UAECreatives Magazine - Issue 5 - January 2024 by Umesh Ponnusamy

JAN 2024

MAGAZINE ISSUE 5

Directory of Freelancers, Consultants, Entrepreneurs, Startup Founders and other Creators of their own destiny in the Emirates

Growing a Hospitality Unicorn: Islam Mahdy

From Cabin Crew to Professional Photographer: Angelina Verghese

CONTENT Editorial

Pick of the Month: All you need to know about UAE Jobs

UAE Consumer Insights: GEN AI ill effects

Featured Entrepreneur of the Month: Islam Mahdy

Featured UAE Creative: Angelina Verghese

UAE Consultant of the Month: Martin Sandmeier

Get listed in the UAE Creatives directory

The IT Help Guy: Technology Management for Creatives

‘Remy’niscences: Part 3 Value Yourself

SYLAB (Support Your Local Area Business)

910

1 EDITORIAL

Dear Readers, Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. Hoping that 2024 is a more peaceful and prosperous year. In this issue, we continue our journey telling the stories of creative professionals, entrepreneurs and consultants in the UAE. We have the young and dynamic founder of IM Hospitality, Islam Mahdy who’s making an impact in the Hospitality and F&B industry in the UAE. Angelina Verghese, former Emirates cabin crew and now a Dubai based professional photographer, shares her creative journey. We also continue with Martin Sandmeier’s Digital Commerce Consulting insights and Remy’s experiences and learning as a freelancer. The IT Help Guy Gerard pitches in with the concluding piece of his article on managing digital tools and tech. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and look forward to receiving your feedback. Sincerely Umesh Ponnusamy Editor

feedback@ uaecreatives .com

2 PICK OF

THE MONTH

UAE:

Part-time working hours, annual leave, more than one job; all you need to know https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/legal/uae-parttime-working-hours-annual-leave-more-than-one-joball-you-need-to-know https://www.khaleejtimes.com/ uae/legal/uae-part-time-working-hours-annual-leavemore-than-one-job-all-you-need-to-know

UAE CONSUMER INSIGHTS

Half of consumers to limit social media use by 2025 over generative AI’s ill effects Misinformation, toxic user bases and the prevalence of bots are predicted to put marketing efforts at risk, Gartner says Read the complete report: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/ technology/2023/12/17/half-of-consumers-to-limitsocial-media-use-by-2025-over-generative-ais-illeffects/

FEATURED UAE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

Islam Mahdy

Globally experienced and Visionary Hospitality and F&B Entrepreneur

ith over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, Islam holds a BBA in Hotel Management with a specialization in Events Management from Les Roches Switzerland, complemented by certifications in WSET and Cvent. He has a rich history of managing operations, leading teams, and driving revenue growth at luxury 5-star hotels and independent fine dining restaurants in Portugal, Dubai, Switzerland, and

Thailand. With a proven ability to cultivate a positive work environment and inspire high performance, his expertise has left an indelible mark on the industry. He’s the founder of IM Hospitality, TheMenues and Samzkraze making an impact in the UAE F&B industry. In this first part of our interview with him, Islam shares how a childhood holiday cruise inspired his journey into the hospitality industry and his entrepreneurial journey.

FEATURED UAE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

Childhood Inspirations and Influences: Can you tell us a bit about your childhood and what you think were your inspirations and influences that made you what you are today?

My journey into hospitality began during a family cruise to Luxor and Aswan in Egypt in 2003. The cruise lasted for four days, and I vividly recall this trip. While other kids were busy playing games and using the

pool, I found myself venturing into the back of the ship and entering the kitchen. The

organized chaos unfolding before my eyes fascinated me. I started exploring the kitchen and encountered one of the chefs, dressed in a white jacket, black pants, and a chequered white and black chef tie. To my surprise, he was the Head Chef.

Rather than asking me to leave, the chef decided to give me a tour of the kitchen, showing me the different sections from the cold kitchen to the pastry section. At the end of the tour, I received a chef hat and was welcomed to return to the kitchen anytime. Excited, I showed my family the hat and explained what had happened. Throughout the cruise, I visited the kitchen multiple times a day, conversing with the chefs and observing them prepare dishes. During meals, we had a dedicated waiter solely for our table, a level of service not extended to other tables. I assumed the chef had

FEATURED UAE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

instructed the staff to take special care of us. The trip continued to exceed my expectations. When the cruise concluded, it became clear to me that I wanted to enter the hospitality industry to create the same joy I experienced for others.

