Tabreed Promotes Yousif Al Hammadi to CEO as Growth Focus Turns to Returns
Al Hammadi, the first Tabreed chief executive promoted from inside the company, takes over after expansion into India and Egypt and a push for commercial value from completed investments.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Yousif Al Hammadi has been appointed chief executive of Tabreed, the National Central Cooling Company, becoming the first person to lead the UAE district cooling group after being promoted from within it.
The appointment follows a period of rapid expansion in Tabreed's UAE portfolio and its entry into India and Egypt. Al Hammadi has set the next phase around generating commercial value from investments the company has already made. New opportunities, he said, will be pursued with a disciplined and selective approach.
He is not new to the business. Al Hammadi joined Tabreed in 2014 and held leadership roles in its projects and business development divisions before becoming chief asset management officer in 2022. He was appointed interim CEO in January 2026.
Over more than 20 years, he has also worked at Mubadala, ADNOC and the UAE Ministry of Interior, where his work covered strategic initiatives and infrastructure projects. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, a Master of Business Administration and a Doctorate in Business Administration and Management.
His time at Tabreed includes involvement in several of its larger transactions: the acquisition of the Downtown Dubai district cooling network, the purchase of PAL Cooling, and the Palm Jebel Ali concession.
Bakheet Al Katheeri, Tabreed's chairman, places the company within the UAE's utilities infrastructure. Meeting growing demand for sustainable cooling, he said, requires sector expertise, strategic planning and asset management across diverse markets.
Al Hammadi's reading of the business is that the enlarged portfolio has created a stronger platform for growth, and that the immediate task is turning the existing portfolio and completed investments into commercial returns.
Tabreed was founded in 1998 and is listed on the Dubai Financial Market. It operates in district cooling and energy-efficiency services. As of June 30, 2026, it owned and operated 99 plants: 81 in the UAE, six in Saudi Arabia, eight in Oman, one in Bahrain, two in India and one in Egypt. It also holds other international projects and operations.
Its customers include Burj Khalifa, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World, Emirates Towers, Yas Island, Al Maryah Island, Dubai Mall, Dubai Opera, Dubai Metro, Bahrain Financial Harbour and the Jabal Omar development in Makkah. The company runs research and development programmes and has investments in artificial intelligence technologies.
What the handover signals
District cooling is treated as essential infrastructure in the Gulf, tied to water security, energy security, strategic sustainability plans and national visions. Global Market Insights Inc. expects the Middle East district cooling market to grow from $7.8 billion in 2026 to $16.8 billion by 2035.
That forecast implies volume growth across the region regardless of any single operator's ambitions. The constraint sits on the cost and performance side: how well plants are run, how efficiently capacity is matched to demand, and how quickly capital already committed starts earning. Tabreed's choice of an asset management chief as its next CEO places those questions at the centre of the company's next phase rather than at its margins.
Amal Abdelwahab translated the article.
