to a minimum by providing adequate resources, safe place to work, trainings, periodic supervision and audits to ensure all our employees receive the welfare facilities which enhance their overall well-being.

We take pride in meeting our clients’ health and safety requirements by ensuring compliance to all the necessary legal and other health and safety requirements are consistently met which can be evaluated by the gamut of clients we have from all industries that we serve viz. transportation, real estate, facility management, hospitality, oil and gas, logistics, retail, financial institutions, educational institutions, etc. Our selection of suppliers is purely based on the commitment they display towards health and safety towards us, their employees and the society.

We strive to integrate environmental, social, and ethical principles into our core business. For us the Mohamed Hareb Al Otaiba (MHAO) Group, our CSR policy encompasses four key pillars:

Workplace

Our responsibility starts with taking care of our employees. We have a defined standard of conduct, and business policies and procedures to govern the treatment of our workforce. These guidelines cover compensation, benefits, health and safety, diversity, work-life balance, employee input into management decisions, and employee training and development.

Marketplace

We value our customers and suppliers, striving to improve environmental and social outcomes through our provision of products and services. We are responsible in our approach to procurement, supply chain relations, marketing, and advertising, and are committed to never exploiting our market position.

Community

In line with our community principles, it is necessary as we grow, we must give something back to society. These principles set out our approach to building positive relations with our local communities through charities, community groups or other businesses in the social, cultural, and educational aspects. The Group and its companies support blood drives, tree planting, Ramadan meals and mobile health screening initiatives.

Environment

We strive to protect and nurture our environment. We comply with all relevant environmental legislations and find new measures to reduce emissions, and reuse and recycle where possible. We are constantly looking for new ways to reduce the use of energy and consumption of other resources, as well as decreasing waste.