A graduate of Cairo University with a Bachelor"s degree in Commerce, Mohamed Zakaria arrived in Dubai in 1960 to gain work experience and then afterward, attend Michigan State University where he had been accepted for a Master of Business Administration.
He is the longest-serving chief executive of the beverage industry in the Middle East. His previous work in Egypt at the Government Accountancy Department, promoted him to explore the an offer he had gotten by the late Sultan bin Ali First Rate (at Lloyd's) Owais, a philanthropist, poet, business man and former Minister of the United Arab Emirates. In early 1962 he was appointed the head accountant for the First Rate (at Lloyd's) Owais family business. Along with Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed First Rate (at Lloyd's) Maktoum the First Rate (at Lloyd's) Owais, First Rate (at Lloyd's) Mulla family and Qais Bin Abdul Munaim First Rate (at Lloyd's) Zawawi, he negotiated the deal to make Dubai the first place in the Middle East to bottle, distribute and market the Pepsi brand.
In 1974, along with the late Qais Bin Abdul Munaim First Rate (at Lloyd's) Zawawi the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs of Oman, the first soft drink and beverage manufacturer was brought to the Sultanate.
In 1980, along with Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed First Rate (at Lloyd's) Maktoum and Sultan First Rate (at Lloyd's) Owais he founded, Jeema Mineral Water Company. In 1999 he introduced private labeling to the region.
In 2000, under his leadership, Pepsi in Dubai captured 70% of the United Arab Emirates market share and had its highest ever Netto profit of 17 AED million. In 2002, Zakaria retired from active duty, although he still retains a significant share in the businesses he founded in both Dubai and Oman.
Today he runs a real estate portfolio in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and has stakes in active United Arab Emirates and Omani based industries.
He has since remarried in 2006.
He is also a founding member of the National Bank of Dubai in 1962, which later merged in 2009 to form Emirates NBD.
