Founder

Michael Boufarhat

Michael has 34 years of experience in design and construction management of building services projects covering air conditioning, electrical, fire protection, hydraulics, and industrial installations.

Previously, Michael was the CEO of Hastie Middle East from 2005 till 2007, he established and led Hastie’s operation in the UAE to become in a short time a major player within the UAE industry.

Prior to that, Michael was the Managing Director for Waterman Int’l. Asia, a major International Consulting Group. Michael’s role was managing Australia and establishing the Middle East and Asia.

Director

Allen Williams

As the head of James L. Williams, Allen puts his heart and soul into making the business the best it can be.

With over 40 years of experience on the Board of Directors, he has successfully diversified the business and is now working globally with an office in the Middle East and a manufacturing partner in China.

Allen inspires environmentally insightful engineering and encourages the industry to achieve ground-breaking results. He strives to provide the best opportunities for the company and is excited by the future prospects for the company and what the vibrant youthful generation will bring.

Chief Executive Officer

Ramy Boufarhat

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for James L Williams Middle East (JLW), one of the largest electro-mechanical services (MEP) construction companies in the GCC headquartered in the UAE.

JLW specializes in the design, procurement, installation, testing, commissioning, and post-handover operations of critical infrastructures serving the technology (largest scale data centers), energy (electrical substations), utilities (chilled water, energy transfer stations) and renewables (solar, gas and wind).

A master’s qualified engineer with experience in the Australian building services industry as both a design consultant and a contractor. Joined JLWs Middle East operation in 2009 as a senior engineer and thereafter the engineering manager – playing a vital role in establishing one of JLWs core strategic competencies, it’s engineering and EPC strength.

In late 2012, he took the post of COO overseeing all ongoing business operations. From 2013 to 2016 JLW grew substantially and by 2019 JLW was regarded by its industry as the elite MEP contractor in the Middle East. Leading the strategy from 2019 to focus heavily on data-centers, utilities, and infrastructure – JLW now serves a number of the leading international players and the region’s largest local entities across the Middle East for data centres and digital infrastructure. In 2022, was promoted to CEO.

https://ae.linkedin.com/in/ramy-boufarhat-1a055a8

Director

Fadi Boufarhat

Fadi has over a decade of experience in the delivery and management of projects for JLW. Fadi began his career with JLW as a design engineer, before transitioning to project management and has quickly grown within the organization becoming a Director.

Fadi is primarily responsible for developing and executing the company’s business strategies, and overseeing the company’s financial performance, investments and other business ventures.

Fadi’s strengths lie within his communication and interpersonal skills which allow him to maintain trusting relationships with our clients, business partners and authorities.

Fadi’s ultimate goal is to ensure the company is constantly moving towards fulfilling its short-term and long-term objectives.

Chief Operations Officer (COO)

Shadi Aboufakher

Shadi has 19 years of experience in the design and construction of building services covering air conditioning, electrical, fire protection, hydraulics, and industrial installations in UAE.

Prior to joining JLW in 2011, Shadi worked as an Operations Manager with Omega engineering, a major engineering and contracting company, operating in UAE.

Chief Technical Officer

Bryan Heffernan

Bryan embarked on his professional journey in 2000 with Varmings, Ireland’s largest building services engineering consultant. Over the years, he garnered extensive experience with international consultancies, including Jacobs Engineering and Waterman International, gaining exposure to diverse building services industries such as hospitality, pharmaceuticals, industrial, research, and healthcare.

In 2008, Bryan made a significant move from Ireland to the UAE, specifically Dubai. Since 2011, he has been an integral part of James L Williams (JLW) Middle East, where he has consistently demonstrated his commitment and expertise. Starting as a Senior Mechanical Engineer, Bryan’s dedication and proficiency led him to climb the ranks, ultimately assuming the role of Chief Technical Officer (CTO).

As the CTO, Bryan oversees the engineering, BIM, and technological improvements across the business, managing a dynamic team comprising over 60 design engineers, BIM/Revit managers, coordinators, and modelers/technicians. His primary focus revolves around effectively steering the engineering and BIM department, ensuring seamless collaboration and successful project outcomes.

