ISO 9001 · ISO 14001 · ISO 45001 certified

Leadership team

Engineers, builders, and operators — accountable for every project.

Buildora's executive committee and regional managing directors average 24 years in construction. Every project above USD 20m has an executive sponsor from this team, named in the contract and present at monthly progress meetings.

Leadership in numbers

Average years in construction
24
Chartered / licensed engineers group-wide
146
Nationalities in our workforce
41
Senior leaders promoted from within
63%

Executive committee

Group leadership.

The executive committee sets strategy, approves every tender above USD 10m, and reviews safety, quality, and commercial performance monthly.

Karim Al-Mansouri

Chief Executive Officer

Civil engineer with 28 years in Gulf contracting. Before joining Buildora in 2009 he led more than USD 1.5bn of high-rise and mixed-use delivery for an international main contractor. Chairs the executive and tender committees.

  • CEng MICE
  • MBA
  • Dubai · since 2009

Sarah Njoroge

Chief Operating Officer

Built Buildora's East African business from a single road contract in 2016 into a 490-person operation. Previously project director on DFI-funded highways. Responsible for operational delivery and project controls group-wide.

  • PMP
  • MSc Construction Mgmt
  • Nairobi · since 2016

Lena Hoffmann

Chief Financial Officer

Chartered accountant with 19 years in contractor finance, project bonding, and treasury across Europe and the Middle East. Oversees banking relationships, bonding lines, and audited reporting.

  • ACA
  • CFA
  • Dubai · since 2018

Rahul Pillai

Director of Engineering & BIM

Structural engineer specialising in post-tensioned and high-rise structures. Leads temporary works, value engineering, and a 38-person BIM and digital-delivery team certified to ISO 19650.

  • CEng MIStructE
  • ISO 19650
  • Dubai · since 2011

Emma Mitchell

Group Head of HSEQ

Twenty years in construction safety across the UK, Gulf, and Africa. Introduced Goal Zero and leading-indicator reporting in 2019; LTIFR has fallen from 0.21 to 0.04 since.

  • CMIOSH
  • NEBOSH Diploma
  • ISO lead auditor

Omar Bakri

Commercial Director

Quantity surveyor with 22 years on FIDIC contracts. Leads estimating, procurement, and contract administration, and the group's 900-member pre-qualified supply chain.

  • MRICS
  • FIDIC certified
  • Dubai · since 2007

Aisha Tahir

Group Director, People & Welfare

Leads recruitment, training, and worker welfare across nine countries, including Buildora's zero-recruitment-fee policy and accommodation audits.

  • CIPD
  • SA8000 trained
  • Dubai · since 2014

Marco Galli

Director of Sustainability

Façade and building-physics engineer who now leads carbon reporting, GSAS and Estidama delivery, and the group's construction-waste diversion programme.

  • LEED AP BD+C
  • GSAS CGP
  • Doha · since 2015

Regional managing directors

Local leadership in every market.

Each regional entity is led by a managing director with at least fifteen years in that market, full P&L responsibility, and local authority relationships.

James Rowe

Managing Director, UAE

Twenty-one years delivering towers and hospitality in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, including three B+G+40 residential buildings.

  • CEng MICE
  • Estidama PQP

Yousef Haddad

Managing Director, Qatar

Seventeen years in Doha delivering hospitality and government projects, including GSAS-rated commercial buildings in Lusail.

  • PE
  • GSAS CGP

Faisal Al-Otaibi

Managing Director, Saudi Arabia

Leads Riyadh and Jeddah operations across residential communities, healthcare, and industrial facilities.

  • Saudi Council of Engineers
  • PMP

Chinedu Okafor

Managing Director, West Africa

Oversees Lagos and Accra. Former commercial manager on multilateral-funded road and drainage programmes.

  • COREN
  • FRICS

Governance

How decisions are made and checked.

Our governance framework separates tender approval, project delivery, and independent assurance.

Board of directors

Five members including two independent non-executives. Meets quarterly; audit and HSE committees report directly to it.

Tender committee

Reviews risk, contract terms, and margin on every bid above USD 10m before submission.

Project reviews

Monthly executive reviews of programme, cost-to-complete, quality, and HSE on every live project.

Independent assurance

Annual third-party audits of the ISO management system, financial statements, and worker welfare.

Tenders & enquiries

Planning a project in the Gulf or Africa?

Send us your tender documents or project brief. Our estimating team responds to pre-qualification requests within five working days.