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.