Bryan specializes in executing design and build contracts for large-scale MEP projects, guiding them from the conceptual stage through estimation, detailed design, development of shop/fabrication drawings, to installation, commissioning, and final handover. His visionary leadership played a pivotal role in pioneering JLW’s modular prefabrication design team in 2014, delivering over 25,000 multi-service MEP prefab modules across various projects.

In 2020, Bryan led the JLW team to secure their first data centre project as the Main Contractor for a prominent international hyperscale client. Subsequently, he spearheaded the bid and successful delivery of the largest Design and Build data centre project (30+30MW) commissioned in the UAE in 2023.
Apart from his role in the engineering department, Bryan actively contributes to providing technical support for JLW’s project teams, estimation, procurement, and commissioning departments.

Bryan’s wealth of experience, strategic vision, and dedication continue to drive success for JLW, making him an invaluable asset to the organization.

Technical Director

Mathew Lambourn

Mat started his career in 2006 working for the UK consultancy Capita Symonds. Since then he has worked for a number of international consultancies such as Ramboll Engineering and WS Atkins. In his early career Mat was exposed to a wide range of experience in various building services industries such as hospitality, education, industrial, retail, commercial and healthcare.

Mat moved to the Middle East in 2014 and has been with JLW since 2015. Mat joined JLW as Senior Mechanical Engineer and has with his main roles and responsibilities being as follows providing technical support for our estimation, procurement, site installation teams and commissioning departments.

Mat’s particular strengths within JLW is his knowledge and experience in EPC/D&B projects from the initial tender stage, through to the design, procurement, construction and commissioning stage of the project. Since joining JLW Mat has completed a number of very successful, accredited and award winning, EPC/D&B projects particularly in the areas of environmental and sustainability.

Corporate & Strategic Planning Director

Shabumon Kochumon

Shabu is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations of planning function and is tasked with ensuring that his team meets and exceeds the client requirement to meet the Project Timeline, Milestones in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Shabu has experience in many sectors of construction including District Cooling, Commercial, Residential, Infrastructure, Hotels, Hospitals and Villas.

Shabu has spent over 15 years working in project planning on a variety of project covering all aspects of planning including Project Planning, Business & Strategic Planning and Claims. His strength lie within his Communication & Interpersonal skills, which allow him to interpret clients requirements thereby providing a workable project programme. Also clients are updated with early warning system and associated alternate action plans to meet the Project Programmes efficiently.

Regional Operations Director

Bassel Al Arbid

Bassel started his career in 1998 working for Ministry of Industries. Since then Bassel has worked for a number of iconic projects based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. He has extensive experience in overseeing various contracting sectors including but not limited to hospitality, retail, commercial and residential.

Bassel moved to UAE in 2004 and has been with James L Williams (JLW) since 2015. As a Project Director, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of complete project development including; evaluating and establishing the scope of work, conceptual estimating, establishment of budgets, contract negotiations, permit application and approval, processing of contractor invoices, draw request analysis, change orders, develop and manage construction schedules.

Bassel’s strengths lie in simplifying and streamlining process and procedures to cut down costs, improve efficiency and increase bottom line profitability.

HSE Director

Kevin Baker

Over 25 years HSE Leadership, working in Oil and Gas, Engineering and Construction sectors”. In addition to Kevin’s sector experience, he also has vast experience working on major projects within many countries including, United Kingdom, Angola, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain and Australia. Kevin has spent the past 17 years working in the UAE as a Senior HSE Leader, managing the full life cycle, design, delivery and HSE performance assessment of best practice HSE programs across Infrastructure, utilities, high rise buildings, healthcare, banking, education, retail, Data Centres and power generation projects.

Kevin’s strengths lie within his communication & interpersonal skills which allow him to lead, coach and inspire all levels of personnel to integrate HSE solutions in evolving high risk environments. Kevin is passionate about building positive, safe work cultures via a consultative, knowledge-sharing leadership style – totally focused on ensuring the work environments remain incident free.

