< Previous10 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA NUA RY 20 19 EMIRATES GLOBAL ALUMINIUM, MUBADALA AND DUBAI Holding announced that they are to to develop a new power block and a water desalination plant at EGA’s smelter at Jebel Ali in Dubai. The new facilities will improve the efficiency of power for EGA’s aluminium smelting, reducing environmental emis- sions and natural gas consumption, a statement said. Mubadala and Dubal Holding are to establish a joint venture to develop the new facilities while EGA intends to buy the facility’s output for 25 years following commissioning, it added. EGA is the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, and is jointly owned by Mubadala and Dubal Holding. The joint venture will install a com- bined cycle power facility at EGA’s Jebel Ali site capable of generating over 600 megawatts of electricity, ncessary for the company’s aluminium smelting. The shareholders of the joint venture have signed an agreement with Siemens to install the UAE’s first combined cycle H-class gas turbine, a leading technology in efficient power generation. “This builds on our investment partnership with Mubadala, following the successful establishment of EGA itself. This project is expected to improve the overall power efficiency at Jebel Ali smelter and I look forward to further improvements in the near future,” said Dubai Holding CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban. UAE GIANTS INK POWER DEAL NEWS UAE THE NEW DEAL WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DESALINATION PLANT AT EMIRATES GLOBAL ALUMINIUM’S SMELTER AT JEBEL ALI PASSENGER TRAVEL FEDERAL BUDGET DXB passenger traffic passes 7 million in October The UAE’s FNC passes a record federal budget for 2019 Passenger traffic at Dubai International Aiport went up 2.1% to over 7 million in October and reached a total of 74.5 million for the year. According to Dubai Airports, smart gate technology at the airport also helped reduce waiting times at immigration by 33%. The Federal National Council (FNC) passed the UAE’s federal budget of $16.3 billion (AED60.3bn) for 2019, of which over 59% will go towards education and social development. The budget is the highest of its kind in the country’s history, and marks an increase of 17.3% compared to $14bn (AED51.4bn) in 2018. JA NUA RY 20 19 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 11 SAUDI ARAMCO AND AMERICAN DEFENCE Raytheon have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture cybersecurity company, the companies announceD. The new company will market and provide cybersecurity software and hardware capabilities as well as re- search and development. “We are excited about the joint ven- ture which will support the kingdom’s Vision 2030 by creating highly skilled jobs for Saudis in the cybersecurity sector and will support the foundation for Saudi Arabia’s economic develop- ment,” said Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president of finance, strategy and development, Khalid Al-Dabbagh. Al-Dabbagh added that demand for cybersecurity services is “expected to grow as companies move further into the digital space and embrace tech- nologies such as Internet of Things and big data.” In November, Saudi authorities said they detected an “advanced” cyber- attack targeting the kingdom, although they did not specify on the source of the attack of which government bodies were targeted. Previously, Saudi Aramco had been among a number of companies that were affected by Shamoon in what some said was the country’s worst cyber-attack yet. According to Raytheon, the new JV will eventually become the “corner- stone” of cybersecurity in the region. SAUDI ARAMCO INVESTS IN SECURITY NEWS SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI PETROCHEMICALS GIANT’S QUARTERLY PROFIT MEETS ESTIMATES; ON TRACK FOR FURTHER GROWTH E-COMMERCE Careem launches food delivery service in Jeddah, Dubai Dubai-based ride hailing app Careem announced the launch of an online delivery platform for goods and services. Careem NOW is Careem’s expansion into the food delivery market as the company expands its platform beyond ride hailing to payments, delivery and mass transportation, the company said in a statement. It added that over $150 million will be invested in Careem NOW, which will initially launch in Dubai and Jeddah. Ca- reem NOW will operate via a separate app - available for Android and iOS. Adeeb Warsi, managing director of Careem NOW, said: “Careem NOW can do for food delivery what Careem has successfully done for ride hailing. Careem NOW will create awesome dining experiences, more employment opportunities and have a hugely- positive impact on the rapidly growing food delivery market as it’s rolled out in each country. It’s another new vertical from Careem as we expand beyond ride-hailing.” He said Careem’s 33 million exist- ing customers can add food delivery through the Careem NOW tech and en- joy the convenience of a single identity across Careem and Careem NOW. Existing Careem customers will be logged onto the new app, and stored payment details and addresses will be automatically linked. 