OCTOBER 2021 # 174 UA E AED 20 KSA SAR 20 BA HR A IN BHD 2 KUWA IT KWD 2 OM AN OMR 2 MER C ER : E D U CAT I O N AN D E NTR E P R E N E U R S H I P FO R W O M E N CA N B U I L D B E T T E R SO C I ETI E S P8 “ I N TH E 2 1 S T C E NTU R Y , TA K I N G C A R E O F Y O U R E M PL O Y E E S I S N O T A MAT T E R OF G O OD W I L L OR A D MIRA BL E DU T Y, BU T RAT H E R I T IS A M AT T E R OF G O OD BUSINE SS SE NSE ” Dr Saliha Afridi, co-founder of The LightHouse Arabia – Centre for Wellbeing P1 64 CEO MIDDLE E A ST OCTO BER 202 1 OCTOBER 2021 # 174 6 EDIT OR’S LETTER 8 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILIT Y Mercer’s Renée McGowan on the pandemic, leadership and why she’s passionate about helping to make sure girls can go to school 10 LE A D ER SH I P Imran Saleem of Egon Zehnder Middle East walks through the Gulf-region highlights from the company’s recent worldwide study of nearly 1,000 CEOs 14 LE A D ER SH I P Chra Hussein, Chief Commercial Officer at Asiacell, talks about gender barriers and the importance of leaders having an open-door policy 24 EM PLO Y M E NT Jerome Droesch, CEO – Cigna MEA and SEA – tells CEO Middle East how its latest data on mental health should open the eyes of leaders in the region 30 W O RK-L IF E B A LANCE Mimi Nicklin, CEO and founder of Freedm, a new creative agency which aims to change the burnout-ridden industry, says a revolution in our work lives is needed 8 1410 30OCTO BER 202 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 5 CONTENTS 36 DIVERSI T Y Didier Laffineur, Regional Managing Director of Ferrero Gulf, explains why ‘empowering people’ is among the key pillars of the confectionery giant 38 F I NANCE Akshay Chopra, Vice President, Head of Innovation & Product Design for CEMEA at Visa, discusses the impact innovation will have in supporting businesses 42 L UXUR Y TIMEPIE C ES Hublot has launched its Big Bang Integral in three new ceramic colours 46 SUPERC AR REVIEW Behind the wheel of the McLaren GT 16 36 38 42 46 A LIGHT IN DARK TIMES As a mental health crisis grows in the world, clinical psychologist Dr Saliha Afridi, co-founder of The LightHouse Arabia – Centre for Wellbeing, sits down with CEO Middle East to discuss the landscape, and what leaders can do CO VER S T OR Y6 C EO M I D D L E E A S T OCTO BER 202 1 T his month sees World Mental Health Day marked across the world, and for once it feels like this is on the radar of more people than ever before. At my daughter’s school children were encouraged to celebrate the day, wearing colourful socks and accessories and the playgrounds were bedecked in green ribbons. Over at CEO Middle East we were heartened to see the reaction of audiences to content shared by mental health experts. Another sign of hope was the recent ‘Changing the Narrative’ event held in association with the World Humanitarian Forum and the Private Investment Group, attended by family offices, high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and impact investors. The evening touched on impact investing, philanthrocapitalism, ESG, basically how those in the position to do so should chose to invest wisely in ventures that add value to the world as well as the bottom line. I was privileged to give a short speech, I chose the words of an author far more eloquent than I. In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, there is a scene in which Ebenezer Scrooge is berated by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who admonishes Scrooge saying: “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.” Nearly two centuries on it seems that many are still to learn that lesson. Take mental health in the workplace. We know that it will impact at least one in four of us in our lifetimes. Take a look at the colleagues next to you, which of them will it be, or will it be you yourself that will struggle with this? And yet this remains a taboo subject for many corporations despite overwhelming research that for every $1 invested in this space companies make back $4. Recent research by Cigna showed that here in the UAE, 88 percent of employees are stressed out, 50 percent want to quit their jobs. Research by Bupa followed this, revealing that 96 percent of HNWIs have at least one symptom of mental stress. More research by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) in its MENA Mental Health Report confirmed that three in five (57 percent) PR professionals across the MENA region say their organisation is doing ‘not enough’ or ‘much less than what is needed’ to support the mental health of their employees. So basically it’s tough at the top, it’s tough at the bottom, and it isn’t so much fun in the middle. Gordan Gekko’s shallow cry of ‘Greed is Good’ in the Hollywood hit movie Wall Street should be consigned to history. Instead, it is time to change the narrative to something ultimately far more meaningful, call it sustainable profit, impact investing or philanthrocapitalism. It is time for boardrooms to focus on the ROI generated from doing the right thing. Share your views on thought leadership and innovation by getting in touch: scott.armstrong@itp.com Q U ESTI O N S? CO M M E NTS? SCOTT ARMSTRONG Editor in Chief @Scottiehack WHY IT’S TIME TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE IN THE C-SUITE ON MENTAL HEALTH EDITOR’S LETTERO C TO B E R 2 0 2 1 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 7 To receive your copy delivered directly to your door, subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The most important business people and CEOs talk to the most important magazine The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. 