MEP Project Director

Paul Ebbs

A highly competent Senior Project Manager with 31years’ successful record overseeing MEP phases of multimillion-dollar construction, infrastructure, superfund and environmental projects for the government and within the private sector.

Backed by strong credentials and a proven history of completing projects on time, on budget and to a high quality, with the ability to manage stakeholder’s expectations and take full responsibility for meeting project objectives.

He has been exposed to large scale projects (two to three digits USD Millions) on heterogeneous developments (Airports, Rail, High Rise, Commercial, Residential, Hospitality, world class Stadium), delivered on time and within budget, proactively managing Quality as well as HSE.

Project Director

Kamal Jonblat

Kamal began his career in 1998 with one of the largest MEP contractors in Dubai, A&P Group of Companies, as a Design Engineer. During the early years of his career, he successfully completed several major and unique projects across Dubai and Qatar, which provided him with valuable experience in the field.

Over time, he advanced through various roles and took on his first management position with Schneider Electric in 2004. He later returned to the construction industry as a Project Manager/Director, working with Omega Engineering and Habtoor Specon. In 2019, Kamal relocated to Canada, where he worked as a Project Manager for two of North America’s largest general contractors, EllisDon and Graham Construction.

In 2024, Kamal moved back to the Middle East to join JLW as a Project Director. Throughout his career, he has successfully managed large-scale projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars, consistently delivering them on time.

Project Director

Munzir Ahmed

Professional qualified Mechanical & Electrical Projects Director with over 20 years’ experience in projects execution and commercial management has proven with results-driven, detail-oriented, and hands-on professional equipped with solid expertise in overseeing critical infrastructure construction projects complemented with a high reputation for driven skills, leading the team to achieve goals and client’s expectations.

Well-versed in developing innovative solutions and construction plans through resource planning, prioritization, and goal-setting to effect dramatic improvements for the M&E building services construction sector. Highly capable of identifying and resolving complex problems and coordinating team efforts to drive smooth and productive achievement. Articulate communicator and strategic leader; effective at directing multidisciplinary teams of professionals toward the successful attainment of project milestones.

Project Director - Riyadh

Ahmad Shqair

Ahmad began his career in 1998 in the construction industry in Jordan. Over the course of 12 years, he contributed to the successful delivery of several iconic projects across Amman, the Dead Sea, and Aqaba.

In 2010, Ahmad moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he became involved in numerous landmark projects in Riyadh and Jeddah. His experience spans a broad range of sectors, including residential, commercial, and industrial contracting.

Ahmad has built a strong track record in leading and delivering large-scale mega projects, consistently ensuring they are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest standards of quality and safety.

In 2025, Ahmad joined James L. Williams (JLW) as a Project Director for a prestigious project in Riyadh. His responsibilities include but are not limited to, project planning and execution, team leadership, budgeting and cost control, stakeholder engagement, and ensuring adherence to quality and safety standards.

Ahmad’s expertise lies in project planning, budgeting, scheduling, and team management. He is known for his strategic thinking and his ability to communicate effectively with all stakeholders. As a collaborative team leader, he fosters a culture of innovation, accountability, and excellence, and is skilled in building and leading diverse, high-performing teams.

Senior Human Resources Manager

Linda Moawad

Linda is responsible for providing comprehensive HR and admin support for James L. Williams based in the UAE/GCC. This involves ensuring the development and implementation of all HR systems.

She oversees all aspects of human resources management, including talent acquisition, organizational design, learning and development, diversity and equal employment opportunity, workforce planning, compensation and benefits, as well as employee and labor relations.

Linda has gained 13 years of work experience in Human Resources and Welfare Management and has been with James L. Williams since 2011.

Senior Projects Planning Manager

Shaiju Thomas

Shaiju has 15 years of working experience; he is a demonstrated planner with diverse experience and knowledge in airport project, monorail system project, gas and oil projects and general MEP projects.

