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Dubai - Michael Lahyani has been announced as Start Up CEO of the Year at last night's celebration of the CEO Middle East Awards organised by ITP Executive Publishing, held at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel, Jumeirah. Lahyani has been distinguished for his outstanding performance over the course of 2016.
The 2016 awards honoured top CEOs that have achieved exceptional outcomes, as well as those who have made an essential contribution to the enthusiastic business scene of the Middle East.
Lahyani was amongst other high achieving CEO's rewarded for their accolades such as Visionary of the Year Winner, CEO of Dubai Investments Khalid bin Kalban, Airline CEO of the Year Adel Ali of Air Arabia and the International Achievement Award to Dubai Chamber CEO His Excellency Hamad Buamim.
Michael Lahyani, CEO and Founder of propertyfinder.ae, the largest online property portal in the Middle East, noticed early the opportunity to transform the house hunting experience in the region.
In a competitive business market, where only 10% of start-ups succeed, Lahyani has proven to have the right set of business acumen and skills to bring propertyfinder.ae from start-up phase to becoming one of the most recognised brands in the Middle East.
propertyfinder Group successfully secured a new round of funding last year from Sweden-listed investment firm, Vostok New Ventures, with an additional round driven by Lahyani himself in order to establish the Group as a USD200 million company.
"It's all about spotting real life problems and your persistency to progress while solving them in the most effective way possible. I surround myself with inspiring talents from all over the world that happen to have the same business outlook. Because of that, our business has flourished", commented Lahyani on his award emphasising teamwork and vision as keys to success.
Lahyani managed to shift from a print-based service to the largest online portal and thereon expand from the UAE to multiple regional locations. The Group now employs over 200 people across seven offices.
About propertyfinder Group
The propertyfinder group has been in operation since 2007 and has grown into a successful online business that currently attracts 1 million visitors and 237,000 enquiries per month. The UAE portal alone, advertises 95,000 property listings for sale and for rent, setting the benchmark higher every day as one of the fastest growing companies in the region.
A winner of the 'Dubai SME 100' for the second consecutive cycle, the 'Arabia Fast Growth 500' in 2012, the 2013 SMEinfo 'Online Business of the Year', the Arabian Business Start-Up 'SME of the Yea'r 2013 and the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Middle East Customer Value Leadership Award for Online Property Portal.
About CEO Middle East Awards
Now in their tenth year, the CEO Middle East Awards cover 14 business categories, from construction to healthcare and from retail to telecommunications, aiming to recognise and reward the most successful and innovative CEOs of the Middle East region.
© Press Release 2016
