Navin Valrani

Navin M. Valrani
Navin Valrani in office
Citizenship	Indian
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania (The Wharton School) London Business School (MBA)
Occupation	CEO, Engineering Services Cluster of the Al Shirawi Group

Navin M. Valrani is the CEO of the engineering services cluster of the Al Shirawi Group, a private family-owned industrial conglomerate based in Dubai, UAE. The Engineering Services Cluster comprises 10 organizations that cater to various verticals within the construction services sector.^[1]

He is also the CEO of Al Shirawi's education initiative, The Arcadia Preparatory School, a private English National Curriculum school in Dubai.^[2]

Education and personal life

Navin Valrani is one of three sons of Mohan G. Valrani, an Indian businessman, and one of two co-founders of the Al Shirawi Group.^[3]

Valrani grew up in Dubai, UAE and attended Dubai College.^[4] He graduated in 1993 from The Wharton School, the undergraduate business school of the University of Pennsylvania.^[5] He also holds an MBA from the London Business School, where he sits on the International Alumni Council.^[6]

Valrani is a member of the Wharton Executive Board for Europe, Middle East and Africa,^[7] and sat on the Board of Directors of the Wharton Alumni Association^[8] from 1997 to 2003. He is also the former chairperson of the Emirates Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization, a global network of young chief executives.

Valrani was ranked as Facilities Management CEO of the Year in the 2014 Arabian Business Indian CEO Awards ^[9] and currently sits at number 3 on Facilities Management Middle East's ranking of the Facilities Management Power 40 in 2015.^[10]

Valrani is married to Monica Valrani,^[11] CEO of Ladybird Nurseries in Dubai. Monica Valrani is targeting to build Dubai's first dedicated LEED Gold certified early years learning facility in Dubai.^[12]

Career

Among the Al Shirawi Group companies headed by Valrani are:

• The Arcadia Preparatory School: English Primary School in Dubai ^[13][14]
• The Leminar Group: Air conditioning and oil field supply services in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait ^{[15][16][17][18]}
• Al Shirawi Facilities Management (FM) LLC^[19][20]
• Al Shirawi Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (ASEME) Company LLC^[21][22]
• Al Shirawi Contracting: Waterproofing, interior design and construction^[23][24]
• Visionwood International LLC: Interior and building wood products (doors, cabinets, hotel and kitchen fixtures)^[25]
• Oasis Coils and Coatings: HVAC coil manufacturing^[26][27]

Valrani was also instrumental in setting up three joint ventures for the group, namely:

• Al Shirawi US Chillers: A joint venture with US Chillers Services, an award winning heavy tonnage chiller services and energy solutions provider^[28][29]
• Identigy UAE: A joint venture with Identigy, a US based smart technology solutions provider and a leader in the development of global smart solutions^[30]
• Festive Decorators and Lighting Specialists: A joint venture representing The Christmas Decorators from the UK, a company well known for its A-list clientele^[31]

Philanthropy

Valrani createdthe Monica and Navin Valrani Scholarship fund at London Business School to help Indian female students complete a graduate education. He also became a campaign committee member to help the school raise £100m by 2018.^[32]

In literature

• Valrani is cited on pp. 8–9 of The Running of the Bulls: Inside the Cutthroat Race from Wharton to Wall Street by Forbes writer Nicole Ridgway: "Walking into Wharton and being told by the dean that we are the cream of the crop and we are at the world's best business school gave us a tremendous confidence," recalled Navin Valrani, a Class of 1993 Wharton Alum who now heads several divisions of Dubai-based Al Shirawi Enterprises, one of the largest conglomerates in the Middle East. "You began to feel you could achieve things far above the norm."^[33]

References

External links