As the CEO of Arabtec Construction, a unit of Arabtec Holding, Tom Barry had a ringside seat to the rise and fall of the Gulf's construction boom. As the UAE's largest construction and engineering firm, Arabtec left its mark on some of the region's highest-profile projects. But it was left heavily exposed to Dubai's real estate losses when the market sank in 2008, including significant debts from Nakheel, the property arm of Dubai World.

It was left to Barry, who took the top spot in February 2009, to diversify the firm's Dubai base and resuscitate its order book. Which he did, landing contracts as far afield as Turkmenistan and Angola. Last month, Arabtec inked an initial $680m deal to build Ras Al Khaimah's long-delayed La Hoya Bay project.

A chartered civil engineer, Barry joined Arabtec in 1976, after a seven-year stint in the UK's construction industry. The Dublin-born businessman has played a key role in the success of Arabtec through a series of senior roles, reporting directly to its chairman, Riad Kamal.