Strong Engineering and Management background combined with certification in project management courses. Adept at learning new concepts quickly, works well under pressure, and communicates ideas clearly and effectively.

Commercial Manager

Ehsan Ali Sheik Al Otaibah

Ehsan is responsible for all commercial and contractual matters related to the MEP Contract scope of works with the main contractor and is ensuring with the commercial team at site to adhere with the Contractual obligations which is not limited to the submission of the payment application, variation and claims.

Ehsan is familiar with different forms of standard contracts (FIDIC 99 & 2017, JCT 2016 and NEC 3&4) as well as bespoke contracts and types of contracts (Lump Sum, Design and Build and Turnkey Contracts).

Ehsan has spent over 8 years working in the Middle East (UAE and Qatar) working as Sr. Quantity Surveyor on a variety of projects and almost over 1 year as Project Commercial Manager.

Ehsan strength’s lie within her communication, interpersonal skill and wide knowledge of contracts which facilitate the resolution of all commercial conflicts that may arise during the project construction period.

Estimation Manager

Mohammed Baidas

Mohammed is an experienced MEP engineer with over 23 years of progressively senior roles working with clients, designers, consultants, project managers, contractors, suppliers and manufacturers worldwide.

Having started his career for several years in the manufacturing industries in Canada, Mohammed entered the construction industry in the UAE in 2002 and worked in multiple positions including managing MEP packages as a Main Contractor, as well as various roles of design and execution as an MEP contractor, including on some of the largest projects in the region. His management and people skills have contributed to his working alongside architects, structural and MEP engineers to develop efficient and cost-effective solutions to execute projects on time and on budget.

Since 2016 Mohammed has continued the well-rounder construction industry experience by working as an Estimation Manager on projects with MEP values up to USD 250 Million with responsibilities in all aspects of estimating and preconstruction, across the region

BIM/CAD Manager

Jenson Vincent

Jenson has over 13 years’ experience in Drafting, Preparation of design and shop drawing of Hydraulics (Plumbing, Drainage, Fire Fighting, Irrigation, Gas, Vacuum Sewer, and Soak away) and MEP Coordination drawings. He has experience in different types of projects including residential, commercial, retails and Hotels.

He has a strong communication skills and leadership abilities which drive the day to day operations of Cad team and make sure his team meets the drawings delivery requirement with high quality.

Prior to joining JLW Jenson has worked in Hastie international and NORR Group international as Lead Hydraulics Draughtsman.

Cost Control Manager

Lilian Burdianov

Lilian is responsible for setting up and monitoring project cost control points at various work breakdown structure levels in order to prevent/manage any potential budget overrun.

Lilian has experience in diverse industries including contracting (residential, commercial, hotels, health and education), trading and manufacturing. In addition to Lilian’s sector experience, he also has experience within other countries including Qatar and Eastern Europe.

Lilian has over 16 years working in the Middle East in various project controls.

Accounts Manager

Rajesh Rajan

With over 20 years of specialized experience in finance and accounting, Rajesh Rajan is a highly talented Accounts Manager whose expertise has been integral to our company’s financial success and operational efficiency. Holding a master’s degree in finance, Rajesh joined James L Williams Middle East Limited (JLW) in March 2009, making him one of the pioneering members of our team. Since then, he has played a crucial role in establishing and structuring our Accounts Department, aligning its processes to support our strategic objectives.

Rajesh’s contributions include setting up our robust financial infrastructure and securing critical banking facilities that empower our projects and operations. He has built a dedicated accounts team that excels in cost and profitability analysis, ensuring our financial data is accurate and insightful. Rajesh is deeply involved in reviewing and recommending improvements to our accounting systems to keep pace with best practices, fostering transparency, compliance, and efficiency in all financial activities.

In his role, Rajesh oversees the preparation of essential financial documents, including monthly cash flow statements, balance sheets, debtors’ reports, and detailed financial forecasts. His attention to detail and strategic oversight ensures that JLW maintains a healthy financial outlook while optimizing resource allocation. Rajesh’s commitment to excellence has been pivotal in advancing our company’s financial stability and growth.