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MEDIA8 C EO M I D D L E E A S T OCTO BER 202 1 find it difficult to do business when I haven’t had a meal with somebody.” For Renée McGowan, president of Asia, the Middle East and Africa at Mercer, the worst thing about the pandemic was the loss of facetime. In spite of her position overseeing operations in 18 of the global con- sultancy’s 43 markets, McGowan still believes in a something decidedly old school – the power of a handshake deal. “Particularly in our part of the world, the Middle East and Africa, you do business based on trust, relationships and the alignment of values between your organisations,” says McGowan. For her, body language is a crucial tool when it comes to building – and communicating – a culture of success across language barriers. “Being able to connect one-on-one with people, observing people, really listening and watching – it’s really powerful for get- ting a sense of what’s happening.” Mercer’s Renée McGowan on the pandemic, leadership and why she’s passionate about helping to make sure girls can go to school EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR WOMEN CAN BUILD BETTER SOCIETIES However, the pandemic has offered some silver linings. “The fact that the whole world literally was able to move to being online, almost overnight, was incredible,” she says, adding that during a normal course of events, even with a five-year plan, such a feat would be “impossible”. A mission to educate Beyond managing Mercer’s business across the region, one of McGowan’s big- gest concerns about the pandemic was its “I SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYOCTO BER 202 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 9 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY impact on girls’ education in developing countries. “Across SoutheastAsia and in parts of Africa, the number of girls who report that they will not go back to school once schools reopen or haven’t turned up is very high,” she says. It’s crucial, she adds, that we ensure the significant progress made over the past few decades in this area is not erased. A vocal advocate on the right for girls around the world to an education, she has worked with the likes of Plan International, particularly in the early stages of the charity’s “Because I am a girl” campaign, which works to help millions of girls who aren’t participat- ing in the formal educational system to get back in. “Gender inequality and a lack of diversity is a problem in many work- places and many societies – but it’s an issue that often starts at education,” says McGowan, who was awarded the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal by the Australian government for her support in the relief efforts in Indonesia during the 2004 tsunami. “If you don’t have girls who have access to education, in the same way as their male counterparts, then you’re automati- cally almost compounding the problem with formal workforces,” she adds. Having lived in countries such as Indonesia – where she picked up a bit of the language – McGowan has observed first-hand what impact even a few years of schooling can have socially. She recognises the benefits of leveraging the organisation’s power in this regard, and this year, Mercer have launched P.A.G.E. (Powering Asian Girls’ Education), an initiative sup- porting girls’ education in Asia. “We’ve committed to 150 hours of skill-based volunteering in every market that we operate across Asia, specifically working with organisations that are helping provide educational opportunities to girls,” she says. Championing women She isn’t doing this alone, but has the full backing of Mercer. “When we can use our organisational expertise to make a better contribution to the communi- ties we’re living and working in, aiding NGOs who are already operating in these areas, it becomes a bit of a multi- plier effect,” McGowan says. McGowan has also volunteered with organisations such as the UK-based Cherie Blair Foundation which supports women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging markets. “The impact of a woman being educated and running her own business in a local community is multiplied well beyond positive impacts such as access of food, medicine and the alleviation of poverty,” she says. The shift to savings Due to its truly global nature as a black swan event, McGowan agrees that one of the lasting legacies of the pandemic will be a re-emphasis on the importance of savings. “So many people were left without a livelihood, the ability to work and earn around the world – and that happened almost overnight.” While this really highlighted the im- portance of a financial buffer, McGowan is slightly concerned that the focus may have slightly moved away from longer- term goals such as retirement savings. “Mercer is doing a lot of work with the World Economic Forum to push the importance of long-term savings, and long-term investment strategies, so that people are better protected. We need to make sure that global inequality doesn’t get exacerbated.” Universal right. McGowan supports the access to education for girls around the world “GENDER INEQUALITY AND A LACK OF DIVERSITY IS A PROBLEM IN MANY WORKPLACES AND MANY SOCIETIES” Helping women. Blair launched her foundation in 2008Next >