For family businesses and family offices
Family business advisory in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
ICAN MENA provides independent experts to family-owned businesses and family offices across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC — for governance, succession, professionalising the business and developing the next generation of leaders.
What family owners come to us for
Six conversations families have with us.
Governance that outlasts the founder
Who decides what — the family council, the board and management — written down and agreed before it is tested. The decision rights, the holding structure and the policies a family charter rests on, designed with the family and handed to your lawyers to formalise.
Talk to an expert about thisSuccession, planned rather than inherited
A succession framework for family and non-family leaders, and one-to-one coaching for the next generation before they take the seat — in Arabic or English.
Talk to an expert about thisA business run by structure, not by memory
Organisation design, shared finance, HR and procurement across the operating companies, and HR policies that treat family and non-family employees in a way both can defend.
Talk to an expert about thisBringing in non-family executives
Defining the role, finding the person and paying them in a way that works beside family shareholders — executive search, rewards design and the onboarding that keeps them.
Talk to an expert about thisNumbers the board can trust
Financial controls, governance and audit readiness, and a fractional CFO when the group needs senior finance leadership without a permanent hire.
Talk to an expert about thisGrowth beyond the founding business
Diversification strategy, market entry into Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, and the operating model for a new venture alongside the core.
Talk to an expert about thisTurning a founder-led conglomerate into a governed holding group
Five operating companies moved from founder-centric decisions to a family council, a holding board and operating-company management, ratified by the family shareholders within nine months. The family later used the same template to appoint the group’s first non-family CEO. Read it
Why now
The rules for family businesses changed in 2023.
Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia now give a family charter legal weight. The families who use that well decide the governance first and write it down second. Family business succession: governance before the handover.
- UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022
- In force since January 2023. It created a register of family businesses and lets a family adopt a family charter alongside the company’s articles, with tools such as share classes and buy-backs. Source: Charles Russell Speechlys
- Saudi Companies Law
- In force since 19 January 2023, it recognises a family charter that can govern ownership, management, the employment of family members, profit distribution and how disputes are settled. Source: Arab News
- About 60% of UAE GDP
- Family businesses contribute around 60% of the UAE’s GDP and make up nearly 90% of its private companies, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. Source: Zawya
- Nearly $1 trillion changing hands
- Close to US$1 trillion is expected to pass between generations of GCC families by 2030. Source: Khaleej Times
Credentials
Led by a Certified Family Business Advisor.
ICAN’s founder and managing partner, Dr. Bilal Hamadeh, is a Certified Family Business Advisor (CFBA), listed in the Dubai Centre for Family Businesses’ trusted advisors directory. The work is delivered by senior independent experts from ICAN’s network — including Big Four and global-consultancy alumni and former operators of family groups — matched to the question the family is asking.
FAQ
Family business questions.
Does ICAN MENA work with family businesses?
Yes. ICAN MENA advises family-owned businesses and family offices across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the GCC on governance, succession, organisation design, non-family executive hiring and rewards, financial controls and growth. Its founder, Dr. Bilal Hamadeh, is a Certified Family Business Advisor listed in the Dubai Centre for Family Businesses’ advisors directory.
Does ICAN write our family charter?
ICAN designs what a charter rests on: the decision rights of the family council, the board and management, the family employment policy and the succession framework, agreed with the family. The charter itself is a legal document, and ICAN works alongside your lawyers, who draft and register it.
We are not ready for a project. Can we just talk?
Yes. Book a free 30-minute introduction and choose the line of business and the subject. It is a confidential conversation about where the family and the business are, with no obligation afterwards.
Can the next generation be coached in Arabic?
Yes. ICAN’s coaches work in Arabic, English or both, one-to-one or as a cohort for several family members at once.
Is a family matter kept confidential?
Yes. Every ICAN expert signs a master consultancy agreement covering confidentiality before any client work, and family engagements are staffed with as few people as the work needs.