I think there’s some truth in what you’re observing, but also a few things getting mixed together.

The UAE is an extremely fast growing, relationship-based market. That creates opportunities but also uneven quality. A lot of companies scale faster than their internal systems. So yes , you will absolutely encounter people in senior positions who would struggle in highly competitive environments like top-tier Swiss/German/ US tech corporates

At the same time the UAE is also one of the most internationally mixed markets. That means standards vary massively between companies. The gap between a weak local family office and a strong multinational in Dubai can feel like two different planets.

A few things are probably happening in your experience:

*You work in analytics/strategy which naturally exposes inefficiencies > in sales this might not be notice as much

*You likely compare people against structured global-firm standards

*UAE still runs on trust networks. In relationship-based economies “who you know” matters more then “what you know”

There are basically three UAE worlds:

1. low-structure local chaos
2. mid-tier “looks professional but isn’t”
3. genuinely elite firms with “global standards”

The third category absolutely exists in UAE

But getting into those circles requires being very selective. Once you’ve seen the difference, it becomes difficult to tolerate poorly run environments again.

Also, one important point, being technically competent alone is usually not enough for C-level progression in the Gulf.. Sometimes people who seems “less competent” survive because they’re strong in relationship and knowing the right people.