Paul Gyles FCMA CGMA

The First Group

Group CFO with The First Group, a real estate, hospitality and F&B group with a fast growing asset portfolio, and several properties under construction including Ciel, the World's tallest hotel.

Chief Financial Officer

Shamal Holding

Group CFO with Shamal Holding, an investment holding group managing a large asset portfolio across multiple verticals including Real Estate, Hospitality, Leisure, F&B, and Investments. Responsible for Finance, Information Technology and Procurement.

Meraas

Group CFO for Meraas Holding, a major real estate development company with a substantial portfolio of investments in multiple verticals including Real Estate, Hospitality, F&B, Leisure & Entertainment, Retail Malls, Healthcare, Supermarkets and Investments. Responsible for Finance, Treasury & Funding, Procurement and Information Technology

ISG plc

Regional CFO and Board member for ISG Group companies based in the Middle East. 
Refocused back on the fast growth Middle East region to capitalize on the market opportunities and growing the business. Full responsibility for Finance, HR, IT, Admin and Legal.

Chief Financial Officer - Middle East

Regional CFO and Board member for legal entities across 14 Asia/Middle East countries. 
Finance partner for Asia Group MD and Middle East MD, functional reporting into the Group CFO. Responsible for all financial, IT and legal/board matters.

Chief Financial Officer - Asia

Responsible for the Financial Management, IT and Legal matters for the Middle East Entity.
Major role in separating from a JV partner and establishing an independent entity.
Established new offices to expand the business.
ERP implementation

Tatweer

Responsible for the financial operations of the Tatweer Group, a large diversified real estate development company, and a vertical of Dubai Holding. Responsible for Group Financial Management, Business Planning, Business Performance monitoring and Treasury operations.  Key leadership role in group wide restructure during the 2008 financial crisis.

Group Finance Director

Johnson & Johnson

Financial and Supply Chain control for complex division covering 13 Business Units and 11 countries. Commercial support to Franchise Directors and Business Unit Managers. Hyperion and JD Edwards system implementations. Business Excellence category team leader

Finance Director - Middle East

Financial management for a manufacturing Site with a rapidly growing turnover (+40%pa) utilising lean manufacturing & Six Sigma techniques.
Led the Inventory, Scrap & Cost Reduction team's
Prepared New Site selection decision model to evaluate Factory relocation options, and successful application for Government grant assistance.

Finance Director - UK Operations

Murray & Roberts

Financial Controller

Georgia-Pacific LLC

Management Accountant

British Dredging plc

Trainee Accountant

Experienced senior finance executive with an international finance career spanning 36 years working for market leading companies in UK, Middle East and Asia. 

Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) and an award winning CFO including past winner of the Middle East CFO of the Year for the Real Estate & Construction sector and NAFA Middle East CFO Power List for the Top 20 CFOs in the Middle East. 

Performance track record in driving excellent business results and developing high performance business support teams.  

Areas of expertise includes strategic financial management, corporate finance, business planning, performance improvement, ERP implementation, digital transformation, cashflow management, debt financing, start ups, fast growth, restructuring, process improvement, and audit management. 

Extensive C-suite experience serving on Boards, Steering Committees, and Audit Committees.

Passionate about working with the wider community and has regularly volunteered to supporting entities such as Welsh Government, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), AICPA, British Chamber of Commerce Dubai (BCCD) and the British Social Club. 

Group CFO with Shamal, an investment holding company managing a large asset portfolio across multiple verticals including Real Estate, Hospitality, Leisure, F&B, and Investments. Responsible for Finance, Information Technology and Procurement.

It’s an honour to be recognised as a Middle East CFO Icon, especially given the many fantastic CFOs across the Middle East who continue to raise the bar for finance leadership in the region.

I’d like to dedicate this award to the excellent Finance team at The First Group, for all your amazing support, dedication, and all the great progress throughout 2025. It’s been a really exciting and transformational year for the TFG business and the TFG Finance team.

Thank you to the Middle East CFO Community     and Transformance Forums for the recognition and for continuing to support financial leadership excellence in the region. 

#CFO #Finance #Leadership #Dubai

The First Group The First Group Hospitality

Group Chief Financial Officer | Strategic Financial Leadership | Strategy and Business Planning | Finance Transformation

Congratulations Paul Gyles FCMA CGMA Group CFO at The First Group
 for Being Recognised as Middle East CFO Icons 2025

At the 4th Middle East CFO Vision & Innovation Summit & Awards 2025.
📅 Held on 06th Nov, 2025
📍 Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel, Dubai

Star Partner: IBEA
Platinum Partner: Cleartax | Qashio | Sovos
Gold Partner: Globizera Services | Marmin.ai | FAME Advisory DMCC | Premier Brains Global (Audit | Tax | Advisory)
Associate Partner: Hogan Lovells | Yubi | The Tax Point
Supporting Partner: ACCA
__________________________________________________________________________________

Join Us for Middle East Tax Leaders Summit & Awards taking place on Thursday, 12th February 2026 in Dubai.

Register Now: https://lnkd.in/diFDbvpC

#LeadershipInAction #FromInsightToImpact #FinanceBeyondNumbers
#LeadingWithPurpose #ShapingTheFutureOfFinance #BuildingFiscalTrust
#InnovationThroughGovernance

Last night was another excellent evening at the Alchemy CFO Ball in Dubai with an impressive 190 senior finance leaders coming together to celebrate and connect. 🇦🇪 

It’s always a pleasure catching up with so many CFO friends and peers across the region.

A big thank you to Conor McHugh, ACCA and the Alchemy Search team for the kind invitation and for hosting yet another outstanding event. You really know how to bring the finance leadership community together!

#CFO #Finance #Dubai #Networking #Leadership The First Group 

Alia Saleh FCCA MBA Ralph KHOURY Ganesh Prabhu CPA, FCMA,CGMA, SOCPA Adnan Raja Paolo Lo Monaco Olga Drevina ACMA CGMA

No alternative text description for this image

taplio

Paul Gyles FCMA CGMA's Linkedin Analytics