Entrepreneurial Journey & Industry Impact:

You’ve founded IM Hospitality, The Menues and Samzkraze. Could you share the inspiration, the vision behind starting these ventures and the impact they’ve had?

It all began with Samzkraze, essentially a sauce blog. In 2019, just as COVID was emerging, I noticed a significant surge in the

blogging world, especially in the food sector. With more people working from home, there was a spike in page views. Capitalizing on this trend, I decided to start my own blog dedicated to creating everyday sauces. I documented the process, filmed it, edited the videos, and published the recipes on my website and social platforms. Drawing from my passion, I aimed to share my love for creating restaurant-grade sauces at home, providing this

FEATURED UAE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

knowledge for free. Building on the knowledge I gained at Les Roches, I was inspired to establish a consultancy firm named IM Hospitality. This firm focuses on

assisting restaurants and hotels in creating their F&B brands, offering operational support, and more. We are currently working on the final touches for The Menues. This user-friendly Software as a Service (SaaS) concentrates on Menu Engineering, encompassing all stages from creating items to analyzing data. Currently in the testing phase, The Menues is set to launch by the end of December this year. I’m enthusiastic about this project, born from my passion for

menus and my identification of various pain points in the F&B industry. I believe this solution is a step in the right direction.

Next Issue: Leadership & Learning

IM HOSPITALITY

We craft F&B dreams, reshape menus, and ensure every bite tells a remarkable story. Contact:

Islam Mahdy

Director / Hospitality Unicorn M: +971 (0) 50 564 6493 M: +20 (0) 1 2002 1825 4 E: islam@imhospitality.com W: imhospitality.com

CREATIVE 5 UAE OF THE MONTH

ANGELINA VERGHESE Angelina is a Professional Photographer with a decade of experience in the UAE. She has expertise in a wide range of commercial photography projects 4Newborn 4Maternity 4Boudoir 4Bridal shoots 4Corporate Headshots Products 4Jewellery 4Family portraits 4Lifestyle 4Modelling 4Interiors 4Food and Pet Photography She also covers small Video shoots. Her motto is to ‘Create Memories’ for you.

CREATIVE 5 UAE OF THE MONTH

Beginning of the Journey

From your career as a cabin crew at the prestigious Emirates Airlines to framing memories through your lens - how did your experience at Emirates influence your approach to photography? As crew, I got to travel to various countries every month, for over 10 years. I felt the need to capture the views and sights on film. So, I invested in my first digital camera and started clicking away. My friends told me that I had an eye for photography. So I continued clicking and it turned into a passion. Whenever I was in town, friends would ask me to take photographs at their parties and events.

Pet Passion

In your role as a Pet Handler

at Urban Tails Pet Resort, you were responsible for the well-being of pets. How has this experience influenced your approach to capturing the unique essence of pets in your photography? I love animals and am always happy when I’m with them. They don’t have a voice to speak like us, but they have so much love to share. I wanted to give back the love in the form of Pet Portraits. Along with my brother, we created Paw Prints Dubai, where we give owners beautiful portraits of their furry friends. We’ve worked with Rescue Organizations and Adoption Agencies, so we could find homes for abandoned and rescued animals.

Creative Process How do you consistently capture unique, compelling photos across diverse clients and

CREATIVE 5 UAE OF THE MONTH situations? What is your creative process? I love candid photography. Some of the best images have been the random candid photos of friends and family. As crew, I was already comfortable working with different nationalities and meeting diverse passengers, so it was already a part of me. I can handle any kind of Photography that comes my way. I always ask the clients for their specific requirements and work around it. I do test shots to ensure a smooth shoot when the client arrives. Sometimes, there are unexpected challenges, but I work around it to create something beautiful that would please the client.

Memorable Projects

Can you share some of the most memorable projects you have worked on, and what made them unique or challenging?

I enjoyed conducting five full

days of shoot for a company’s Training Program with their staff coming from all over the World. Each morning, I had to send a highlight of images from the previous day, so they could play it at the start of the day. Few of my other favourites were huge concerts for famous singers and composers like Shan, K.K, Sonu Nigam, A.R.Rahman, Rahat Fateh Ali, Udit Narayanan, Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. I’d even travelled to Australia to shoot a wedding.

Future Growth

What exciting projects or types of shoots would you still love to try as you continue growing? I would love to explore more of Travel, Fashion and Creative Product Photography.

CREATIVE 5 UAE OF THE MONTH

Equipment Choices

Could you tell us about your favourite camera, lenses and other core equipment in your photography projects? I shoot with Canon and Sony cameras. I have different lenses for every kind of shoot, but my favourite is the 50mm 1.4. Apart from this I have various lighting equipment, soft boxes and backdrops.

for yourself and things will fall into place. I’m still learning every day and waiting for new opportunities to challenge my creativity.

