The Captain’s Table - Dubai Stories

Sports Administrator with an amazing resume working for the Australian Sports Commission at the Olympics,  International Rugby and the International Cricket Council now a happy Dubai Resident

Pearce has been a trailblazer in international business having worked and lived across Russia, Asia and the Middle East for most of the last 30 years.  He earned an early reputation of a Russia specialist since the fall of the Soviet Union having lived in Moscow, Samara, Ekaterinburg, Vologda, Kursk and Tula from 1993 to 1995 and again in Moscow from 2003 to 2005.  This time gave Pearce a rare insight to the bureaucratic workings of the Russian government as he worked on the State Asset Privatization Program during the tumultuous years of the poet Soviet era initially and later as the youngest Market Head in the history of Nestle.  The initial years in Russia were formative for Pearce and led him to giving up a legal career in Ireland to follow the expatriate path – a path he has to date not left.

An optimist, an idealist and lover of life, a relentless advocate for transformational change in everything around him he takes innovation and positive people and bring the energy for success.  He believes in supercharging companies and inspiring them to achieve their vision.  Coming from a family of Irish entrepreneurs Billy's father gave him a strong foundation of integrity and hard work. A passion for people made him a born business developer but with a passion for identifying and investing in scalable businesses began with the successful takeover of Megarme LLC in 2006 . Spearheading innovation across multi disciplines, Megarme grew from a Small Dubai based SME to a GCC wide, award winning Industry leader. This lead to an even more successful exit to a global multinational 7 years later.  This energy has taken him on an exciting rollercoaster journey covering Continents and Industries, from Commercial Property Development and Investment to Business Advisory & Coaching. Most recently the exciting and disruptive world of Digitalization with the team at Urban Surveys

A qualified Landscape Architect, James has been designing and building well recognised projects for over 20 years.

His experience spans all property sectors including work managing the design and development of luxurious private estates. 

This experience is a key contributor towards the strategic progression, business development and design direction for Urban Landscapes.

UAE’s first roastery to offer 100% organic and fair-trade coffee, Raw is trailblazing the “Third Wave” specialty coffee movement in the Middle East. The company sources and roasts Grade 1 specialty beans from around the world to produce five premium blends and fifteen single origin coffee strains. Through an efficient logistics operation, the company delivers its coffee to commercial cafes and restaurants weekly to ensure freshness. As an end-to-end solution, Raw supports the sale of coffee beans through the provision of hands-on barista training, customer service, equipment and maintenance to ensure raw perfection in every cup.

New Zealand native, Matt Toogood is a co-founder of Raw Coffee Company, a family owned and operated business. Established in Dubai in 2008, they source the best quality, organic and ethically traded green beans and roasting by origin in a custom warehouse in Al Quoz, RAW currently supply over 200 cafes, restaurants and businesses in the GCC. RAW also offer SCAE accredited coffee training courses at their facility, for both experienced coffee professionals and for domestic customers who have an appreciation for the green bean. The Roastery in Al Quoz is open every from 8am to 5pm, with a busy espresso bar where customers can drop in and enjoy a cup of the best coffee in the UAE.

Apollo Perelini played for St. Helens in the Championship and the Super League. He also played for Sale Sharks in the Zurich Championship and North Harbour in New Zealand. Perelini played both prop and second-row in league, but just as a back row player in union. In the 1991 Rugby Union World Cup he played as an open side flanker, in the Samoans' four games (against Scotland, Wales, Argentina and Australia). During the World Cup he gained the nickname of 'Terminator' for his fierce, hard-hitting tackling technique. In 1994 he received an approach from St. Helens to play rugby league in England. At first he rejected it, but finally agreed. In 1995 he played for rugby league for Samoa in the Rugby League World Cup, making him the first Samoan to play in World Cups in both codes. Perelini played for St Helens at prop in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final, scoring a try in the last minutes and helping his team to a 40-32 victory over the Bradford Bulls.[2] At the end of Super League's first season, Perelini was named at prop in the 1996 Super League Dream Team. Apollo Perelini played left-prop, i.e. number 8, in St. Helens' 16-25 defeat by Wigan in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy Final during the 1995–96 at Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday 13 January 1996.[3] Perelini played for St Helens at prop in their 1999 Super League Grand Final victory over Bradford Bulls, having won this they contested in the 2000 World Club Challenge against National Rugby League Premiers the Melbourne Storm, with Perelini playing from the interchange bench in the loss. He also played for St. Helens at prop in their 2000 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan Warriors. At the age of 33, after finishing his rugby league playing career, he returned to rugby union to play for the Sale Sharks. After retiring from playing he joined the Sale's Coaching staff. In 2004 he returned to St Helens as the team's Head of Strength and Conditioning and Skills coach. Apollo helped St Helens to 4 Challenge Cup titles 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. 4 League Leaders titles 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. 1 World Club Championship 2007. 1 Grand Final Winners 2006, and also picking up the prestigious BBC sports Team Of The Year in 2006.[4] He now lives in Dubai where he was formerly the Director of Sport at Repton School Dubai, a private school. He currently runs two sporting Academies - Apollo Perelini Rugby Skills Academy (www.aprsa.com) and JETS (a female football academy), at an increasing number of venues around the emirate. Apollo is also the current head coach of the UAE National Rugby team, a position which he started in 2015 for the UAERF