WARRIOR GROUP HONOURS ITS BEST: THE 2025 WARRIOR AWARDS CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE, SPIRIT, AND INNOVATION

Warrior Group held its 2025 Warrior Awards, an annual recognition event that puts its people at the centre of the spotlight. Hosted by Troy Gillham, Founder and CEO of Warrior Group, the ceremony celebrated a year of growth, ambition, and results, recognising five outstanding team members across four award categories, announcing two major promotions, and honouring a decade of loyal service from one of its earliest employees.

Opening the evening, Troy Gillham, highlighted the role strong leadership, accountability, and commitment play in the company’s continued growth and success. The awards recognised team members who embody those qualities every day.

THE 2025 WINNERS:

Four award categories were presented on the night, each designed to honour a distinct dimension of what it means to be a true Warrior.

Warrior Excellence Award

Naufa Mohamed Nalim & Talal Shehab Aldin

The Warrior Excellence Award goes to those who have shown absolute dedication to delivering excellent service: to clients, colleagues, and the business. This year, it was awarded to Naufa Mohamed Nalim, Architect and BIM Specialist, and Talal Shehab Aldin, Head of Projects. Both were recognised for their relentless commitment to quality and their consistent drive to exceed expectations in some of the company’s most technically demanding work.

Warrior Spirit Award

Sheena Aranzanzo & Kristofer Cabalhin

The Warrior Spirit Award celebrates those who carry the brand’s energy beyond their job description, spreading passion, enthusiasm, and a genuine commitment to the Warrior ethos across the workplace and community. This year’s recipients, Sheena Aranzanzo, Administration Manager, and Kristofer Cabalhin, Senior Adventure Specialist, were honoured for exactly that. Both have become emblematic of the culture Warrior Group works to build: one where spirit and purpose are just as important as performance.

Innovation Champion Award

William Holloway & Ben Robbins

The Innovation Champion Award this year went to William Holloway, Head of Operations, and Ben Robbins, Technical Expert. Their forward-thinking approaches have measurably elevated the company’s capabilities, driven efficiency across operations, and set a new benchmark for what innovation looks like within the Warrior Group framework.

Warrior of the Year 2025

Olesia Pavliutenkova

The highest individual honour of the evening, Warrior of the Year, went to Olesia Pavliutenkova, Group Marketing Manager. Selected as the warrior who most embodied Warrior Group’s core values, Olesia was recognised for her exemplary dedication, her consistent delivery of excellence, and the leadership she has shown in building the brand’s presence and voice. Her commitment to the team and the company’s mission made her the clear choice for the top recognition of 2025.

PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED FOR 2026

Alongside the awards, Warrior Group announced two internal promotions that take effect in 2026, a reflection of the company’s commitment to growing talent from within.

William Holloway has been promoted to Head of Operations, where he will oversee all events, venue operations, and activations across the group. Talal Shehab Aldin has been promoted to Head of Projects, stepping into a leadership role that spans the company’s most demanding construction and development projects. Both promotions were met with well-deserved recognition from the room.

10 YEARS OF SERVICE: WILLIAM HOLLOWAY

The evening also marked a personal milestone. William Holloway, one of the night’s two Innovation Champion Award winners and newly promoted Head of Operations, was recognised for completing a decade of service with Warrior Group, having joined as the company’s second-ever employee on 4 May 2016.

Over ten years, William has grown from a focus on youth development and events into project management and now full operational leadership. His journey with the company reflects years of loyalty, growth, and dedication, making the recognition one of the evening’s most memorable moments.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The 2025 Warrior Awards reinforced what has always been central to the Warrior Group identity: the belief that world-class destinations and adventure experiences are built by exceptional people. The evening was a celebration of that belief in action.

As Warrior Group continues to expand its reach across the Middle East and beyond   delivering adventure construction, integrated tourism destinations, and mixed-use developments, it does so on the strength of the people it recognised on this night.

Congratulations to all nominees and winners. The future of adventure is in the right hands.