Who We Are | ADNEC Group

Who We Are

Founded in 2005, ADNEC Group comprises Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Al Ain Convention Centre, ExCeL London, Capital Gate, Andaz Capital Gate Abu Dhabi, Aloft Abu Dhabi, Aloft London ExCeL, DoubleTree By Hilton London ExCel, Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Abu Dhabi Resort, Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, IDEX LLC, Capital Hospitality and ADNEC Services. ADNEC Group is wholly owned by ADQ, the Abu Dhabi Government Company mandated to own, oversee and operate development related state-owned enterprises in various sectors.

What We Do

Put simply, we are in the business of events. Our world-class venues host hundreds of renowned events a year. Our award-winning divisions, Capital Hospitality and ADNEC Services provide exemplary support to organisers and exhibitors and we also proudly organise some of the most significant events in the region via our event organising arm, IDEX LLC.

ADNEC supports the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 through delivering significant direct and indirect impact on the Abu Dhabi economy to help the Emirate achieve its long-term goals of economic growth and diversification.

Since its inception, ADNEC has delivered significant impact on the Abu Dhabi economy valued at AED36.9 billion. In 2019 alone, the company supported the creation of over 27,542 job opportunities in related sectors and helped generate 764,161 guest nights for the hospitality sector in the Emirate. In addition to this, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre and Al Ain Convention Centre hosted 500 events and welcomed 2.3 million visitors in 2019.

Our Vision

A leading international group that aims for sustainable tourism growth.

Our Mission

We bring business and leisure travellers together to create memorable experiences. We invest to optimise asset returns.

Our Values

Our four values shape the culture of our company and guide us in everything we do. They steer our behaviours and inspire work accountability.

Work together

WORK TOGETHER

  • We partner with stakeholders, we value their opinions and work with them as one team
  • We act with integrity and value all our employees and stakeholders
  • We share information to enable knowledgeable business decisions
  • We enable our employees and equip them with a motivating working environment, opportunities, a rewarding professional experience and respect

STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE

  • We aim for perfection
  • We are committed to grow our business and exceed stakeholders expectations
  • We believe in continuous improvement
  • We aim to lead the region and be the "choice"

CREATIVE & INNOVATIVE

  • We encourage and adopt creative thinking
  • We support innovative and creative ideas
  • We reward creativity
  • We find solutions and welcome suggestions
  • We are agile and flexible
  • We take informed risks and champion new ideas

PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT WE DO

  • We put our heart into it
  • We are committed and dedicated
  • We enjoy and have fun at what we do
  • We make people happy
  • We exceed expectation and delight stakeholders
  • We are self-motivated
  • We believe in sustainable growth and Emiratisation

Our Strategic Goals

To achieve our vision, ADNEC has identified the following strategic goals and long term aspirations:
  • Sustain the financial growth across business lines
  • Grow a sustainable events business
  • Grow a sustainable tourism business
  • Grow a sustainable hospitality & F/B business
  • Grow a sustainable services business
  • Act as a responsible organization
  • Manage and optimize our portfolio assets
  • Optimize human, technological and financial resources

ADNEC’s Innovation

Mission

To create a culture of innovation and creativity with the philosophy of happy minds within ADNEC through promoting awareness among ADNEC employees and equipping them with tools and best practices enabling ADNEC to become an innovative group of world class venues and services.

Did you know?

IN 2016,

  • Leadership Team confirmed its commitment to lead ADNEC’s innovation journey through the GCEO’s Innovation Promise
  • Developed its Innovation Strategy outlining its Innovation Mission, Strategic Objectives and Initiatives for 2017 – 2021.
  • Redesigned and re-launched its suggestion scheme, MyIdea, with a new and improved reward and recognition system for the most innovative and creative ideas submitted by our employees

IN 2017,

  • Inaugurated its Innovation Lab to give its employees a dedicated space to brainstorm, discuss new ideas and develop these for implementation.
  • Developed a calendar for knowledge sharing sessions on the topic of innovation and innovative projects taking place in the UAE.
  • Is running multiple workshops and awareness sessions for its staff to encourage new ways of thinking and learn about best practices to develop creative and innovative ideas for solving business problems.

We invite all our clients, visitors and stakeholders to join on us on our Innovation Journey and share with us your innovative and creative ideas to support ADNEC in becoming the leading events destination for renowned international exhibitions and conferences in the MENA region.

