Abdul Latif Galadari was an Emirati businessman. He was the youngest son of Ebrahim Galadari. Abdul Latif, along with his elder brother, Abdul Rahim, headed the Galadari Group, which was involved in a variety of industrial and business activities. He, along with his brother, created a new wave of companies.
Personal life
Abdul Latif Galadari was born in 1939 in Iran, as the youngest son of Ebrahim Galadari and grandson of merchant Hassan Galadari. The business tradition stretched as far back as his grandfather, Hassan Galadari, who was a businessman in 1879. As a young man, Abdul Latif Galadari studied in BeirutLebanon.
Business
The Galadari Brothers Group was fuelled initially by the entrepreneurial vision of Abdul Rahim E. Galadari, Abdul Latif E. Galadari, and Abdul Wahab E. Galadari in the early 1960s. This group created a new wave of companies and furthered the entrepreneurial vision to the family business. The three brothers were also involved in the gold business, which had made them multimillionaires by the 1970s. Abdul Latif Galadari and his two brothers were well placed to take advantage of Dubai's 1970s Oil Boom. Together they started a major conglomerate, building the Intercontinental Hotel, opening Dubai Bank, establishing a Mazda Vehicle Dealership, starting Dubai's first English LanguageDaily Newspaper - the Khaleej Times - and opening a string of construction, engineering, and trading companies. He also started GICC, which is the flagship company of the Galadari Brothers Group. GICC is the master franchisee for the Baskin-Robbins brand in the GCC, and is the world's largest franchisee for Baskin-Robbins with close to 700 stores spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. GICC has been the first company to introduce an international brand of ice cream in the area and has the largest store network in the Quick Service Restaurants industry in the Persian Gulf region. They have already introduced over 30 global brands into the region. And their business is multi-industry, multi-product, multi-service and multi-national, overseeing operations across the Persian Gulf, Asia, and Australia. Until now, the Galadari Brothers have held a significant market share in the industries of Media, Automobiles, Food & Beverage, Industrial and Technical products, Trucks & Heavy Equipment, Engineering, Real Estate and Hospitality. Founded by Abdul Rahim and Abdul Latif Ibrahim Galadari in Dubai, the Galadari Group Head Office remains in its city of origin while conducting activities in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, and Australia and employing over 4000 people, from more than 30 nationalities working across the world. In 2015, the Galadari Brothers ranked 27th on Forbes.
Death
Abdul Latif Galadari died due to a heart attack at his residence in the PECHS neighbourhood of Karachi, Pakistan, at the age of 62 on 9 March 2002. The body was flown to Dubai and was buried at the Al Qouz graveyard. The funeral was attended by his nephew Mohammed Abdul Rahim Galadari, his son Suhail Galadari and members of business community, relatives and friends.
