The operating system behind ambition.
I’m Prateek Saxena — an operator who builds and scales businesses across the UAE’s real economy. An industrial engineer (Purdue) and INSEAD-educated leader, I blend engineering discipline, financial rigour and technology across eleven sectors — currently as Group General Manager of Al Zaabi Group. I write on business, leadership, tech, finance and the trends shaping them.
An operator who makes scale repeatable.
Over sixteen years I’ve moved from the manufacturing floor to the boardroom, learning to turn strategy into operations across the UAE’s real economy — from healthcare and automotive to real estate, manufacturing and e-commerce. My work is turning opportunity into tangible results: establishing and scaling businesses through collaborative leadership and data-driven decisions. A Purdue and INSEAD alumnus, I pair a global perspective with on-the-ground operating discipline — currently as Group General Manager of Al Zaabi Group, focused on the digital and AI transformation that keeps a diversified portfolio ahead.
Systems that scale
Repeatable operating models, not heroics — so businesses grow without breaking.
Margins that hold
Disciplined economics over vanity growth. Technology adopted where it pays back.
Technology, applied
From analytics to AI — adopted where it genuinely pays back, never for show.
Sixteen years, floor to boardroom.
Lead the strategy and operations of a diversified group across 11 sectors — driving growth, operating discipline, and digital/AI transformation across the portfolio.
Rose through the group — from running multi-company operations and group-wide strategy to Deputy GM.
Strategic and financial operation of five companies spanning infrastructure construction, capital-market investments, manufacturing, venture capital, real estate and trading.
Operations analysis at one of the world’s most respected engineering brands.
Where it started — on the manufacturing floor as an industrial engineer.
Engineering mind, business craft.
Executive study at one of the world’s leading business schools.
The engineering lens — systems, operations and process — behind how I run businesses.
Currently pursuing Part 2 of the certification.
The formal grounding behind the writing on enterprise AI.
Eleven sectors of the real economy.
one standard.
From the manufacturing floor to the boardroom — I operate across the tangible parts of the economy, applying one discipline: turn strategy into operations.
Healthcare
Automotive
Real Estate
Building Materials
Contracting
Manufacturing
Trading
Retail
E-commerce
Food & Beverage
Education
Notes on business, technology & the bigger picture.
A record of milestones, partnerships and lessons from sixteen years of operating across the UAE — and writing on business, leadership, technology, finance and the trends shaping our region and the world.
Operator Notes · Jun 2026After the Prompt: The Operator’s Harness
Prompt engineering helped us talk to AI. Harness engineering is how we make AI work — and why every serious AI agent needs a Self-Improvement Protocol.
Read the essay →
Industry · May 2026Visited Make it in the Emirates 2026 (MIITE) at ADNEC with our MD and CEO Amal Vijayakum
Visited Make it in the Emirates 2026 (MIITE) at ADNEC with our MD and CEO Amal Vijayakumar and Vimal Vijayakumar. In today’s global and regional environment, industrial r…
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Community · Apr 2026Welcoming the India Social & Cultural Centre’s 2026 leadership
Al Zaabi Group welcomed ISC Abu Dhabi’s newly elected 2026 leadership for a conversation on community partnership, cultural harmony and the UAE’s spirit of unity in diversity.
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Community · Dec 2025Honoured at the India Fest 2025 launch, India Social Centre
Al Zaabi Group was honoured at the launch of India Fest 2025 at the India Social Centre, Abu Dhabi — a successful three-day festival and a celebration of community engagement.
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Strategic Partnership · Jul 2025Exclusive UAE distribution partnership with Birla White
Al Zaabi Group enters an exclusive agreement to bring Birla White — the white-cement & wall-care brand of Grasim Industries (Aditya Birla Group) — to the UAE, hosting MD Himanshu Kapania.
Partnership · Jul 2025Henkel Polybit training at NH47
As a strategic distributor for Henkel, our team went deep on their waterproofing, tiling and flooring range in a hands-on session — practical knowledge for construction and building projects.
View on LinkedIn →Strategy is nothing without operations.
If it can’t be repeated, it didn’t scale.
Operating models over one-off wins. The second time should be easier than the first.
An operator has to survive Monday morning.
Demos impress in meetings. Real work shows up at the start of the week.
Tools change. Disciplines compound.
Adopt technology where it pays back — and keep the habits that make it work.
Questions, answered.
Who is Prateek Saxena?
Prateek Saxena is an operator, builder and strategist based in Abu Dhabi who builds and scales businesses across the UAE’s real economy — spanning eleven sectors from healthcare and automotive to real estate, manufacturing and e-commerce. An industrial engineer (Purdue) and INSEAD-educated leader, he currently serves as Group General Manager of Al Zaabi Group.
Which sectors has Prateek Saxena worked across?
Eleven sectors of the UAE’s real economy: healthcare, automotive, real estate, building materials, contracting, manufacturing, trading, retail, e-commerce, F&B and education.
What does Prateek Saxena write about?
Business, leadership, operations, finance, technology and the UAE economy — a practical operator’s perspective, including the real-world role of AI in enterprises.
How can I contact or work with Prateek Saxena?
For advisory, speaking or board conversations, email prateeksax@gmail.com or connect on LinkedIn.
Let’s build what’s next.
Advisory · Speaking · Board conversations.
Or write directly — prateeksax@gmail.com