Crescent Enterprises shares business expertise with students of Columbia Business School

Crescent Enterprises, the UAE-based diversified conglomerate and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crescent Group, hosted 32 MBA students from the New York-based Columbia Business School during their recent educational trip to the UAE. The engagement on 17 March was organised for the second consecutive year as part of a collaboration between Crescent Enterprises and the Columbia Business School to support initiatives that strengthen economic and academic ties between the two nations.
The students are visiting the UAE as part of the Columbia Business School's Global Immersion course, through which they have the opportunity to visit a number of companies and government entities across the UAE, including Crescent Enterprises.   Building on the success of the School's visit in 2015, Crescent Enterprises took the occasion to introduce the new batch of MBA students to the company's various subsidiaries and affiliate operations across the world, and its firm implementation of global best business practices.
The 32 MBA students were given an opportunity to meet and interact with senior management at Crescent Group, including Neeraj Agrawal, Executive Director of Crescent Enterprises and Executive Board Member of Gulftainer Group, as well as Dr Zaki Hussain, Director of Finance of Crescent Group; Tushar Singhvi, Vice President - Corporate Development & Investments of Crescent Enterprises, Ghada Abdelkader, Manager - Corporate Development & Investments of Crescent Enterprises, and Ola Al Haj Hussin, Manager - Corporate Citizenship of Crescent Enterprises.
The meet and learn session was followed by an exclusive tour of the Gulftainer-managed Sharjah Container Terminal. Gulftainer is the world's largest privately-owned, independent port operator based in the UAE that is partly owned and managed by Crescent Enterprises.
Commenting on their trip, Columbia Business School MBA student Rasha Salem said, "I am extremely interested in the local business landscape here in the UAE because I have worked here for several years and plan to continue to after graduation. The UAE is going through a very interesting time economically and this trip is an excellent opportunity for us to hear the local perspective and outlook from organizations who have strong roots here."
She added, "As an MBA student, it is fantastic to hear first-hand about the growth and success of a business such as Crescent Enterprises. It is a great example of an organization which reflects the growth of a diversified economy that we are seeing currently in the UAE and across the region."
Pierre Yared, Associate Professor of Business at the Columbia Business School said, "This experience really provides the students with a hands-on look at what it takes to be a dynamic, innovative and successful company in the Middle East. We are grateful to both Crescent Enterprises and Gulftainer for taking the time to speak with us today and to show us around the Sharjah Container Terminal."
Highlighting the importance of the collaboration with the Columbia Business School, Neeraj Agrawal said: "We value our partnership with Columbia Business School as an excellent opportunity to meet with potential business leaders and thinkers. Apart from understanding the students' perspectives of the business environment in the Middle East and the challenges facing economies around the world, the interaction gave us an opportunity to share our exhaustive experience of four decades in transforming a home-grown entity into a world-renowned diversified conglomerate with global impact.
"We wish the students every success in their journey to becoming the business leaders of tomorrow, and look forward to continuing this important collaboration with the Columbia Business School for many years to come."