19 AUG, 2024

Learnings

As an entrepreneur in the creative industry, what advice do you have for aspiring photographers looking to establish themselves and build a successful career in the UAE market? There is always an opportunity out there for everyone, so keep shooting till you make a name

world

OTO

GRAPHY D

View Angelina’s work https://www.instagram.com/ photoshot.byavp/

CONSULTANT 6 UAE OF THE MONTH

Martin Sandmeier A Visionary Leader in Digital Transformation and E-Commerce

n the dynamic business landscape of Dubai, Martin Sandmeier emerges as a force in the realm of digital transformation and e-commerce. With an extensive career spanning three decades, Martin is the founder of Ignite Digital Consulting. His professional journey encompasses pivotal

roles in globally renowned organizations such as Etisalat, Amazon, and Souq.com. In this second part of our interview with him, Martin shares how he guided a talented but digitally naive team at Etisalat (e&), focusing on coaching and transforming them into a digitally native workforce.

UAE CONSULTANT 6 OF THE MONTH Your Vice-President role at Etisalat involved significant achievements in digital channel growth and customer satisfaction. What key insights from your time there do you believe are crucial for any business looking to enhance its digital presence and customer experience? Building strong foundations being critical to success is definitely the key message I communicate to anyone in the digital domain.

If a business does not build solid digital foundations, it will end up having a fragile digital business which, as it tries to scale, will result in a lot of time and energy spent on fixing issues and trying to keep the ship afloat rather than building great new capabilities to drive sustainable growth over time. Data is one of the cornerstone of building those strong

foundations. Without clean, rich and large data, you will not be able to gain the insights that allow you to make the right business decisions to enhance areas including the customer experience and scaling your digital business.

Another key foundational building block is the IT side striking the balance between quality and speed when it comes to dev and releases is so important. Broken code will severely restrict a business as it scales, poor release quality will negatively impact the customer experience, and long sprints will risk you becoming uncompetitive and result in missed opportunities. Finally, and one could argue the most critical, is people. It would be fair to say that most transformation initiatives fail due to the people element more than any other.

UAE CONSULTANT 6 OF THE MONTH When I joined Etisalat, I was fortunate enough to inherit an incredibly switched-on, dedicated and committed team. However, they were digitally naive and as a result were looking at the wrong things, through no fault of their own.

My primary focus was therefore to guide them, coach them and help them become digitally native, as without the right people doing the right things, success in the digital domain is highly unlikely. Coupled with that, prioritisation is crucial. Teams are constantly juggling so many balls in the digital domain, especially in transformation initiatives. Being able to identify must-haves vs nice—to-haves, and being able to cut through all the noise to identify what is truly important is crucial. (To be continued…)

IGNITE

Digital Consulting FZCO Helping You Ignite Your Way to Digital Success Dubai Media City Get in touch:

+971 56 149 6172

C D D D C A O C D E ES U I O RT S R N R I W C A GI I D E E TE IG I/ G A IS RT T RI OP C A E N U N R N T T R A T TE Y ER IS L O T O T ERX R R R T

CREATIVES 7 UAE DIRECTORY

www.UAECreatives.com Calling all creative professionals, freelancers, consultants, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, startup founders etc.

Get listed in our online directory for free. Just email

addme@uaecreatives.com

with the following details: Full Name Job Title

Short Bio (100 words) LinkedIn URL

Portfolio URL (optional) Email

Mobile number

IN M T D C D F IR RE M AR D ER A EV RO ES A EC A N D A K S D E C N A A U N T I E I LO T ET K G TO IV G T P LY T D C A ET IT I N E P I M I G PE N TO S RS E STA O IT ERON IN AL ERNG D RT RS R S G S

CREATIVES 7 UAE DIRECTORY

Abdul Aziz

UI/UX Designer Product Designer

Angelina Verghese Photography: Corporate, Events, Social, Advertising

David Alexander

Director, David & William Advertising Agency

Gerard

Founder: The IT Help Guy IT Support, Technologist

Islam Mahdy

Founder – IM Hospitality, The Menues, Samzkraze

Jacob John

Storyboard Illustrator. Character Design

SO TR A FO PR C EP TR FT N C TH U O O A RE W TO A R N A D N G E EA EA V IN A N D R U TE EMV O ID EU IN RE TI T ER C N EN T N E R O E ST E EN T IS G RS T O R R T S S S T

