H.H. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has named Alia Abdulla Al Mazrouei as the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs in the new UAE Cabinet.

The cabinet reshuffle, announced on Sunday, is part of the ongoing development of the UAE government structure, in consultation and approval of President H.H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Announcing Alia’s appointment as Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed said, “Alia has distinguished experience in the private sector and the government sector in the country, and her role is to create greater economic opportunities for the sons and daughters of the nation to benefit from the great growth witnessed by our national economy.”

Alia, who currently holds the position of Vice Chairman at Insurance House in the UAE, is a member of the board of Finance House, the Dubai Trader Youth Council, the Abu Dhabi School of Management, and the Abu Dhabi Business Women Council. In her previous roles, she served as the Director General of the Human Resources Authority of Abu Dhabi from July 2020 to July 2022, and as Acting Director General of the Abu Dhabi School of Government. She was also the Chief Operating Officer of Mazrui International from 2012 to 2018 and Human Resources Advisor to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation. She is also an entrepreneur and founder of Little Haven Nursery, and co-founded The Foodsters Inc, as well as the popular restaurant chain Just Falafel.

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Prior to that, Alia served as the Chief Human Resources Officer at the Executive Affairs Authority, before serving as the Human Resources Manager, and Human Resources Analyst. She also served as the Director of Compensation and Benefits at Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company. She has been recognised for her influential leadership under the “100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen in the World 2017” and “200 Most Powerful Arab Women in the World” in both 2017 and 2012 categories.

On the academic front, Alia holds an MBA degree in Global Leadership and a BBA degree in Management Information Systems from United Arab Emirates University.