Not only is he the chairman of the Sharaf Group, one of the region’s largest diversified companies, but Ibrahim Sharaf has also been named as the first UAE national to ‘go galactic’. The bold executive will take the journey into space in late 2009 with Virgin Galactic, the commercial space arm of Richard Branson’s Virgin empire, which is offering flights priced at US$200,000. Sharaf will be the only UAE national among travellers ‘from all over the world’.
While Sharaf will be one of 100 people to travel to space with the company, his tourism firm, Sharaf Travel, will also be the accredited sales representative for Virgin Galactic.
The Sharaf Group was formed in 1976 as a shipping firm and has since diversified into industries including retail, electronics, logistics, financial services and real estate. The group has more than 2600 employees, according to its website.
Ibrahim Sharaf’s terrestrial vacations have been no less adventurous than his planned space flight. The Sharaf Group website claims that Sharaf has journeyed to the North Pole on more than one occasion, braving temperatures as low as -70°C.
“I don’t fear the excruciating cold weather,” Sharaf was quoted as saying.
It will be interesting to see what Sharaf thinks of a zero-gravity trip.
Also among Sharaf’s unusual initiatives is the region’s first ever ice lounge, Chillout, at the Times Square Center in Dubai.
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