CONTINENT A L DRIF T ON THE ROAD WITH BENTLEY ONE IN A MILLE RICHARD MILLE’S SWEET SUCCESS THE ARCHITECTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATING THROUGH AI FUTURE-PROOFING THROUGH DIVERSIFICATION B L OCK C HAIN 101 HOW THE LATEST TECH INNOVATION WILL TRANSFORM THE WORKPLACE HARNESS H O R SEP OW ER FO R YOUR BUSINESS HOW EQUUS TRAINING IS TRANSFORMING CORPORATE CULTURE BUSINES S TR A V EL THE TRENDS SHAPING YOUR JOURNEY JUNE 2019 # 149 THE GUIDE TO GOOD BUSINESS AND BETTER LIVING THE SAFETY NET INFOBLOX CEO JESPER ANDERSEN ON BEING A MARKET LEADER AT THE VANGUARD OF DIGITAL SECURITY TEAM BUILDING ADVENTURES BEAR GRYLLS ACADEMY HEADS FOR RAS AL KHAIMAH PLUS : S TAT U S S Y M B O L S LUXURY THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES UA E AED 20 BAHR AIN BHD 2 KUW A IT KWD 2 OM AN OMR 2 JUNE 2019 Arabian Business I SSN 1818- 4421 9 771818 442009 00149 TRANSPARENCY IN REAL ESTATE HOT TOPICJUNE 2019 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 3 contents june 2019 12 28 20 22 3424 16 Business 12 NEWS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS MONTH’S NEWS STORIES 16 HOT TOPIC: SUSTAINABILITY DEWAN ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS CEO AMMAR AL ASSAM TALKS ABOUT SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES 18 BRAND VIEW: HARNESSING AI CANON’S ANURAG AGRAWAL ON INTEGRATING AI OPPORTUNITIES 20 HOT TOPIC: TRANSPARENCY REAL ESTATE MUST SELL TRUST FIRST, SAYS AZIZI DEVELOPMENTS CEO 22 VIEW: THE COFFEE CUP MOMENT AGILE MARKETING IS ESSENTIAL IN TODAY’S WORLD, WRITES PR SPECIALIST ZAIB SHADANI 24 A LONG HISTORY OF BREXIT HAS BRITAIN LEARNED ANYTHING FROM ITS HISTORY OF TRYING – AND FAILING – TO GAIN INDEPENDENCE FROM EUROPEAN TRADE PARTNERS? 28 BL OCK C HAIN 101 ARE YOU UP TO SPEED ON FINTECH’S NEW BUZZWORD? Leadership 34 COVER STORY: INFOBLOX INFOBLOX IS THE MARKET LEADER IN A GROWING SEGMENT OF TOP-TIER NETWORK SECURITY 38 LEARNING: BOOKS SIX OF THE BEST BUSINESS AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT BOOKS FROM SVENGALIS OF INDUSTRY 39 LEARNING: EDUCATION IMMERSION INTO AN AI FUTURE 4 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JUNE 2019 Pleasure 44 STYLE: MEN LIGHTWEIGHT TAILORING AND A SUMMER PALETTE DEFINE THIS SEASON’S PRE-VACATION LOOKS 46 STYLE: WOMEN ELEGANT ATTIRE AND ACCESSORIES THAT CONVEY STATUS 48 A WATCH FOR HIGH FLIERS MB&F’S FIRST WATCH FOR WOMEN IS THE ULTIMATE GRAIL WATCH 49 PRECIOUS TOUCHES JEWELLERY AND WATCHES FOR WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE 50 HIGH-OCTANE HOROLOGY DISRUPTIVE HOROLOGY AT RICHARD MILLE 54 LUXURY LEADER SEDDIQI HOLDING’S CHRISTOPHE NICAISE TALKS ABOUT DIVERSIFICATION AND WHY A LONG-TERM VISION IS IMPORTANT 58 CONTINENTAL DRIFT ON THE ROAD WITH BENTLEY’S NEW CONTINENTAL GT 60 THE BUSINESS OF TRAVEL TUMI’S CREATIVE DIRECTOR ANALYSES TRAVEL TRENDS AND WHY UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS IS ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS 64 BUSINESS LUNCH: MAREA THE HOT NEW YORK EATERY OPENS IT DOORS IN THE HEART OF DIFC 65 BUSINESS DINNER: PALM GRILL UNWIND AFTER A DAY OF DEAL-MAKING AND IMPRESS YOUR GUEST WITH THIS TOP- TIER RESTAURANT SET ON A PRIME STRETCH OF BEACH 66 INVESTMENT BOND ORLEBAR BROWN SWIMWEAR IS A SARTORIAL INVESTMENT WORTH DIVING INTO contents 44 june 2019 48 50 58 60 72 64Make a donation at bookings2030.com BOOK A NIGHT IN HIS 8-STAR HOTEL Help a future architect with big plans. Help children with a dream to stay in school. ROOMS AVAILABLE STARTING 2030 IACAD Permit #21286 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JUNE 2019 elcome to the latest edition of CEO Middle East, the region’s leading publication for the C-suite. Within these pages we profile the region’s thought leaders — men and women for whom trailblazing is a way of life. Our mandate is to share their wisdom, insights and lessons learned for the benefit of our readership and to offer a platform for showcasing the latest trends, innovations and challenges that define the world of business. Every leader knows that to stop learning is to stop succeeding and so we also turn to those who teach the leaders — coaches, mentors, authors and experts skilled in the art and science of unleashing potential in the corporate world. The insights they share are designed to help you maximise your performance, solidify your vision and supercharge your performance. In this issue, we talk to Kelly Eide, a woman who literally puts horsepower into your professional development. “To lead is a verb,” Eide tells CEO Magazine. She