Head of Emirates Group IT Wins CIO of the Decade Award

Patrick Naef scoops CIO of the Decade in the category of International Orientation.

DUBAI, UAE – 24 OCTOBER 2011 – Divisional Senior Vice President IT for The Emirates Group and Head of Mercator, Patrick Naef, has been named Chief Information Officer of the Decade by CIO, Europe’s leading IT magazine for Chief Information Officers and top business executives. Presented at a ceremony held recently in Cologne, Germany, Patrick won in the category of ‘International Orientation’ and was identified as being among the world’s best CIOs by a jury of 70 experts from leading academics and industry practitioners.

As Head of IT for The Emirates Group (comprising Emirates Airline, dnata and more than 50 Group subsidiaries operating across the international aviation, travel, tourism and leisure industries), Patrick Naef is responsible for the team providing business technology solutions and systems which support the daily global operations and future growth plans of  the Emirates Group - an international conglomerate employing more than 57,000 people and generating annual revenues in excess of US$15.6 billion.

Standing alongside other industry greats including  Audi’s CIO Klaus Straub and Guss Deckers CIO for Airbus, the award honours Patrick’s visionary style, solid leadership abilities, and gives recognition to his 2,000-strong Dubai-based IT team. Patrick has exhibited world-class IT leadership at the Emirates Group by simplifying IT platforms, streamlining applications, reducing costs, and delivering world-class services. Headquartered in Dubai, the Group and its subsidiaries are active in many locations worldwide and Emirates flies to more than 100 destinations in over 60 countries.

“This award is testimony to the great achievements of our people, not only in IT but in other departments across the Group. Together our IT team aspires to achieve operational excellence, high performance, and technology value delivery in relentless pursuit of enhanced business results,” commented Mr.Naef. “I feel honoured to be recognised amongst a stellar group of finalists and previous winners who have made a significant impact in their role of Chief Information Officer, in managing their company’s enterprise-wide information systems. These are the born leaders who illustrate the growing significance of the CIO role and the impact it has within their organizations and to the international industry as a whole.”