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Known for her inimitable business style of combining bold femininity with powerful business acumen, Smita Prabhakar has paved the way for women across the UAE and the Middle East who want to make a difference in the business world.
At a time when a woman running her own business was very rare, Smita founded AMS International by focusing on four important business principles: people, passion, purpose and performance. Her vision was to lead women by example to break through the glass ceiling in the business world and make a positive impact in areas that were traditionally dominated by men. As a testimony to Smita’s vision of enabling women, AMS leads with a 95%-woman workforce.
Starting off as an event management company in 1991, Smita and her team earned the trust of some of the largest organizations like WEConnect International member buyers IMF and World Bank, as well as MEED, Annual Middle East Conference, Dubai Duty Free ATP and the WTA Tennis Tournament, Dubai to name a few. AMS hired and trained a well-experienced and dedicated team of event managers to plan and execute all corporate events. This includes liaising with service providers and vendors and facilitating turn-key solutions for product launches, conferences and sporting events.
This solidified the AMS brand in event management and led them to work with recognized IT companies including WEConnect International member buyers Microsoft and IBM. The partnership organically evolved into uncovering and addressing other challenges for clients, like providing local work permits and payroll for short-term staff and consultants.
Apart from events and payroll, AMS is widely recognized for its human resource outsourcing and consultancy services, providing unparalleled in-depth market insights and best-in-class human resource solutions across the UAE and the GCC regions.
AMS has continually expanded its portfolio of services to build and scale human resource outsourcing, consultancy, marketing and promotions, as well as sales personnel management. To put things into perspective, the human resource outsourcing arm, which started in 1997 with only two employees, stands strong today with 1300 employees based out of various client offices in UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan.
Smita considers it an organizational-wide objective to ensure every employee upholds her values of commitment, professionalism and high quality of work; and in an everchanging world of adversities, AMS International has consistently moved forward by astutely following its core principles coupled with business integrity and quality service delivery, even when facing the financial crisis of 2008 and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2022.
To a large extent, AMS International has grown through the references of the large organizations that they serve across several countries. For instance, one of AMS’ very first clients, Microsoft, has awarded AMS with an International Supplier Management Relationship code (ISMR Code); a code only assigned to a select few Microsoft vendors across the globe. Another prominent client of AMS, Accenture, has trusted AMS since 2009.
The Regional Procurement Lead at Accenture, Suman Jacob, recommended that AMS register with WEConnect International for larger outreach. The consequent partnership with WEConnect International has enabled AMS to strengthen its existing network, expand into emerging markets, and effectively market its products. Smita Prabhakar and AMS International will surely experience continued growth and success, and WEConnect International is excited to participate in the journey!