is the founder of TrueYouMe, a Dubai-based coaching and training organisation that helps leaders maximise their potential through working and learning with herds of horses. “Leadership is about leading whatever experience you find yourself in, but I hope that organisations realise that the best possible outcome is to also have a ‘leader’ in every chair and for each one to be agile and handle change and uncertainty calmly and with ease,” she says. Learn how your organisation can become more united and aligned to your vision in our exclusive interview on page 40. In challenging times, leaders look to strengthen trust and relationships, and this is a topic dear to the heart of the CEO of Azizi Developments, Farhad Azizi. He shares his exclusive insights on the topic of transparency, a subject pivotal to the real estate industry. “There is a direct correlation between investor trust and the performance of the real estate sector,” he tells CEO Magazine. “If there is no trust in off-plan property sales, there would be no off-plan property sales — it is that simple. As an off-plan developer, we are selling trust.” Read what he has to say about how to build transparency in your business by turning to page 20. Our cover story this month is a business that is not only a trailblazer, but has defined its own niche in the region so successfully that it dominates the market. “In the Middle East, pretty much every large organisation, including here in the UAE, is an Infoblox customer,” reveals Jesper Andersen, President and CEO of Infoblox. “We don’t really have competitors in the Middle East and Africa.” The computer and network security company has built its mammoth market share through its broad reach into Fortune 500 companies as well as into thousands of medium- sized businesses; Andersen shares his roadmap to success on page 34. Finally, we speak to two men leading in luxury: Christophe Nicaise is the CEO of Mizzen, the new retail division of Seddiqi Holding; Peter Harrison leads Richard Mille in the region. Both brands specialise in something very dear to our hearts, namely luxury wristwatches, an accessory that is both a conversation starter and a discreet signifier of status. In our pages focusing on luxury, we offer the successful leader some inspiration for enjoying the spoils of his or her success. LEADERSHIP BEGINS WITH A ‘C’ FROM THE EDITOR W Share your views on thought leadership and innovation by getting in touch. Q U ESTI O N S? CO M M E NTS? Jola.Chudy@itp.com JOLA CHUDY Editor in Chief ED IT OR ’S P OR TR AI T: O LI VE R @ P HO TO SO LU TI ON S. M E#ABStartUpAwards ArabianBusiness.com/startup-awards NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN The Arabian Business StartUp Awards recognise the people, businesses and organisations that have helped make the region’s business landscape a hotbed of innovation, growth and productivity. TUESDAY 22ND OCTOBER 2019 Waldorf Astoria, Dubai Palm Jumeirah NOMINATION ENQUIRIES: Shane McGinley EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Tel: +971 4 444 3496 Email: shane.mcginley@itp.com SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: Joe Chidiac GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Tel: +971 4 444 3121 GSM: +971 58 286 4578 Email: joe.chidiac@itp.com ATTENDANCE: Brian McNamara M A R K E T I N G & E V E N T S M A N AG E R Tel: +971 4 444 3846 Email: brian.mcnamara@itp.com8 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JUNE 2019 To receive your copy delivered directly to your door, subscribe online at www.itp.net/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. 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MEDIASUNDAY 16TH JUNE 2019 LE ROYAL MERIDIEN BEACH RESORT & SPA REAL ESTATE AWARDS 2019 #ArabianBusinessAwards The Arabian Business Real Estate Awards recognise and reward the UAE’s biggest real estate players. GOL D SPONS O R EX CL USI V E CA R S P O N S O R SPONSORSHIPATTENDANCE Mario Saaiby HE AD OF SALES - A G ENCIES Tel: +971 4 444 3592 GSM: +971 52 895 6957 Email: mario.saaiby@itp.com Dima Mousseli SENIOR SALES M A NA GER Tel: +971 4 444 3589 GSM: +971 52 895 1018 Email: dima.mousseli@itp.com Joe Chidiac GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRE CT OR Tel: +971 4 444 3121 GSM: +971 58 286 4578 Email: joe.chidiac@itp.com Brian McNamara M A R K E T I N G & E V E N T S M A N A G E R Tel: +971 4 444 3846 Email: brian.mcnamara@itp.com FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ARABIAN BUSINESS REAL ESTATE AWARDS CONTACT ONE OF OUR TEAM:Next >