Abu Dhabi Locks In Global Family Offices Congress For Three Years

Abu Dhabi has secured the right to host the Global Owners and Family Offices Congress for the next three years, a commitment announced as the event wrapped up its fourth edition in the UAE capital. The decision anchors one of the family-office world's recurring gatherings in a city that has spent two years building institutional machinery around wealthy family enterprises.

The congress was organized by Campden Wealth in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council, which operates under the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Its agenda covered corporate governance, succession planning and next-generation leadership, alongside global trends in private wealth management, long-term investment strategies and alternative investments — including artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

The hosting arrangement is a signal, not just a calendar entry. It gives Abu Dhabi three consecutive years of direct access to the global owners and family-office community on home ground.

What did the council's chairman actually say?

Khaled Abdulkarim Al Fahim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council and a board member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, framed the challenge bluntly. Sustaining family businesses, he said, requires stronger governance frameworks, the adoption of advanced technologies and the development of leaders equipped to navigate economic change.

He added that hosting the congress would create opportunities for local family businesses to strengthen ties with their international counterparts, exchange expertise and develop long-term investment partnerships. That is the promise. The caveat, implicit in Al Fahim's own framing, is that continuity depends not on preserving traditional management models, but on updating decision-making processes, strengthening governance and preparing for technological change — a concession that the old model, left alone, does not survive.

Al Fahim also highlighted the role of family businesses in Abu Dhabi's economy through their commercial activities and investments in sectors such as hospitality and infrastructure development. The source gives no figures for that economic weight, so the scale claim stands unquantified.

How does AI fit into family business?

More concretely, Al Fahim pointed to a partnership between the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. The stated aim: enabling family businesses to apply artificial intelligence to business management, strengthen governance and improve decision-making.

That pairing — a two-year-old council and a specialist AI university — is the most tangible piece of the technology agenda. Whether it produces measurable governance improvements remains to be seen; no pilot results or participant numbers were disclosed.

Who takes over when the founder steps back?

Leadership succession remains one of the key challenges facing family businesses, Al Fahim said. He stressed the importance of early planning, clear governance frameworks and involving younger leaders in decision-making and taking on responsibility.

The council has already acted on this. It launched the Next Generation Family Business Leaders Programme, whose first cohort of young leaders received an educational and development experience spanning Abu Dhabi and Lausanne, Switzerland. Investing in future leaders is essential to the continuity and competitiveness of family businesses, Al Fahim said, alongside investment in assets and projects.

In plain words: the council treats heir preparation as an asset class of its own.

Is Abu Dhabi building a global family-office hub?

The Abu Dhabi Family Business Council was established two years ago at the initiative of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Its mandate is to support the sustainability of family businesses, strengthen their governance and expand their investment relationships.

Al Fahim said the council focuses on strengthening governance and succession planning, developing future leaders and expanding international partnerships. The outreach is already underway: the council recently held discussions with family offices in London.

The timing compounds the effort. The congress coincides with the Forbes Middle East Family Business Summit 2026, taking place in Abu Dhabi on October 28–29, which will discuss governance, succession planning, investment diversification and the sustainability of family businesses.

Two major family-business events in one city within the same window suggest Abu Dhabi intends to be the region's default venue for this agenda — though the three-year congress commitment, not the rhetoric, is the measurable commitment so far.