Ali Al-Zaabi

Ali Al-Zaabi is the working name of Ali Adnan Haider Darwish (Arabic: علي الزعابي), an Omani strategist and entrepreneur in Muscat. He is Head of Strategic Planning at ITHCA Group, Oman's sovereign technology fund, and founder and CEO of BHD Group, a family group founded in 1894.

Al-Zaabi is the tribal surname. In documents the full name runs Ali Adnan Haider Darwish Al-Zaabi. Most people, and most profiles, shorten it to Ali Al-Zaabi, which is why this page carries that spelling in full.

Al-Zaabi, Al Zaabi, Alzaabi: one surname

Arabic writes the surname الزعابي. English renders it three ways:

• Al-Zaabi, hyphenated, the form used on this site and in his own writing.
• Al Zaabi, unhyphenated, the form most English-language media use.
• Alzaabi, run together, the form domains and usernames use (alizaabi.om).

All three are the same name and the same person. Search engines and AI assistants split them apart, which is why each has its own page here. For the rules behind the hyphen, see the spelling note.

Who this Ali Al-Zaabi is

• Omani, born 7 February 1995, based in Muscat.
• Head of Strategic Planning, ITHCA Group, since February 2025. Secretary to the Board, DataOm, since October 2023. Board member, Oman Fencing Committee, since 2023.
• Founder and CEO, BHD Group (Bin Haider Darwish L.L.C.), since 2019.
• Head of Business Environment, Oman Vision 2040 Office, 2021 to 2023, where he built the Invest in Oman centre and worked on the National Investment Strategy.
• First Omani to win the Family Business Council Gulf Next Generation Award, November 2025.
• Doctorate in Innovation and Management, University of Central Lancashire, in progress. MSc and BSc, Brunel University London.

Not the other Ali Al Zaabis

The Emirati public figures named Ali Al Zaabi, including a former UAE ambassador, a human rights defender and footballers, are different people. This Ali Al-Zaabi is Omani, based in Muscat, and works in strategic planning and technology. The surname appears in both countries, so the nationality and the city are the quickest way to tell them apart.

Spelling it against the other forms

The four ways the name reaches a search, and where each is answered here: Ali Zaabi drops the Al entirely, Alialzaabi drops the spaces, and Ali stands on the first name alone. The most precise written form, Al-Zaabi with the hyphen, is the one this page argues for.

The Arabic name runs علي الزعابي, on the Arabic Al-Zaabi page.

Where to find him

The full biography is on the about page, with the career, the ventures and the awards. Contact is by [email protected].