12 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA NUA RY 20 19 NEWS BAHRAIN BAHRAIN-BASED INVESTCORP IS REPORTEDLY LOOKING to invest up to $1 billion in India over the next 5 to 7 years. CEO Rishi Kapoor told Bloomb- ergQuint that the company will start evaluating investment opportunities in the country in early 2019. “We would look to grow that through an additional investment activity to about a billion-and-a- half dollars,” Kapoor was quoted as saying, adding that the company is looking to invest a billion dollars over the medium term. He said the investment firm is eyeing acquisition opportunities in specialised healthcare, real estate lending, student loan financing, insurance, online lending, and fintech platforms in the near future. Its foray into the Indian market is part of the firm’s expansion strategy, said Kapoor. He added that Investcorp intends to double its assets under manage- ment to $50 billion in 5 to 7 years and plans to invest in new markets such as Japan and China. In November, Investcorp also announced that its US team had acquired six new multifamily proper- ties, totaling 2,876 units for a com- bined purchase price of $311 million. The properties are located in major submarkets of three rapidly growing metro areas - Tampa, Houston, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The company is also examining other US locations. INVESTCORP LOOKS TOWARDS INDIA THE INVESTMENT FIRM IS EYING OPPORTUNITIES IN HEALTHCARE, REAL ESTATE LENDING, INSURANCE AND FINTECH PLATFORMS LEISURE & INVESTMENT McLaren acquires 50% stake in team Bahrain Merida McLaren Group has announced that it will become a 50 percent joint venture partner in UCI WorldTour team Bahrain Merida. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In a statement, McLaren in which Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat has a majority stake - said that the partnership will revolve around technical collaboration, human-high performance, and marketing and com- mercial services. “Racing, technology and human performance are at the heart of eve- rything we do at McLaren,” said group chief marketing officer John Allert. “Cycling is something we have been involved with in the pat and have been looking at entering for some time.” Previously, McLaren’s applied technologies unit worked with Team Sky and British Cycling ahead of the 2012 Olympics, and had a partnership with US-based cycle manufacturer Specialized. “It is a completely natural fit for our skills and our ambitious and a perfect partnership with Team Bahrain Merida who have the right vision and approach for the future,” Allert added. Bahrain Merida, which was founded in 2017, is owned by Bahraini royal family member Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and is led by former Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali. JA NUA RY 20 19 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 13 NEWS KUWAIT KUWAITI AVIATION AUTHORITIES revoked the licence of Kuwait National Airways – commonly known as Wataniya Airways – for failing to take steps to remedy operational problems that led to a wave of delays and cancellations earlier this year. In September, Kuwait’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the carrier’s licence for three months after 1,500 passengers were left stranded abroad because of cancella- tions. In comments made to Kuwait’s Al Jarida newspaper, DGCA spokesperson Saad Al Otaibi said that the suspen- sion was designed to give Wataniya an opportunity to overhaul its operations. However, Al Otaibi said that the airline had not made any changes, which led authorities to revoke their licence. Earlier in 2018, Wataniya board chairman Ali a Fozan said that the airline had been forced to temporar- ily suspend operations after “unex- pected circumstances” that could not be avoided, claiming that three airplanes had gone out of service and left the airline with just one available for com- mercial flights. At the time, al Fozan said that he believed the carrier’s financial position remained strong and he vowed that Wataniya would return after “neces- sary measures” were taken to revive the airline. In July, Wataniya confirmed an order for 25 Airbus A320neo aircraft. WATANIYA AIRWAYS LICENSE REVOKED THE EMBATTLED CARRIER HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD ITS LICENSE SUSPENDED FOR THREE MONTHS AFTER THOUSANDS LEFT STRANDED FOREIGN INVESTMENT FOOD& BEVERAGE Foreign investors can now own and trade bank shares OnCost Cash and Carry acquires Gulfmart’s Kuwait outlets Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry unveiled new rules that will see foreign investors be able to own and trade shares of of Kuwaiti banks. According to the new rules, the Cen- tral Bank of Kuwait will need to give permission if ownership exceeds five percent of the bank’s capital. Kuwait’s wholesale membership retail store OnCost Cash and Carry has acquired all outlets of regional super- market chain Gulfmart in the country. Gulfmart has been operating in Kuwait since 1999. Its acquisition will see the company boast a total of 20 branches, with plans to increase them to 35 in the next five years, according to the CEO of OnCost Cash and Carry. 14 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2019 SPOTLIGHT CHASING FASHION: HOW THE COLLEGE OF FASHION AND DESIGN (CFD) WILL HELP DUBAI REACH ITS VISION 2021 PARIS, MILAN, LONDON AND NEW YORK ARE KNOWN AS THE WORLD’S MOST FASHIONABLE CITIES, WHERE PRESTIGIOUS COLLEGES AND PROMISING DESIGNERS RESIDE, DREAMING OF THE DAY THEIR CREATIONS SWEEP THE RUNWAYS OF THE GLOBALLY-WATCHED FASHION WEEKS. BUT THERE IS ONE PARTICULAR CITY THAT IS AIMING TO MAKE THE RACE. IN LINE WITH ITS VISION 2021, DUBAI IS WORKING TOWARDS BEING CROWNED THE WORLD’S CAPITAL OF FASHION. WHILE IT IS HOME TO SEVERAL FASHION INSTITUTIONS AND DEDICATED DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDING THE ARAB FASHION COUNCIL AND DUBAI DESIGN DISTRICT, A NEW KID ON THE BLOCK IS THE COLLEGE OF FASHION AND DESIGN (CFD). BILLA BHANDARI, ADVISOR AT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, EXPLAINS THE ROLE THE COLLEGE WILL PLAY TO HELP DUBAI REACH ITS 2021 GOAL. ell us a little bit about yourself. What is your educational and professional background? Shortly after graduating with an MBA from Pace University with a dual concentration in Finance and Management Information Systems, I joined the banking world, during which worked for some of New York, Paris and Boston’s largest banks. But my first big break was in 1992, when I designed and implemented the world’s first digital trading floor for Credit Lyonnais in Paris. I then built a similar trading floor for State Street Bank in Boston, where it made history for being the first time that Solaris OS and UltraSPARC chip-based computers were deployed to process real-time financial trades. After over a decade in the industry, I called it quits in 1997 to start my own venture Parallax Corporation with my friend Scott O’Brien. The business grew rapidly but came to a grounding halt due to Scott’s death in World Trade Center on 9/11. I took some time to recover and in 2002, I launched Akoura Biometrics to focus on Strong Authentication (Biometrics) and advanced encryption. A few years later, I signed a technical partnership with the US Army and developed DataSecure, which became a flagship product. After the success of Akoura TJA N UA RY 2019 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 15 BRANDVIEW Biometrics, however, (and a few failed startups), I realised that I was always ahead of the technology curve. This led me to focus on the education domain, which is where I consulted for the Indian School of Business and Indian Institutes of Management. How did CFD originate? What brought about the whole idea of a fashion college in the Middle East? In 2013, Sheik Mohammed announced his 2021 vision to make Dubai the fashion capital of the world, thus creating Dubai Design District by 2015. Keeping this in mind, founders aligned their vision with the 2021 vision and launched CFD to cater to the growing needs of the city and the region’s fashion market. What makes CFD more appealing than other colleges or courses in the region? CFD is the only accredited fashion- focused boutique college in the region. Its courses are aligned with the industry needs and are taught in a lab environment. Its blended teaching model integrates classroom sessions with lab sessions, master classes and field visits. How did you lay the foundation for your college? What kind of research did you need to conduct before you could launch? In line with Dubai’s growing appetite for creative economy, the founders commissioned a detailed market study to understand the need, affordability and demography of potential students. Details of this study include market needs, student interest in a boutique fashion college, global scenario of university-bound students, employer’s outlook, target markets, market drivers, competitors and employment