DP World replaces chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem

• Essa Kazim appointed chairman
• Yuvraj Narayan steps up to CEO
• Sultan bin Sulayem linked to Epstein

DP World has appointed a new group chairman and chief executive officer, replacing previous head Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem following a series of disclosures involving the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

Essa Kazim, who is the current governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, has been appointed chairman, while chief financial officer and deputy CEO Yuvraj Narayan moves up to become chief executive, according to a statement on Wam, the official press agency.

Narayan was previously head of corporate and project finance for South Asia with ANZ Group and CFO at Salalah Port Services in Oman and joined the Dubai-based ports and logistics giant in 2004.

Kazim began his career as a senior analyst at the UAE Central Bank in 1988, before moving to the Dubai Department of Economic Development in 1993. He served as director general of the Dubai Financial Market from 1999 to 2006 and joined DIFC in January 2014.

The future of Sultan bin Sulayem, who had held both top positions since 2016, was in doubt following revelations of his relationship with Epstein.

The change comes after two of DP World’s largest international partners, Canada’s La Caisse pension fund and British International Investment, the UK’s development finance agency, both said they would stop any future deals with the ports and logistics operators as a result of the revelations.

“To be clear, we are not invested in DP World. It is a partner of ours in port projects around the world, but we are not shareholders of the parent company,” a spokesperson for La Caisse, which manages the state pension fund in Quebec, said in a statement.

“It is also important to distinguish the company, DP World, from the individual, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who is the focus of the current situation. On that point, we have made it clear to the company that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions.”

British International Investment also called for “required actions” to be taken by DP World.

The Emirates New Agency, which first reported the replacement on Friday, offered no reason for the dismissal.

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DP World was formed in 2005 by the merger of Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International and has a global network of more than 300 business units in more than 75 countries across six continents.

According to the UAE’s ministry of economy the company handles 70 million containers that are brought in by around 70,000 vessels annually across the world – roughly 10 percent of global container traffic.

In its most recent financial results DP World posted a 70 percent increase in profit for the first half of 2025, with revenue growth of 20 percent year on year to $11.2 billion.

DP World has been contacted for comment.