Lessons On Leadership: Aloki Batra, CEO, Five Hospitality "For me, being a leader is about being both a teacher and a student- coupled with fearless goal-setting."

This article is a part of the 2023 edition of Entrepreneur Middle East's annual Follow The Leader series, in which enterprise head honchos from the region talk strategy, industry-specific tactics, and professional challenges as they lead their respective businesses to success.

FIVE Hospitality CEO Aloki Batra doesn't have to look too far for role models when it comes to leadership. Indeed, when posed the question about what he thinks real leadership in action looks like, he readily directs our attention to Kabir Mulchandani, the founder and Chairman of FIVE Holdings, the Dubai-based vertically integrated real estate development and hospitality group that encompasses the entity that Batra leads. "Having worked alongside one another for over 15 years, I've been privy to numerous examples of Kabir's relentless pursuit of excellence in boundary-breaking real estate, disruptive hospitality, and trailblazing sustainability," Batra says.

To illustrate his point here, Batra points toward Mulchandani's efforts in the conceptualization, development, and launch in 2017 of a hotel that is now a Dubai landmark, the FIVE Palm Jumeirah. "The award-winning FIVE Palm Jumeirah is the fruition of Kabir's far sightedness in creating a signature address for global travelers in the Middle East," Batra says. "From breaking ground and designing the famed amphitheater-esque Social Pool, to selecting, by hand, the FIVE Tribe Management Team, and conceptualizing FIVE's homegrown F&B venues, Kabir's astute involvement is palpable."

Aloki Batra, CEO, Five Hospitality. Source: Five Hospitality

According to Batra, it is thus entirely thanks to Mulchandani that FIVE has expanded and evolved into the brand that it is today, with it now including another Dubai property, FIVE Jumeirah Village, the Switzerland-based FIVE Zurich, as well as FIVE LUXE, a new Dubai development that's getting set to be launched later this year. "Real leadership is a seamless combination of visionary thinking and hands-on action," Batra says. "Kabir Mulchandani is the epitome of the same."

The Executive Summary: Aloki Batra reflects on what he considers to be one of the most important things he has learnt about leadership

"For me, being a leader is about being both a teacher and a student- coupled with fearless goal-setting. As a teacher, it is important to inspire and lead by example, and as a student, it is essential to continually learn from your customers- this guarantees brand adaptability, and it ensures that brands are able to endure changing trends, and lead from the forefront."

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