market. Is there anything unique that you would say the college offers to its students in comparison to international colleges? Indeed, it does. CFD is a walking distance from the Dubai Mall, which offers incredible internship experiences to students. And in comparison to international colleges overseas, Dubai offers unparalleled security as well as exposure to a multi- cultural community. Moreover, besides the fact that CFD is the only college that offers an accredited program and state of the art labs, it also provides IB-based programs which are great when it comes to student mobility. How do you reach out to probable candidates or students, and what are some of the challenges involved? We rely heavily on social media and word of mouth for local enrollment. For markets abroad, we have appointed enrollment executives. As for the challenges, sure, there are some, but then again we are new. We also offer a four-year degree program as opposed to a three-year diploma offered by other international colleges. At times, it becomes challenging to convince potential students as to why they should study for a year longer. What kind of experience does your faculty have? Have you employed any celebrity names or influencers in the fashion world for this region? Our faculty is an international mix of Arab, Russian and European nationalities, all of whom are specialised in their subject area. Many of them have years of experience in the global fashion industry but particularly in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. In terms of influencers, we most recently had Project Runway and Australian Lebanese model/influencer Jessica Kahawaty who visited the college to offer industry insights and spent some inspirational time with our students. What excites you the most about fashion design? Fashion design is an evolving business. To meet the trends in fashion, we have to constantly update our curriculum while complying with accreditation standards. This is the most exciting part as we plan to get the industry more involved in design adaptive curriculum What is the biggest challenge in growing CFD? At the moment, it is space, as we are constrained by the total capacity of our modern and urban campus. What is your future expansion plan for CFD in the region? We will be setting up branch campuses and partner with other institutes for top up programs. We will also offer additional programs such as Interior Design, Fashion Merchandising and including an MBA in fashion. What is the feedback you have received from the first batch of students? Generally, our students love the respectful, creative environment that we have at CFD, and say that they felt a warm welcome from the very start. They feel that it’s a place where they can flourish as individuals both creatively and mentally, and where there is a real focus on each student to develop their careers as designers by providing them with the best possible opportunities the fashion industry has to offer. “[WE] FOCUS ON EACH STUDENT TO DEVELOP THEIR CAREERS AS DESIGNERS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH THE BEST POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES THE FASHION INDUSTRY HAS TO OFFER”16 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA NUA RY 20 19 DOES CULTURE EAT STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST? HOW DO YOU GET BEST THE BEST FROM YOUR TEAM IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT, PERFORMANCE AND PROFIT IN A VUCA* ENVIRONMENT? *VOLATILITY, UNCERTAINTY, COMPLEXITY AND AMBIGUITY Culture also encompasses why people do what they do. As the Titanic’s captain grasped a little too late on that fateful night in 1912, 90 percent of an iceberg’s mass lies beneath the surface. Culture is similar as it includes observable behav- iors (the what and how, above the sur- face) as well as everything underneath – the shared mindsets and beliefs that influence how people in an organisation behave. Just like a captain navigating frigid waters, anyone trying to under- stand an organisation’s culture must rec- ognise that most of what matters cannot be readily seen. Thus, culture is the common set of behaviours and underlying mindsets and beliefs that shape how people work and interact day-to-day. WHY CULTURE MATTERS IT CORRELATES WITH PERFORMANCE Based on our research of over 1,000 or- ganisations that encompass more than three million individuals, those with top quartile cultures (as measured by our Organizational Health Index) post a re- turn to shareholders 60 percent higher than median companies and 200 percent higher than those in the bottom quartile. IT IS DIFFICULT TO COPY The quickening pace of innovation means that products and business models