Please send your ideas and suggestions to myidea@adnec.ae

Corporate Social Responsibility

We at ADNEC take our role as global citizens seriously and are committed to CSR and sustainability initiatives, ultimately hoping to become a fully sustainable venue. ADNEC has developed a sustainability team supported by the CSR and ADNEC Green Teams. ADNEC is also a member of three external ‘green’ initiatives; UFI Sustainability Development Committee, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group. Our in-house sustainability initiatives include:

  • Recycling used cooking oil onsite to create biofuel to power all onsite diesel powered engines i.e. buses, cherry pickers and forklifts.
  • Composting food waste: diverted over 75 tonnes of foodwaste from landfill last year
  • Recycling exhibitions material: 1,444 tonnes recycled in 2019 - exceeding target by 10%
  • Investment in solar panels and water saving technology In addition to working towards becoming a sustainable venue, we run an annual ‘Think Green’ campaign which incorporates a community initiative named ‘Stop and Donate’, this year, the programme collected over 2,500kg of items for donation to the Red Crescent or recycling

Our sustainability partnerships

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG)

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG)

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) promotes sustainability management in Abu Dhabi by providing learning and knowledge sharing opportunities for government, private companies and not for profit organisations in a spirit of cooperation and open dialogue.

ADNEC formally joined ADSG in 2012, and since then we have actively participated in a number of development workshops.

ABU DHABI SUSTAINABILITY WEEK (ADSW)

ABU DHABI SUSTAINABILITY WEEK (ADSW)

An Abu Dhabi government initiative, is the ground-breaking global forum that unites thought leaders, policy makers and investors to address the challenges of renewable energy and sustainable development.

ADNEC as a venue and services provider is proud to work closely with Masdar (the key owner of this event) to make ADSW and its World Future Energy Summit as the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East and a significant forum in stimulating the international dialogue and action.

UFI Sustainability Development Committee

UFI Sustainability Development Committee

ADNEC is a member of the UFI Sustainability Development Committee. The UFI Committee on Sustainable Development was formally established in 2008 to support UFI as it focuses on the issue of Sustainable Development in the Exhibition Industry.

ADNEC was one of six members who actively helped the UFI Sustainability Development Committee create the Sustainability Reporting Framework for the exhibition industry.

Sustainability Report 2014
Sustainability Report 2015
Sustainability Report 2016
ADNEC Annual ​&​ Sustainability Report 2017

Awards and Recognition

We constantly strive for excellence in both customer experience and within the events industry, as innovation and sustainability leaders. As such we are proud to have been recognized at a number of industry awards including:

2022
Category Award / Organisation name
Best Employer of the Year Middle East Event Awards (MESE)
Best Trade Show Marketing Campaign Silver Award: IDEX and NAVDEX 2021Exhibition News Awards
Excellence in Kitchen/Food Safety: Capital HospitalityMiddle East Cleaning, Hygiene and Facilities (MECHF)
2021
Category Award / Organisation name
Best Employer of the Year Middle East Event Awards (MESE)
Best Association/Corporate MeetingMiddle East Event Awards (MESE)
Human Resources AwardUFI Global Association for the Exhibition Industry
Research and RationaleICCA Marketing Award Outstanding Recognition
2020
Category Award / Organisation name
Best International VenueExhibition News
Best Sustainability Initiative Abu Dhabi Sustainable Leadership Awards 2020
2019
Category Award / Organisation name
Innovation AwardAIPC The Hive
Event Catering Team of the Year AwardThe Caterer Middle East
Wireless Implementation of the Year AwardNetwork Middle East (NME) Innovation Award
EFQM Innovation Challenge‘Innovation in Customer Experience’ Winner
EFQM Innovation Challenge‘Innovation in Circular Economy’ Winner
2018
Category Award / Organisation name
Best Venue MESE Awards 2018
2017
Category Award / Organisation name
Sustainability AwardMEES Awards 2017
Sustainability AwardAEO Excellence Awards
2016
Category Award / Organisation name
Best Meetings and Conference CentreBusiness Destinations
2015
Category Award / Organisation name
Sustainability AwardAEO Awards
Best Congress and Convention Centre Middle East - 2015Business Destinations
Commercial High-rise DevelopmentArabia Property Awards
Five Star award for Commercial High-rise Development category with Capital Gate projectInternational Property Awards - Africa/ Arabia Property Awards
2014
Category Award / Organisation name
Sustainability Award AEO Awards
2013
Category Award / Organisation name
Exhibition Venue of the YearEvent Awards
Middle East’s Leading Exhibition & Convention CentreWorld Travel Awards
Best Middle East Exhibition for IDEXMiddle East Events Awards
Best Meetings & Conference Centre in the Middle East for Al Ain Convention CentreBusiness Destinations Travel Awards
Best Commercial High Rise Development - Capital GateArabian Property Awards
Golden award - Outstanding events managementTatweej Academy
2012
Category Award / Organisation name
World's Leading Meetings & Conference CentreWorld Travel Awards
Best Purpose Built Venue Middle East Events Awards

​ADNEC Annual Reports

​ADNEC Group Policies

Click on each policy tab to learn more:

We at ADNEC Group strive towards adopting Quality as a corporate culture and institutionalize it across our services and products. We believe Quality is a means for success, business growth, and achieving our vision.

