When Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi looks out of his office window on the 44th floor of the Emirates Towers complex in the heart of Dubai, he sees the emirate's boom unfolding below.

More office and residential buildings are going up; more highways, educational campuses, hospitals, and hotels are being built; and more desert is being transformed into parks. So intense is the development that Dubai is said to have the world's highest concentration of construction cranes.

Over the weekend, Gergawi attended the opening of the Dubai Film Festival, along with his guests George Clooney, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Glover, and other international film stars and directors, including Mira Nair and Shabana Azmi. The festival's chief sponsor, the Dubai International Finance Center, is overseen by Gergawi.

This isn't the Dubai of his childhood, less than four decades ago, when Gergawi would walk two miles to school every day on dusty roads. Today, he's the chairman and chief executive of what is arguably  the world's biggest conglomerate, Dubai Holding. The group, owned almost wholly by Gergawi's boss and Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, is the main engine of growth in Dubai, one of the seven states that constitute the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai Holding has a foothold in more than 20 industries, including technology, real estate, tourism, telecommunications, media, finance, health, education, biotechnology, and energy. The market value of its properties and investments is more than $2 trillion--and growing.

This year, Istithmar, an subsidiary of  Dubai World, a sister fund to Dubai Holding, bought Barneys New York for $942 million; Dubai World said it would invest $5 billion in the MGM Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas; Borse Dubai took a stake of nearly 20 percent in Nasdaq and also bought Nasdaq's 28 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange; and Dubai International Capital acquired a $1.26 billion stake in the hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group. Two weeks ago, Dubai International Capital bought a minority stake in Sony.

Gergawi was responsible for all those decisions.

And yet he is a man that few people get to know, let alone interview. That's not because Gergawi is necessarily secretive. Although he also holds the title of minister of state for cabinet affairs-which, in effect, makes him the U.A.E. equivalent of the White House chief of staff-the U.S.-educated Gergawi remains in the shadow of the charismatic Sheik Mohammed, whose office is next door. Indeed, a conversation with Gergawi can sometimes yield unexpected diversions, as when Sheik Mohammed strolls in and cracks a joke or two.

To put it another way, if the 58-year-old Sheik Mohammed is the C.E.O. of Dubai Inc., then the 40-year-old Gergawi is the chief operating officer, in charge of putting his boss's vision into practice. Gergawi also heads Sheik Mohammed's newly created $10 billion Maktoum Foundation, created to improve education and increase entrepreneurship, especially in developing countries.

In an exclusive interview with Portfolio.com, Gergawi spoke candidly not only about what it takes to sustain Dubai's economic growth, but also about some recent controversies such as the dismal working and living conditions for unskilled immigrant workers. Following are excerpts:

Pranay Gupte: How do you see your role in the rapid growth of Dubai?

Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi: Under the overall guidance of His Highness Sheik Mohammed, I see myself principally as an agent of change. At Dubai Holding, I oversee the implementation of our corporate strategy, paying particular attention to the development of our international business portfolio. I see myself as responsible for motivating a highly diverse, international team. I do my best to empower my team members with the resources they need to get their jobs done. That means making quick decisions to remove obstacles, and also reviewing and selecting multiple proposals on a broad range of opportunities that will further develop Dubai.

P.G.: With all these billions being spent by Dubai on overseas acquisitions, what's the next stage of development for the emirate domestically?

M.A.G.: We're making a huge investment in local physical infrastructure to support the growth, while we undertake strong regional and international expansion. There may be consolidation of some of the operating entities within some of the large Dubai holding companies. For example, Dubai World's Istithmar and Nakheel, both large real estate organizations, will be merging soon. Nakheel alone has more than $60 billion of construction projects in the works. We're also looking carefully at alignment of the overall investment strategy to take advantage of emerging long-term economic and social trends globally as well as in our region. And, of course, we're making massive investment in human capital and knowledge development for our own people. That means more colleges and specialized institutions of higher learning. I personally take a great deal of interest in our investment in people by being directly involved in identifying, training, and empowering good young managers with lots of potential.

P.G.: What are Dubai's plans for regional and international business expansion?