face the constant threat of being replicated. In this environment, the ultimate com- petitive advantage is a healthy culture that adapts automatically to changing conditions to find new ways to succeed. IT ENABLE ORGANISATIONS TO ADAPT In a world where the one constant is change, culture becomes even more important because organisations with BUSINESS | CEO COACH LEVER STRATEGY, SUPERIOR PRODUCTS, better people, corporate agility, will all separate highest performing organisations from the rest only if built on something fundamental that enables a competitive advantage to sustain and grow over time… culture. Culture starts with what people do and how they do it. In any industry, what people do may not differ dramatically, but high-performing organisations dis- tinguish themselves in how they do it. This cumulative effect of what is done and how it is done ultimately determines an organisation’s performance. CJA NUA RY 20 19 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 17 They are able to come together, default to a pattern of consistent behaviours and play that works for them, they know they can deliver and it’s a strategy that pays off in the long run. Sports teams also talk all the time about the 1% effect. The 1% effect is the cumulative effect of making a 1% dif- ference in multiple areas adds up. Take Formula One for example. A 1% weight saving can make 0.1 second difference in lap times. Each mechanic working 1% faster can make a 10% difference in pit stops. The UK cycling team adopted a 1% mindset prior to the 2012 London Olympics resulting in their most success- ful games ever. The best and most consistent sports team in the world are the New Zealand All Blacks. They talk about their culture and their code almost like their DNA. They have a default position and inner strength, plus they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can sup- port each other at any time. In a work environment you need organisational agility and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing fluid market, business situation, and/or shift in macroeconomic sentiment in the political world. The main problem in business is that we only measure what we can see, ie: Results, profit and income. If you are lucky, you may be looking or vaguely aware of, leadership and team behaviours and the impact on performance. These are NOT your values. Values are suggested but not implicit and the way your team and company act out those values are behaviours. HOW DO YOU DRIVE BEHAVIOURS? You need to look under the surface at what you cannot see. We now know, via the latest research at Harvard Medical School and via applied neuroscience, that individual and team behaviours are led and influenced by how you think and feel, your emotions, and even your physiology. If you want a great team and company, you need highly functioning human beings, like corporate athletes. If you don’t fuel them, train them, or help them to rest and recover, you will have a substandard, disengaged, unmotivated group of individuals, not functioning as a team, and no corporate culture – and it’s not about gym membership and bowls of fruit or yoga classes. Matthew Lewis is a Dubai based executive search expert, and a Partner with Boyden. He is a certified CEO and leadership coach and a 25-year student of leaders, leadership, human behavior and executive performance and is conducting his PhD research in the field of applied neuroscience and its impact on leadership performance. high-performing cultures thrive on change. The converse also holds true: Unhealthy cultures do not respond well to change. Research shows that 70 percent of transformations fail, and 70 percent of those failures are due to culture-related issues. UNHEALTHY CULTURES LEAD TO UNDER- PERFORMANCE Over time, not only do unhealthy cultures foster lackluster performance, but they can be your undoing. Daily headlines at- test, culture can bring corporate giants to their knees. How to create healthier and higher- performing cultures – is therefore worth exploring as it can make the difference between profit and loss. Take the lead from sports like athletics, cycling or team sports like Rugby. Teams that do the basics well excel when the pressure is on. RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE IN SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST GNISING EXCELLENCE IN SUPPLY CH8 IN 5 WE LOOK BACK AT THE EIGHT QUICK FIRE INTERVIEWS OVER THE PAST YEAR WHERE BUSINESS LEADERS REVEALED THE MOST ABOUT THEIR PERSONALITIES, HABITS, TALENT, AND THE THOUGHTS BEHIND THEIR METHOD THAT WILL SEE THEM CONTINUE TO PURSUE SUCCESS IN THE NEW YEAR JA NUA RY 20 19 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 19Next >