Procurement Manager

Amit Loiwal

Amit is a Mechanical Engineer with functional expertise in M.E.P. Procurement for a wide range of projects. He has thirty-two years of experience in the building services industry, combining strong Procurement Skills with his technical abilities to arrive at the best products from the combined perspective of quality, time and cost, thereby contributing positively to the project’s requirements and to the organization’s bottom line.

Prior to joining JLW, Amit has worked as Vice President for U.S. based Ghafari Associates (India office- 2011 to 2013), Procurement In-Charge for Hastie International (2006-2011), Procurement In-Charge for Drake & Scull International (2001 to 2006) and Engineering Manager for Blue Star Ltd, India (1988 to 2001)

Electrical Procurement Manager

Ragesh Appini

Ragesh is the driving force behind JLW’s electrical procurement, leading the division for 11 years. With over 20 years of specialized experience in procurement and project execution, he has exceptional talent in managing supplier and service provider relationships. Ragesh has been instrumental in helping JLW meet the demanding timelines of high-stakes data center and fast-track projects.

Being an Electrical Engineer and holding an MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management equips him with a powerful mix of technical expertise and strategic vision.

In his role, Ragesh commands every facet of electrical procurement, from evaluating material requisitions and conducting rigorous technical assessments of quotations to driving techno-commercial negotiations and maintaining strict oversight of budgets and procurement schedules.

Ragesh’s core focus is on securing high-quality, cost-effective materials, and consistently delivering best-in-class pricing and standards across all purchases. His expertise ensures the timely delivery of engineered products, while his seamless management of supplier and service provider relationships fosters uninterrupted operations and optimizes the entire supply chain.

Senior Project Manager

Adel Daher

Adel has extensive “hands on” construction experience in over 10 landmark Dubai & Abu Dhabi Projects with over 14 years in building services and contracting fields within Lebanon and Middle East. Adel joined JLW in 2016 and he possess good managerial and communication skill set and capability to handle a leading role in the Building Services delivery team.

Development and delivery management of high end commercial projects from design, through pre construction and build phases, commissioning and handover stage. Managing relationships between a matrix of clients, Consultants, Main & Sub-contractors, suppliers and vendors; operating within and managing contractual obligations and responsibilities.

Ensuring accurate progress reporting, attending Client, design and Main contractor meeting. Protecting the commercial and operational interest of the company.

Project Manager

Supersuresh Tamilarasan

Super has over 18+ years of experience in engineering design and construction for building services and data centres, focusing on MEP systems such as air conditioning. Installation of various mechanical equipment, including Chiller, FWU, AHU & FAHU, FCU, CCU, ventilation fans, pumps, and ecology units. Additionally, super experienced in estimating and tendering mechanical projects. Super possesses strong expertise in designing, installing, and commissioning mechanical systems.

Super provide construction input during the proposal phase including expertise on construction methods and equipment, labour productivity and input into the construction schedule for integration into the overall construction schedule, and inquest of challenging senior managerial assignments in the domain of design engineering/project management in construction sectors, Execute and handing over the project in a profitable manner with high quality of installation adhering with the local/international regulations, project specification within the project time frame.

Super has extensive experience in managing project handovers, addressing end-user requirements (Client/Consultant/Operators) and project closeout procedures. He is skilled in preparing bills, documenting all project stages, submitting materials, issuing work notifications, and handling inspection requests and Testing and Commissioning.

He has strong people management skills, capable of leading a team of Engineers & Technicians efficiently and effectively. Super has worked in many challenging projects including but not limited to data Centres, laboratories, commercial high-rises, Residential, Warehouses, hospitals and hotels. 

Compliance Manager

Ranju Jojo

Ranju leads our Internal Audit & Process Compliance department. She has the expertise in establishing, implementing, monitoring, and continually improving the quality management system and information security management system in line with ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 27001: 2013 standards.

