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ADQ Value Creation Approach

Highlighting ADQ's value creation framework and focused initiatives

Foreword

In an era defined by rapid transformation and global complexity, the need for organizations to deliver lasting value is more critical than ever. The ADQ Value Creation Playbook reaffirms our commitment to optimizing shareholder value while serving as a strategic delivery partner to the Government of Abu Dhabi. Since our inception, ADQ has championed a forward-thinking approach grounded in a rigorous value creation framework across sectors and geographies.

This Playbook distils lessons learned and achievements as our portfolio has grown in scale, diversity, and international presence. It also defines a bold vision for what lies ahead. By weaving together organic and inorganic growth, operational excellence, digital transformation, innovation, and disciplined governance, we empower our portfolio companies and partners to succeed in a dynamic environment.

At its core, this Playbook reflects our conviction in collaboration, capability building, and relentless improvement. Initiatives such as ADQ Leap and SprintAI exemplify how we enable our portfolio companies to lead, innovate, and scale impact - both locally and globally.

As you engage with the strategies and frameworks outlined herein, we encourage you to view value creation not as a one-time effort, but as an enduring long-term journey. When executed with agility, rigor, and high standards, and supported by the dedication of our leaders, people, and partners, there is confidence that ADQ and its portfolio companies will continue to define new benchmarks for value creation.

ADQ at a glance

Background

ADQ continues to prioritize maximizing shareholder value while acting as a strategic delivery partner to the Government

Mandate

ADQ continues to prioritize maximizing shareholder value while acting as a strategic delivery partner to the Government.

Success to date

Since 2019, the portfolio has built strong commercial momentum growing EBITDA 2.3x, while maintaining a strong Abu Dhabi focus and diversifying its global footprint across different clusters.

Portfolio global footprint

(2019-24, by Total Assets)

World Map

N.America

2%

+2%

Europe

4%

+2%

ASIA

2%

+2%

UAE

85%

-10%

Africa

5%

+1%

Otr.America

2%

+2%

Change vs. 2019 Portfolio

95%

UAE Footprint

(2019 Portfolio)

85%

UAE Footprint

(2024 Portfolio)

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Building on continued momentum

Progress reflects the delivery of core organic and inorganic initiatives, but the next phase of growth calls for sharper focus with a shift from traditional business plans and simple P&L projections to the concept of value creation

ADQ value
creation framework

OVERVIEW OF VALUE CREATION

Revenue Growth

Incremental Growth
Move Into Adjacencies
Create New Sources of Value
Customer Acquisition & Retention
Geographical Expansion
Breakout Opportunities
Price Realization
Business Diversification
Platform Business Models
Core Business Enhancement
Strategic Differentiators

Profitability

Operational Efficiency
Operating Model
COGS Optimisation
Value Chain Configuration
SG&A Optimisation
Operational Innovation
Performance Benchmarks

Capital and Asset Efficiency

Fixed Assets
Working Capital
Investment Capital
Property, Plant & Equipment
Inventory and AR/AP
Capital Structure
Capital Intensity

Capabilities

Leadership & Culture
Functional Capabilities
Board Effectiveness
Strategic Planning & Performance
Management Effectiveness
Digital Transformation
Execution Agility
Innovation and R&D
Targets and Incentives
Organization & Talent
ESG

Special Focus Areas

Special focus areas have been identified to deliver on ADQ's following ambitions:

Strategy
  • Transition from generic business plan to company specific value creation framework
Working Capital
  • Optimize cash, incl. inventory, supply chain, AR/AP
Investment Capital
  • Optimize balance sheet, incl. capital structure and capital intensity
Organization & Talent
  • Identification of critical roles for value creation
  • Succession planning to mitigate leadership risks
Performance Dialogues
  • Structured C&O performance reviews by Board
  • Competitive compensation and incentives
Digital & AI
  • Digital strategy, incl. digital foundations, governance, leadership and capabilities
  • Data & AI strategy, incl. data governance, data platform, and AI use cases
  • Business value assessment and measurement plan, incl. change management plan
Innovation and R&D
  • Innovation strategy, incl. value creation plan, governance, processes, leadership, culture
  • Investing and implementing innovation and tracking value realization
  • IP generation and commercialization
Sustainability
  • Sustainability strategy, incl. carbon pricing, net zero, circular economy, social impact
  • Climate and ESG risk assessments
  • Historic performance and maturity assessment
Investor Relations
  • Investor relations strategy
  • Maturity assessment

M&A and PMI
(Inorganic Growth)
  • Clear growth plan, incl. capital deployment priorities
  • Comprehensive due diligence, and value creation plans incl. Digital, HC, Sustainability
  • Acquisition 100-day plan and target company alignment workshop
  • Post-acquisition value acceleration and governance
  • Robust M&A governance and process to ensure controls, oversight, and risk management
Finance
  • Robust capital management, incl. treasury, liquidity and investment management practices
  • Currency risk management to mitigate and manage FX volatility (i.e., hedging strategies)
  • International tax awareness of the implications and obligations in different jurisdictions
Organization & Talent
  • Set-up organization design to enable international operations
  • Hiring fit-for-purpose talent to drive international operations and expansion
  • Competitive local compensation structures

Board Effectiveness & Governance
  • Board dynamics and diversity to ensure breadth and depth of experience
  • Role of the Chair should be well defined
  • Specialized Committees to ensure oversight and focus, incl. ARC and NRC
  • Key policies to guide behavior and decision making, providing foundation for ethical conduct
Management Effectiveness
  • Relationship between Management and Board
Execution Agility & DOA
  • Clear DOA to ensure decentralized decision making, to balance operations and efficiency
Risk & Compliance
  • Comprehensive risk management framework to identify, assess, and mitigate risks proactively
  • Internal compliance systems, incl. programs to detect/prevent errors or fraudulent activities
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A platform to drive capability building for value creation

ADQ Leap is an integrated & focused capability development program curated by audience & competency type to ultimately ensure Boards, OpCo Leadership and PM teams are well equipped and aligned to drive long term value creation.

