Mohamed Yehia Zakaria (born May 10, 1938) is an Emirati businessman of

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

origin. He is the longest-serving chief executive of the

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoo ...

industry in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. He is the co-founder and was chief executive of Dubai Refreshments (

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

), in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, and institutionalized the soft

drink industry The drink industry (or drinks industry, also known as the beverage industry) produces drinks, in particular ready to drink products. Drink production can vary greatly depending on the product being made. ManufacturingDrinks.com explains that "bot ...

in the

Education and career

A graduate of

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

with a bachelor's degree in

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

, Mohamed Zakaria arrived in

in 1960 to gain work experience and then afterward, attend Michigan State University where he had been accepted for a

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

. His previous work in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

at the Government Accountancy Department, promoted him to explore an offer he had gotten by the late

Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

, a philanthropist,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, businessman and former Minister of the UAE. In early 1962 he was appointed the head accountant for the Al Owais

family business A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...

. Along with Shaikh

Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president ...

the Al Owais, Al Mulla family and Qais Bin Abdul Munaim Al Zawawi, he negotiated the deal to make Dubai the first place in the Middle East to bottle, distribute and market the

brand. In 1974, along with the late Qais Bin Abdul Munaim Al Zawawi the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

for Economic and Financial Affairs of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, the first soft drink and beverage manufacturer was brought to the

Sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continuin ...

. He is its

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

, and until 2006, the

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. He is also a founding member of the

National Bank of Dubai Emirates NBD Bank PJSC is Dubai's government-owned bank and is one of the largest banking groups in the Middle East in terms of assets. History and profile Emirates NBD was initially formed as National Bank of Dubai (NBD) on 19 June 1963 by the ...

in 1962, which later merged in 2009 to form

Emirates NBD Emirates NBD Bank PJSC is Dubai's government-owned bank and is one of the largest banking groups in the Middle East in terms of assets. History and profile Emirates NBD was initially formed as National Bank of Dubai (NBD) on 19 June 1963 by the ...

. In 1980, along with Sheikh

and Sultan Al Owais he founded, Jeema Mineral Water Company. In 1999 he introduced private labeling to the region. In 2000, under his leadership, Pepsi in Dubai captured 70% of the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

market share and had its highest ever net profit of 17 AED million. In 2002, Zakaria retired from active duty, although he still retains a significant share in the businesses he founded in both

and

. Today he runs a real estate portfolio in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and has stakes in active UAE and Omani based industries.

Family

He married Shadia Shahwan (1944–1998) in 1966 and has 4 children, Ghada, Nashwa, May and Ahmed. He has since remarried in 2006. His children hold active roles in

and Abu Dhabi

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

run companies, and they also operate the day-to-day activities of the family business.

Positions held

References

External links

*http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2005/October/theuae_October17.xml§ion=theuae&col= *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVDIcpREQJo
HighBeam
*http://www1.albawaba.com/ar/node/328943 *http://www.pepsidrc.com *http://www.pepsioman.com *http://www.jeemawater.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakaria, Mohamed Yehia Living people 1938 births Businesspeople in the drink industry Cairo University alumni Michigan State University alumni Businesspeople from Dubai Businesspeople from Cairo Emirati accountants Egyptian emigrants to the United Arab Emirates