M.A.G.: While Dubai entities are actively investing across the globe, I should point out that some investments are passive; others are active. We strive to transfer the appropriate elements of our successful business and administrative models into those areas where we are active investors. For example, in terms of our regional expansion, we hope that wherever Dubai establishes a presence, it will serve as a catalyst for local businesses to see what can be done if there is drive, determination, and good business sense. We believe that helping to build a strong regional economy is our best opportunity for lasting social stability.

P.G.: What does that mean? What business or administrative models developed in Dubai are being exported to the region?
               
M.A.G.: We have a very rigorous approach to business planning and implementation. If you want, you could think of Dubai as Dubai Inc. Where we are different is in the speed at which we do this. Most corporations have five-year plans-we have three-year plans, and we normally achieve our targets within this time frame. There are some challenges with this approach. Strategies that are seen to be failing have to be reviewed or discarded on an ongoing basis, and then new strategies have to be reintegrated into the overall approach.

P.G.: And you see such an approach as benefiting the region?

M.A.G.: Absolutely. You just have to look around and see how many other business centers in the region are becoming energized. Nearly all of the cities we have invested in in the region have seen a marked increase in development and commercial activity. The catalyst model is yielding visible results.

P.G.: But you've also encountered some resistance to your venture. What are you doing to manage difficulties in the markets you are entering?
               
M.A.G.: We have had some object lessons. Dubai Ports in the United States was one example. We have shared our collective experiences, and we now approach our international investments in a much more holistic manner. We take the time to analyze the social, political, and economic landscape; identify the stakeholders; and then carefully prepare the way by ensuring that the concerns of all parties are properly addressed. When issues occur, we generally find a way to work through them.
 
P.G.: What causes you concern about the future?

M.A.G.: We have internal and external challenges. Our internal challenges are largely a consequence of legacy systems and our fast pace of growth. We are dealing with all of these aggressively and cooperating with all the appropriate international stakeholders. [The U.A.E. consists of Abu Dhabi (the largest emirate), Dubai (the second largest), Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Qaywayn. It has some 750,000 immigrant construction workers, many of them from India. Expatriates make up more than 80 percent of the U.A.E.'s total population of 4 million.]

P.G.: Dubai has come under considerable criticism for its allegedly poor treatment of immigrant labor. What are you doing about that?

M.A.G.: Let me cite some examples. We are currently redrafting the labor law to take into account the changes we feel need to take place, and we are openly consulting with all stakeholders in this respect. We have appointed 2,000 labor inspectors and carried out a full survey of labor accommodations. More than 100 labor accommodation facilities have already been condemned, and a large number have been put on the watch list. There are many more other initiatives currently under way, most of which are aimed at ensuring prompt payment of salaries and improvements in working conditions.

P.G.: And your external challenges?

M.A.G.: Our external challenges are both commercial and political. We have already addressed some of the challenges we face when investing in foreign countries. However, our location here in the Middle East puts us in an interesting situation. We live in a very tough neighborhood, and we have to act in an appropriate manner to ensure that we survive.

P.G.: Some observers say that Dubai is only all about infrastructure and buildings. What are you doing to nurture the heart and soul of Dubai?
              
M.A.G.: His Highness Sheik Mohammed recently launched Dubai Cares, a foundation that specifically involves the direct participation of Dubai's citizens in programs to benefit people around the world. This year, we collected sufficient funds to pay for basic education for over a million schoolchildren in the developing world. Next year, we anticipate that our goals will be more ambitious.

P.G.: But the well-being of everyday laborers should also contribute to your nation building, shouldn't it?

M.A.G.: Of course. In our own communities, proper treatment of labor and domestic servants, and taking care of trafficked persons, is one thing that I can cite. We have just established a shelter for battered women and children, and for victims of human trafficking. We even provided a permanent home and funding for one of Dubai's volunteer-operated animal shelters. We are an emirate of great diversity.We have more than 200 nationalities here, and I like to think that they live harmoniously. We are busy building a large number of sports and cultural facilities. But the government cannot do everything. People have a responsibility to take advantage of what is offered, and there is a lot!

P.G.: How does a young C.E.O. like yourself relax?

M.A.G.: I love horses. I'm blessed with three children, with whom I spend as much time as I can. I'm almost as old as our country, which was founded in 1971--which means, like the U.A.E. and Dubai, I'm actually quite young. That's a great blessing to have, because there's so much more work ahead of us.

P.G.: Not the indoor ski resort in Dubai?

M.A.G.: You should try it sometime.