We are committed to:

  • Continually enhance our customers' experience and exceeding their expectations, thus achieving their delight and happiness.
  • Adding value to customers through world-class services and products, sustainable processes, and employee development.
  • Comply with all relevant local and international regulations.
  • Adopt enterprise Risk Management best practices.
  • Implement, maintain, and continually improve our Quality Management System based on the ISO 9001:2015 requirements.
  • Recruit, retain, empower and develop employees while providing opportunity for growth.

We are jointly responsible for Quality, and all employees have a responsibility within their own areas to ensure that Quality is embedded at ADNEC as a culture. This policy is posted on intranet, internal bulletin boards and employee handbook.

ADNEC IT Department provides quality services to its customers, maximize their investment in IT Technology, provide cost effective IT suppor1t and delivery of IT services and implement IT best practices to satisfy business units.

We are committed to:

  • The provisioning of an optimized service management system that meets all the identified business requirements.
  • The provisioning of quality IT services that are aligned with the industry best practices and ISO 20000-1:2018 standard requirements.
  • Ensure cost effective utilization of resources to deliver IT services that meet the business requirement.
  • Continual improvement of the Service Management System (SMS) by monitoring, reporting and improving the services delivered to its business units.
  • Monitor the performance of its key performance indicators. IT will also conduct periodic reviews of its processes, policies, and procedures as stipulated in its Service Management Plan to ensure compliance with ISO 20000-1:2018 standard requirements.

ADNEC IT is committed to continual improvement of IT Services, underlying systems & infrastructure and Service management framework in alignment with the business requirements and priorities.

Capital Events LLC is a government owned business, a part of the ADNEC Group, specialising in the management of events across a variety of business sectors.

Our core values are Work Together, Strive for Excellence, Create and Innovate and be Passionate about what we do. Under these values, we are committed to lead by example in organising sustainable events that satisfy all stakeholders and operate within all relevant regulatory frameworks.

Capital Events LLC is committed to improving its sustainability through:

  • Continual improvement of the event sustainability management system
  • Provide a framework for setting sustainabledevelopment objectives
  • Governing sustainable development principleswithin the organization.
  • Compliance with the applicable legal andother requirements
  • Consider the supply chain organizations (product, facility and service providers), the event management cycle, from event planning through to execution, and post event activities.
  • Engaging with the interested parties who run their businesses with sustainability as an important consideration.
  • Supporting our exhibitors and sponsors to become more sustainable.
  • Taking into consideration the needs of our stakeholders including the end users and the wider community in all that we do.

ADNEC recognizes that the continued success of its developments is dependent upon commitment to the Event Sustainability Management System requirements and all those who endeavour to carry it out. We understand that our interested parties are who we serve and depend upon for our company’s continued financial success.

The Event Sustainability Policy will be brought to the attention of all employees and will be made available on the website of each of our individual events.

We at ADNEC Group strive towards adopting environment as a corporate culture and institutionalize it across our services and products. We believe environment is a means for success, business growth, and achieving our vision.

We are committed to:

  • Continual improvement of the environmental management system & performance within the boundaries of the applicable legal and other requirements, and through identifying and evaluation of the internal and external issues and environmental aspects and impacts, Environmental Risk/ Opportunities.
  • Provide a framework for setting environmental objectives.
  • Minimize waste by evaluating all operations and ensuring they are as efficient as possible.
  • Minimize toxic emissions through the prudent selection and use of company-owned vehicles, and the source of the Company's power requirements.
  • Actively promote recycling both internally and amongst its customers and suppliers.
  • Source and promote a product range thatminimizes the environmental impact involved in the production, installation and disposal of all materialsused by the Company.
  • Compliance with all the environmental obligations that relates to the Company locally and internationally, in addition to Abu Dhabi Plan 2030.
  • Use an accredited program to offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated by Company activities at all locations.

ADNEC recognizes that the continued success of its developments is dependent upon commitment to the Environmental Management System requirements and all those who endeavor to carry it out. We understand that our interested parties are who we serve and depend upon for our company’s continued financial success.

ADNEC Group Code of Conduct and Business Ethics