Built to endure

Almost 100 years after the Khansaheb name first appeared on the foundations of the United Arab Emirates, the business it represents has evolved far beyond construction alone. What began in 1935 as a pioneering contracting company is today a diversified investment group spanning real estate, manufacturing, healthcare, aviation safety and emergency procedures, training and hospitality under the Khansaheb Group umbrella.

At the helm is Amer Khansaheb, a fourth-generation leader navigating the tension between stewardship and reinvention – and doing so with a clear-eyed view of what longevity actually requires.

Since we last spoke with Khansaheb in 2021, the Group has accelerated both growth and consolidation.

“Over the past few years, we’ve doubled down on our investments and looked at growing the businesses in our portfolio,” he tells The CEO Magazine.

That focus has delivered strong results across the Group. Khansaheb Industries has expanded into integrated duct management solutions and secured distribution for global brands, including Hisense, LG and Hitachi. The Group’s hospitality concept, Trouvaille, has grown from just a handful of outlets to 10. And most recently, Khansaheb Sustainability was launched to bring new, innovation-led products into the sustainability space.

Values as strategy

Despite the diversification, Khansaheb is clear that the Group’s decision-making framework has not shifted. Growth, he says, is never pursued in isolation from impact.

“Driving positive change is at the core of our values,” he insists. “For the community, for the people around us and for the United Arab Emirates as a country.”

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“Working with Khansaheb Group has always been defined by professionalism, integrity and a genuinely collaborative approach. Our decades-long relationship across multiple Wafi Industrial businesses reflects shared values, mutual respect and a strong focus on operational excellence and quality, while contributing meaningfully to the United Arab Emirates’ continued growth and development.” – Neil Percy, Managing Director, Wafi Group

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Every investment decision is filtered through a single question: Does this business genuinely add value?

“We ask ourselves, would this business make a difference if it exists or it doesn’t exist – or is it just another business in that space?” Khansaheb says.

For Khansaheb, that philosophy is the connective tissue between the Group’s past and its future, and importantly, a way of modernizing without losing identity.

A natural transformation

Unlike many legacy organizations, Khansaheb resists pointing to a single defining moment that reshaped the business. The transformation has been incremental and generational, he reveals.

“It’s been a natural transition and natural progress as one generation hands over to the next generation,” he says.

What matters more is how that transition is handled.

“Companies often take shape or take the mood of the person in charge,” he notes. “If you are young, there’s a lot of energy, a lot of drive and a healthy risk appetite.”

The risk, according to Khansaheb, is stagnation.

“One of the reasons companies die is because they lose their entrepreneurial spirit as the founder ages, making it easier for a new business to come in and overtake it,” he points out.

Khansaheb’s countermeasure has been deliberate empowerment.

“One thing we’ve done well is empowering new generations to drive energy and innovation in the business, aligning it with the current market trends and technologies,” he reflects.

Digital foundations for scale

Technology has become one of the Group’s most practical growth enablers, particularly within facility management.

“We’ve recently launched our digital twin solution for our customers where property owners can replicate their building digitally,” Khansaheb explains. “It gives them a single source of data that shows them how the buildings perform across all aspects.”

From utilities and security to heating, ventilation and air conditioning performance, the platform enables smarter decision-making.

“This helps them drive costs down and better understand performance,” he says, adding that it allows owners to automate systems and improve efficiency.

That focus on digital infrastructure will intensify over the next three-to-five years.

“Our focus is on investing further in digitalization to empower our customers and create a strong foundation for long-term, sustainable growth,” Khansaheb says.

Integrity compounds

Yet while technology is accelerating performance and unlocking efficiencies, Khansaheb is clear that growth isn’t driven by digital tools alone. Behind every platform, system and innovation sits a set of principles that guide how decisions are made and how customers are served.

“Integrity guides all the small decisions,” he says. “When serving customers, we always need to do right by them.”

That often requires trade-offs.

“Sometimes you may need to sacrifice short-term maximization of profit, but the benefit of it is long-term value creation,” he notes.

The same principle defines Khansaheb’s approach to key partners, including marble and granite experts Stone Factory and building materials supplier Al Abbasi Fasteners & Hardware.

“We treat our supply chain fairly and reasonably, and they’re always paid on time,” he says.

Losses are absorbed internally rather than passed downstream.

“We win some, we lose some. One thing we don’t do is take the loss on the back of our subcontractors,” he stresses.

In a market facing widespread shortages, those relationships now represent a competitive advantage.

“We’ve been fortunate to build strong relationships,” he says. “They give us more stability in a competitive market.”

The best in the world

As the Group plans its next phase, Khansaheb sees manufacturing and consumer-facing businesses as key levers for geographic expansion beyond the United Arab Emirates. But the Group’s purpose remains grounded.

“We want to continue to contribute to the United Arab Emirates and Dubai being among the best and happiest places to live,” he confirms.

“It can’t happen through the government only. All stakeholders need to play a part and, at Khansaheb, we are putting all our efforts into playing that part and creating a good life for everyone.”