Strategy & Planning
Digital
Innovation
Strategic Talent
M&A and Integration
Sustainable Investing
Governance & Board Effectiveness
Strategy & Planning
Digital
Innovation
Strategic Talent
M&A and Integration
Sustainable Investing
Governance & Board Effectiveness

Community Network
Leadership Conferences
Custom & Bespoke Programs
Outcome Focused Workshops
Community Network
Leadership Conferences
Custom & Bespoke Programs
Outcome Focused Workshops

500+

Audience groups

150+

Boards

25+

CEOs

300+

CXOs + 1

50+

ADQ Portfolio Management+

150+

Boards

25+

CEOs

300+

CXOs + 1

50+

ADQ Portfolio Management+

#1 in Custom Programs 2025 based on Financial Times ranking, and ranked global top 10 for open programs for 21st year in a row

ADQSprint
Overview
Illustration

AED 1.6B

Commitment over 5 years

Illustration

The SprintAI Program serves as a catalyst for accelerating the Data & AI and Innovation transformation across ADQ's portfolio companies by embedding advanced data and innovation capabilities and AI-driven solutions into their core business operations. It aims to create measurable value, foster innovation, enhance competitiveness, and position our companies for long-term growth in a data-centric economy.

Sustainable Investing Publications

01

Accelerate Data & AI transformation and Innovation and R&D delivery

02

Drive value creation and competitive advantage enabled by data-driven decision making

03

Nurture and develop Data, AI and Innovation talents and culture

04

Maximize operational efficiency and cost savings while unlocking the full financial value of AI-driven use cases

05

Drive portfolio-wide collaboration by empowering seamless, centralized data access and secure sharing across ADQ portfolio

06

Strengthen data governance practices and build scalable and reusable AI capabilities that eliminate duplication across ADQ portfolio

01

Accelerate Data & AI transformation and Innovation and R&D delivery

02

Drive value creation and competitive advantage enabled by data-driven decision making

03

Nurture and develop Data, AI and Innovation talents and culture

04

Maximize operational efficiency and cost savings while unlocking the full financial value of AI-driven use cases

05

Drive portfolio-wide collaboration by empowering seamless, centralized data access and secure sharing across ADQ portfolio

06

Strengthen data governance practices and build scalable and reusable AI capabilities that eliminate duplication across ADQ portfolio

Program pillars
Foundational data capabilities

Foundational data capabilities

Accelerate Data & AI transformation and Innovation and R&D delivery

AI and advanced analytics solutions

AI and advanced analytics solutions

OpCo-specific use cases, common OpCo use cases, and cross-portfolio use cases

Innovation and R & D

Innovation and R & D

Ignition program, acceleration program, and innovation projects including testbed fund

Showcasing AI in action
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T&D Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI)
AI-model to predict power interruptions
Power and water demand forecasting
Waste Generation Forecast
HR chatbot
ESG Emission Forecast
Thermal efficiencies for nuclear power plant
Inventory optimization
Spend Cube-Driven Procurement
Predictive maintenance for equipment

Revenue Cycle Management
Document Intelligence
Pre Authorization Claims
AI Validating Lab Results
Claims fraud and abuse
Pure Care Navigator
Prediction of dissolution rate in production process of pharmaceutical products

AI-driven Spare parts standardization
Ferroalloy mix cost optimization
Dynamic pricing for Rebar
AI Validating Lab Results
AI model to predict temperature and optimize energy consumption
AI-powered fleet management

AI model for Financial disclosures
AI-based Trading Insights
Automated court-order processing agent
IPO advisory support chatbot
AI model for personalized customer experience

Intelli Food - AI-based food security system
Churn prediction and anomaly detection
Basket gap analysis
AI-enabled Dates classification
Basket gap analysis
AI-enabled Trading copilot
Port Congestion Forecasting for Commodity Trading
TrueFruit Yield Estimation
Bin Scan for Fruit Grading
Drone based Orchard Scanning
AI driven Irrigation
AI driven sales hedging strategy for alfalfa
Yield improvement by AI driven soil nutrient levels

AI Assistants for Pilots, Crew, Ground and Technical Operations
Virtual Assistant for booking
Intelligent total airport management
Runway Maintenance Optimization
AI powered inspector coverage, resource planning & utilization
Barrierless AI parking
AI Inspection Cars
AI model for Ground operations cost optimization
AI model for Cargo operations cost optimization
AI model for Ground manpower optimization (demand-driven scheduling)

Empty Container Repositioning Optimizer
AI-based Container Insurance Claim
AI Assistants for Pilots, Crew, Ground and Technical Operations
Virtual Chat Assistant for Rail Business Operation
Abu Dhabi Architecture

About ADQ

Established in 2018, ADQ is an active sovereign investor with a focus on critical infrastructure and global supply chains. As a strategic partner to the Government of Abu Dhabi, ADQ invests in the growth of business platforms anchored in the Emirate that deliver value to local communities and long-term financial returns to its shareholders. ADQ’s total assets amounted to USD 263 billion as of June 30, 2025. Its rapidly expanding portfolio encompasses companies across numerous core sectors of the economy, including energy and utilities, transport and logistics, food and agriculture, healthcare and life sciences, financial services, infrastructure and critical minerals, and sustainable manufacturing.

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