CREATIVES 7 UAE DIRECTORY

Malesh Ponnusamy Graphic Designer

Muhammad

Developer, Frontend Developer, UI Designer

Muthusankar Rajapather Art Directors, Artist, Graphic Designers

Rashmi Dadhich Food Photography

Remy Francis

Animation, Artist, Cartoonist, Illustrator, Video Creator

Sabiha

Theatre Artiste, Event Manager, Real Estate, Logistics

CREATIVES 7 UAE DIRECTORY

Photography, Creative Director, Software Training, Animation

Suchi

Illustrator, Graphic Designer

SO A PR C TR FT N C O O A W TO A RE D N G E I V A N U TE A EMV O ID IN RE C N EN T N O EO ER T EN T IS G RS T S T

RU ID IT ER EO S

FO U

Samy

Umesh Ponnusamy Copywriter, UX Writer, WordPress Content Publishing & Support

Get listed in our online directory for free. Just email

addme@uaecreatives.com

8 THE IT HELP GUY Technology Management

Why creatives should be steps ahead Tech Tools & the Freelancers Imperative Many start-ups fail because the ROI isn’t calculated accurately. When investing in equipment, focus must be given to redundancy. Redundancy in engineering terms is having backup equipment in case of current operations equipment fails. It may seem at the get-go in a start-up that redundancy is of no concern. Soon there could be constant demand for work round the clock. Digital storage systems can fill up faster than expected. Regular client and customer project data now has become a vital digital asset that needs protection and secure storage. It may not be the right time to stop production to upgrade and start installing

backup systems. The system runs to a halt. Many disappointed clients and customers may look to the competition to give their business. Invest in a Stable Redundancy System In my experience, there are at least a handful of inquiries a month from new customers who have crashed their systems and want to recover their valuable project data. Unfortunately for them, it is not always all the data can be recovered. A stable redundancy system would have kept their production performing without any interruption. Promptly Adapt to Software Updates and Emerging Tech Another important factor in technology management is to

8 THE IT HELP GUY look out for emerging tech and prompt adaption. Regularly updating the software platforms and the systems is vital to keep performance stable— professional software demands high-performance hardware for high-end projects. Inadequate performing hardware only produces bottlenecks and slows down the system. Tools of Your Trade For creatives who have regular high-end professional work, a workstation-grade desktop is ideal. Laptops may not be the ideal solution since they are limited in hardware resources— especially those working on CAD, Science Research and Data mining systems. Desktop workstations can be upgraded to extreme performance levels depending on the investment. A computer engineer can be consulted for advice and oversee the system upgrade.

Even cross-platform systems can efficiently boost system performance. Automatic backup systems can be installed and networked together with the main system so that at times of reduced workload the backups will be performed, fire walled security systems to prevent various types of malicious attacks. Storage & Backup Creatives must understand the difference between the models of cloud and local storage. Depending on the type of work and projects these may be advantageous. Projects such as CAD, content editing such as Audio and Video, and Science Research data processing are best with a local storage system as high-speed data processing is required. The costs for Local Storage systems depend on the size of the processing load. Content creation such as Web design and coding can use cloud

8 THE IT HELP GUY storage and is beneficial for testing. Knowledge is Key As many companies are looking to hire freelance workers, creatives should arm themselves with all the knowledge they can to face professional challenges. No system is perfect. For that reason, avail yourself of some backup so that the work continues without any interruptions. It is a competitive freelance market and it is getting cheaper by the hour. How would you cope with it in the digital media world without much knowledge of technology? Concluded

Data Recovery Services, Personal Home Backup and Support Systems, & System Upgrades, etc., for more details go to: www.theithelpguy.com

GERARD PERERA

is a Consultant & Systems Integration Designer at WITECON. With his knowledge and experience working in the field of Electronics Engineering for over 30 years, he does visualization, planning, and implementation of digital technology projects including enterprise automation, IT Infrastructure designing, Security, for global corporate clients in Telecommunications, Digital Media (Broadcasting), Financial institutions, Academic Institutions, Petroleum, and Construction. Website: www.witecon.com

‘REMY’NISCENCES OF A SERIAL CREATIVE

Value Yourself 3 PART

Remy discourages degrading one’s own value, even for friends. The lesson is to charge what you are worth and not undersell your skills.

