Ducab, the UAE's largest cable manufacturer, has appointed Matteo Bavaresco as Group CEO effective immediately, ending a year of interim leadership and signalling an acceleration of the company's international expansion strategy. Bavaresco, who brings over 25 years of experience across European, Middle Eastern, African, and Asia-Pacific markets, joins from a previous CEO role at an international cable company and takes over from Gert Hoefman, who led the company as interim chief and will now focus on strategic guidance through the Board of Directors.
The appointment reflects Ducab's ambitions to deepen its global footprint beyond the 75 countries it already serves. Company founder documentation and internal statements indicate the board sought external executive talent with proven expertise in organizational transformation and large-scale operations. The company did not disclose use of a search firm, though the recruitment appears to have been conducted through conventional executive channels given Bavaresco's background in the cable industry. Hoefman said in a statement that Bavaresco's track record in the cable sector and transformation expertise made him an ideal leader for driving global competitiveness, signalling board consensus around the appointment.
Bavaresco's background includes experience as CEO at Prysmian Group's China operations, where he oversaw high-voltage cable manufacturing and supply chain operations, and his expertise spans building high-performance teams, organizational transformation, and public-private sector partnerships. His career trajectory indicates deep technical and commercial grounding in global cable systems, positioning him to navigate the shifting energy landscape where demand for transmission, renewable energy systems, and infrastructure cables continues to grow. The specific cable company he most recently led was not named in official announcements.
Ducab, established in 1979 as a joint venture between the Government of Dubai and UK-based BICC Cables, evolved in 2001 into a 50-50 partnership between the governments of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Today, the company operates six manufacturing facilities across the UAE and serves diverse sectors including utilities, oil and gas, renewables, construction, and defense. The company is ultimately held by Abu Dhabi's ADQ holding company and Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai. Ducab supplies products ranging from low-voltage building wires to high-voltage transmission cables exceeding 400 kilovolts and has furnished cables for landmark projects including the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Metro domestically, as well as high-profile international projects such as Egypt's Gulf of Suez wind farm and South Korea's nuclear reactors.
Bavaresco's appointment suggests the board views global expansion as a strategic priority that requires external executive firepower with transformation credentials. The fact that Hoefman transitions to the board rather than departing entirely may indicate desire to preserve institutional knowledge during a leadership transition, though it also implies the company sought fresh external perspectives on strategy. The global cable industry faces consolidation pressures and energy transition demands; Bavaresco's mandate to accelerate regional and international growth will test whether Ducab can compete effectively with larger integrated cable systems manufacturers on the world stage while preserving its position in home markets where it commands approximately 50 percent of the UAE cable market.