With 16 years of experience in the UAE in various segments like construction, manufacturing, and talent acquisition, her subject proficiency and intellectual resource management skills influence the success of the continual improvement measures being adopted by JLW from time to time.

With her collaborative working style combined with empowerment, coaching, and mentoring, the scope of internal audit and process compliance spearheads initiatives related to setting objectives, establishing measures related to developing organizational knowledge, process improvements in coordination with process owners.

This contributes to the JLW deliverables for the projects undertaken to exceed our stakeholders’ expectations.

In close coordination with the Project Director and associated functions, this department ensures that all procedure-related commitments with our client / main contractor are complied with as per the approved project quality plan.

MEP Commissioning Manager

Alexey Kalashnikov

Alexey is an experienced commissioning manager overseeing HVAC testing and commissioning activities in many projects within the company.

Alexey has vast experience in carrying design commission ability review, Pre‐commissioning, Commissioning, and handing over of HVAC systems, making sure all components, sub‐systems and systems are fully tested inline with the design intent and meeting the client’s requirements.

Alexey has been involved in many world‐class projects in the GCC including malls, hotels and office towers. He also has experience in many countries in Central Asia, Caucuses and CIS region.

Besides his commissioning background, Alexey has also strong technical and problem-solving skills with a proven record of successfully handing over various projects in the region.

QA/QC Manager

Saravanan K.

Saravanan has more than 18 years of experience in building and data centre Electro-Mechanical services. He is dedicated, proactive and well-organized QA/QCManager with well rounded, hands-on experience in QA/QC validation field. He has strong background in every areas of quality control and quality assurance profession and manages the quality of the site installations are consistent with the company’s policy requirements together with the local, international standards and the clients specifications.

Saravanan has joined JLW in 2011 and completed various prestigious projects within UAE for eminent clients that includes hotels, residential apartments, malls and data centre. He also has experience in many countries including India, Kuwait and Oman.

Prior joining JLW Saravanan has worked as a Senior QA/QC Engineer for major MEP contracting firms such as Hastie International Pty Ltd and Emirates Trading Agency.

Electrical Commissioning Manager

Huthaifa Lafi

Huthaifa is an MEP testing and commissioning manager with 15+ years of progressive experience in the construction sector delivering world class mega projects including medical care, hospitality, residential, educational facilities and datacentres.

Beginning his career in 2007 as a field engineer and progressing to commissioning management, he gained considerable knowledge and experience in the various project’s execution stages, from initial design review to commissioning and handing over,

With his electrical engineering background, Huthaifa has vast experience in carrying out electrical and ELV systems design reviews from a commissioning perspective, pre-commissioning, Commissioning, and integrated testing of the same, ensuring that all are handed over in accordance with the design intent and client’s requirements.

Electrical Design Manager

Abu-Hurairah Dadabhai

Abu-Hurairah Dadabhai began his career in the United Kingdom with the international consultancy Cundall, where he gained valuable experience in electrical engineering design across various sectors, including industrial, commercial, retail, and residential projects. This early exposure laid the foundation for his expertise in delivering innovative and sustainable engineering solutions.

Abu transitioned to the data centre industry in 2020, joining RED Engineering Design. During this time, he worked on hyperscale data centre projects for Microsoft, including a secondment as an Electrical Subject Matter Expert for leases across the EMEA region. Abu conducted reviews for over 70 lease facilities, totalling more than 950MW in IT capacity. In 2023, he advanced to Principal Electrical Data Centre Engineer at J Dunton Associates, leading teams in designing and delivering large-scale data centre projects across Europe. He collaborated closely with developer, owner, and operator clients, as well as high-profile tenants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, to deliver tailored and sustainable designs.

Abu’s strengths lie in managing end-to-end project delivery, from feasibility studies to construction oversight. His technical expertise, combined with a strong commitment to sustainability and efficiency, drives high-quality outcomes and optimized processes.

Now, as an Electrical Design Manager with JLW in the UAE, Abu supports the region’s growing data centre industry by overseeing the design and delivery of critical projects, ensuring their success from concept to completion.