Charge for what you’re worth or never Plot for a success plan anyway. A job that should have paid $2000 for doing it for $450 and to expect the greatest quality. This is a tell-tale sign for you to reconsider the type of projects you should accept to even get started to send over a quotation. It’s an easy way to do your due diligence. I did not feel bad about that comment, and here is why. Understand this…for merely doing it so low as a goodwill gesture, you still risk

being misconstrued or run a greater risk of being called a low-life who has no opportunity and so you have landed or meant to take up a low-paid job. So even for friends, “don’t degrade your value” is the lesson to emphasize to take away from this. For friends, if you like, do it “for free”. But if you charge, please charge for what you are worth, or never. So here the buyer meant exactly by giving me that “attitude” is simply being a stiff upper-lip with head held up high, with privilege handed to the person with selfproclaimed dominance over people thinking to oppress whether it be kith, kin, friends, foe, humanity alike is just okay. I don’t fit into the world where I move around in an exotic

‘REMY’NISCENCES OF A SERIAL CREATIVE

Jaguar, just to show that I belong in an elite community to get favours or projects with favour for favour. There are too many real-life stories where this model has miserably failed. A Pseudo millionaire who reaches that first million in a pseudo method falls and can never arise to that same feat. Because they have never climbed those stumbling blocks themselves to climb back, failed 10 times then got a huge incremental success after that, fall back 5 times then grow 50 times more. Care for your competitor or move out of the way rather than resisting cut-throat competition in a survival-ofthe-fittest economy, if you can help it. Today, when people talk of not being accepted because of not possessing a degree or a privileged passport or because of a race… I would say after being there and done that: Having worked in the country and market-place of my

dreams in a westerneconomy, I never found what I was searching for. I resigned my job when I could pay my travel back. “Why play into that game” when we can do so many things otherwise. If we are not accepted by a faction. Why go behind pleading to be accepted?

Next Issue:

Part 4 - Investing in Yourself

REMY FRANCIS

SYLAB: 10 (SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA BUSINESS) We support local businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs etc. We welcome you to tell us your entrepreneurship story and we’d love to feature you, just contact us at features@uaecreatives.com Our UAE Entrepreneurs Wall of Fame (in alphabetical order):

D I

DAVID & WILLIAM ADVERTISING Building Digital & Print Brands in the UAE

David Alex +971 4 3529860 info@davidandwilliam.com www.davidandwilliam.com

DHRONA DESIGN ACADEMY

Samy +971 50 2820 678 Instagram.com/ A Design Academy for aspiring Media Professionals DhronaDesignAcademy - learn Adobe Creative Suite, Cinema 4D, Rhino 3D Modelling, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Video Editing

IGNITE DIGITAL CONSULTING

Martin Sandmeier +971 56 149 6172 martin@ignitedigital.me

IM HOSPITALITY

Islam Mahdy +971 (0) 50 564 6493 +20 (0) 1 2002 1825 4 islam@imhospitality.com www.imhospitality.com

Digital Transformation & E-Commerice Consulting

We craft F&B dreams, reshape menus, and ensure every bite tells a remarkable story

SYLAB: 19 0 (SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA BUSINESS)

ORB EVENTS

REMBRANDZ

S T V

Sabiha +971 54 565 8882 Theatre Productions, orbeventsuae@gmail.com Visual Arts/Literature www.orbeventsuae.com Festivals, Dance/Poetry/ Music/Stand Up Comedy/Talent Hunt Shows, Advertising/ Corporate/Event Film Production

Animation & Video Production

SPOIL YOUR WALL

Creative and beautiful wall decals to personalise your home or brand your work space.

THE LITTLE BIG THINGS

Creative Illustrations for unique and vibrant stories for any type of project and medium.

VIBE EDUCATION

Remy remroute@gmail.com www.rembrandz.com/

Yousuf & Mustafa Fidali +971 50 985 3714 www.spoilyourwall.com

Suchi asklittlebig@gmail.com www.thelittlebigthings.me https://www.instagram. com/suchi.draws

Ramees +971 55 282 4466 KHDA approved learning info@vibeedu.com centre offering a wide www.vibeedu.com variety of learning experiences from management certifications, accounting, IT, Quality control, and language certifications courses.

SYLAB: 10 (SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AREA BUSINESS)

WITECON

Providing IT infrastructure solutions to SMEs. 360º Services in Automation and System Security.

Gerard https://www.witecon.com

We support local businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs etc. We welcome you to tell us your entrepreneurship story and we’d love to feature you, just contact us at features@uaecreatives.com

DIRECTORY OF

Freelancers Consultants Entrepreneurs Startup Founders and other Creators OF THEIR OWN DESTINY IN THE EMIRATES

WhatsApp Group: Send “JOIN” on WhatsApp to +971 50 8818234 Get listed on the Online Directory at Join the LinkedIn Group www.uaecreatives.com Follow us on LinkedIn