United Development Company, the master developer of the Pearl-Qatar, has named a chief executive officer as part of a restructuring, which would answer to the newly-created executive committee. 

Ebrahim Mubarak Al-Sulaiti, a Qatari national, previously worked as a manager at Qatar National Bank and has a background in architecture.

The new role appears to replace the position of managing director and president. The former chief of the company, Khalil Al Sholy, resigned from that role quite suddenly last January. 

UDC’s flagship poject the Pearl-Qatar has been the repeated subject of controversy, first with the implementation of a ban on alcohol there last year, and then more recently with the opening of a liquor store that was closed after the first day “due to technical difficulties.”

Qatar’s Pension Authority also recently took a large stake in UDC. That, combined with the restructuring and new appointment may indicate a new direction for the Pearl-Qatar.

What do you think?