Dubai contractor Drake and Scull appoints new chairman

Struggling Dubai contractor Drake and Scull International (DSI) has appointed Shafiq Abdelhamid as its new chairman, it announced on Monday.

His appointment comes after former chairman Obaid Bin Touq resigned from the company last month.

Bin Touq was appointed as DSI’s chairman late last year after his predecessor Abdulla Atatreh resigned.

In a bourse statement on Tuesday, DSI also said that Abdallah Al Matrooshi was appointed as a member to the audit committee.

Dubai-listed DSI, hit hard by the construction slowdown in the region, has seen several leadership changes as it seeks to restructure operations.

In April, the company fired group CEO Tawfiq Abu Soud, group CFO Khaled Jarrar and group chief legal officer Mohamed Ghanem.

Read: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull fires CEO, CFO as restructuring continues

Abu Soud had only been appointed as the CEO in January this year, taking over from Yousef Al Mulla.

Read: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull appoints new group CEO

In November, DSI appointed Trussbridge Advisors (DIFC), Allen & Overy, Al Tamimi & Company, and Deloitte as joint-advisors to work on a restructuring plan for the firm.

Read: Dubai’s Drake & Scull appoints advisors after posting Dhs500m Q3 loss

DSI posted a net loss of Dhs4.5bn for 218, widening from Dhs1.18bn in 2017.