Mohannad Sweid is the CEO and co-founder of DEPA, the Middle East’s largest interior contracting company and a global top-five industry leader. Sweid began his career over 25 years ago, leading and managing top interior consulting and interior contracting companies in the US and Middle East before founding DEPA Interiors in 1996.

The firm acquired the Italy-based contracting company Depa before moving it to Dubai. Through a number of other acquisitions and partnerships the firm became the Depa United Group in 2006.

The firm specialises in the full-scope turnkey fit-out and furnishing of five-star luxury hotels, yachts, apartments, and other fine private and public facilities in Dubai and around the world, and employs more than 8,000 people across fifteen countries including Morocco and China.

In 2008, it became a public company when it listed its shares on the Nasdaq Dubai.

Previous projects include the fit out of five hotels on Yas Island — The Yas Hotel, The Crowne Plaza Yas Island, The Staybridge Suites Yas Island and two Rotana projects, The Rotana Resort Yas Island and Centro by Rotana. To ensure the smooth and timely handover of all the hotel projects, at the height of the work, Depa and its subcontractors had 2,450 people working.