Dubai Chambers and University of Toronto Launch Agentic AI Programme for Family Business Leaders

Dubai Chambers has signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Toronto to launch a specialised executive education programme teaching family business leaders in Dubai how to use agentic AI. The programme, called Agentic AI for Family Business Leaders, will be delivered by the university’s Rotman School of Management.

The agreement was signed on 11 November 2026 during a visit to Canada by a Dubai Chambers delegation led by H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers. The signatories were Salem Al Shamsi, Executive Vice President of International Relations at Dubai Chambers, and Joseph Milner, Professor and Interim Dean of the Rotman School.

Under the agreement, the Dubai Centre for Family Businesses, which operates under Dubai Chambers, will work with the Rotman School to deliver the programme. It is designed for family business leaders and the next generation preparing to take leadership roles within their family enterprises.

The programme will be delivered in two parts. The first is in-person learning in Dubai, combining interactive discussions, case studies and practical workshops. The second is three days of company visits and experiential learning in Toronto, where participants will see first-hand how organisations develop, deploy and govern agentic AI.

The programme covers five modules: AI Strategy and Organisational Transformation; Understanding Agentic AI and Unlocking Business Value; Designing High-Value Agentic AI Use Cases; From Use Case to Action: Implementing Agentic AI; and Company Visits and Experiential Learning.

Special emphasis will be placed on the distinctive characteristics of family businesses, including how to adopt emerging technologies while preserving family values and organisational culture, safeguarding data confidentiality, strengthening trust and supporting business continuity. Participants will learn to assess agentic AI applications by their expected business impact, feasibility, scalability and associated risks.

Throughout the programme, participants will develop practical use cases addressing real challenges within their own businesses, culminating in implementation roadmaps covering strategic priorities, organisational readiness, governance frameworks and how to measure impact.

“Agentic AI presents a strategic opportunity for family businesses in Dubai to enhance productivity, develop their business models, and unlock new avenues for growth, strengthening their competitiveness and long-term continuity across generations. These technologies are particularly valuable for their ability to support decision-making, improve operations, preserve accumulated institutional knowledge, and facilitate its transfer between generations while maintaining the values that underpin the success of family businesses.”

H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers

“We are committed to equipping family business leaders and the next generation of leadership with the knowledge and practical skills needed to drive technological transformation in line with their companies’ long-term priorities. Our collaboration with the Rotman School of Management reflects our commitment to expanding international knowledge partnerships to develop business leaders capable of translating the potential of agentic AI into applications that deliver tangible value, further strengthening the contribution of family businesses to Dubai’s economic development.”

H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers

“We are delighted to work with Dubai Chambers to help family business leaders explore how emerging AI technologies can drive innovation, strengthen competitiveness, and position their businesses for long-term success across generations. We see this initiative as an important foundation for broader collaboration with Dubai Chambers in the UAE and internationally.”

Joseph Milner, Professor and Interim Dean of the Rotman School of Management

The agreement is the latest step in Dubai Chambers’ push to bring agentic AI into the emirate’s private sector. The chambers launched specialised training tracks in September 2026 to train 14,000 companies, opened the Chamber AI Hub marketplace in October, and added an Agentic AI category to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award in November.

The Dubai Centre for Family Businesses, which will run the programme with Rotman, recently concluded the third cohort of its Next-Gen Family Businesses Training Programme and launched a Certificate in Board Directorship for family business board members.

The next generation is the real audience

The programme is designed for two audiences, current leaders and the next generation preparing to take over. That second group is the telling one. Family businesses face a succession wave, and the heirs who will run them need to be as comfortable with AI as the founders are with the business.

What makes this programme different from a standard executive AI course is the framing. It treats agentic AI as a tool for preserving institutional knowledge and passing it between generations, not just for cutting costs. For a family business, that is the harder problem, and the one that decides whether the company survives the handover.