< Previoushis edition of CEO Middle East was supposed to be focused on sustainability, health and CSR. And, in the main part, it is, although not in the way that I or anyone could have predicted just a few short months ago when I was planning the editorial content for 2020. The beginning of the year now seems like a lifetime ago, and unfortunately for many businesses and individuals trying to make ends meet during the Covid-19 pandemic, the next few months are going to test them as never before. The year has not, to say the least, gone according to plan. As I write this from my dining room table, most of the planet is on lockdown. All but the most essential businesses have closed their premises, with distance working the new strategy for those who work on computers. Across the United Arab Emirates, as with much of the world, ‘social distancing’ has become the new normal and #stayhome, the global message urging people to remain inside unless absolutely necessary seems finally to have taken hold. But – as with any crisis – it will pass, and it is the things that business leaders and individuals do now that can help determine the outcome once we are all allowed to resume normal life. Leaders need to act now to protect their employees and customers, taking pre- emptive action against challenges to liquidity. Many businesses that are able to offer something back to the communities that they operate in have done so. Gyms are offering free online videos, some schools have - finally - started reducing their term three fees and big companies are donating funds to those hardest-hit. Others are donating their production resources, as the LVMH Group has done with its perfume factories, that are now devoted to producing large quantities of hand sanitiser to distribute to over-stretched French medical facilities. From offering contactless delivery, to waiving loan or bank payments temporarily, there is a huge amount of goodwill that can be earned, safeguarding future customer loyalty when we finally wake up to our new normal. Although the word has been used to the point of being worn out, these really are unprecedented times and not everyone has got it right. From tone-deaf promotions that make light of the crisis, to cynical attempts to make money from people’s fears, the backlash in our social media-led world can be instantaneous, as food delivery app Zomato found out to its detriment after trying to sell cleanliness ratings to already beleaguered restaurants. There are many really insightful opinion pieces in the edition, penned by men and women whose thought leadership is much needed guidance at this time. While the temptation is to focus solely on the global pandemic, we’ve also given editorial space to leaders in myriad fields, to shine an insightful light on how they are leading their businesses today. Our cover star this month, serial investor and entrepreneur, Shailesh Dash, offers a characteristically upbeat view on how 2020 can still come good and how his companies are responding to their own clients. It’ll be interesting to see how the trend for flexible working gains traction after this is all over, and it’s likely to be one of many long- lasting changes brought about by the virus. In the mean time, #stayhome, stay safe and look after your mental health as much as possible. We will look back on this with bewilderment and disbelief sooner that it seems, and everyone will have a role to play in redefining our lives post-Covid 19. Jola Chudy Editor-in-Chief THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IN A TIME OF PROFOUND UNCERTAINTY FROM THE EDITOR T 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 10 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020APRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 11 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. 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. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO ALI AKAWI MANAGING DIRECTOR SUE HOLT DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ANIL BHOYRUL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR SHANE MCGINLEY shane.mcginley@itp.com EDITOR-IN- CHIEF JOLA CHUDY jola .chudy@itp.com SUB EDITOR EDWARD LIAMZON CONTRIBUTORS BERND DEBUSMANN NEIL HALLIGAN LUBNA HAMDAN EVENTS & MARKETING DIRECTOR OF AWARDS & MARKETING DANIEL FEWTRELL +971 4 4 4 4 3684 Daniel Few trell@itp.com EVENTS & MARKETING MANAGER JOANNA FARRER +971 4 444 3328 joanna .farrer@itp.com ADVERTISING GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR JOE CHIDIAC +971 4 4 4 4 3121 joe.chidiac@itp.com SALES MANAGER , CEO MIDDLE EAST TULEEN ABU SOUD +971 4 444 3257 +971 58 917 3496 Tuleen. AbuSoud@itp.com HEAD OF SALES - AGENCIES MARIO SAAIBY +971 4 4 4 4 3592 mario.saaiby@itp.comom DESIGN ART DIRECECTTOOR SAMIR ALALGHGHAAZZALALL PO BOX 500024, DUBAI, UAE +971 4 4 4 4 3000 OFFICES IN ABU DHABI, DUBAI & LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS EFRAIM EVIDOR ADEL RASHID STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS AASIYA JAGADEESH FRITZ JOHN ASURO AJITH NARENDRA YULIYA PETROVICH JESSICA SAMSON PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION GROUP PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR KYLE SMITH PRODUCTION MANAGER BASEL AL KASSEM PRODUCTION COORDINATOR MANOJ MAHADEVAN SENIOR IMAGE EDITOR EMMALYN ROBLES CIRCULATION DISTRIBUTION & WAREHOUSE MANAGER PRAVEEN NAIR CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE LORETA REGENCIA ITP LIVE GENERAL MANAGER AHMAD BASHOUR ITP GROUP CEO ALI AKAWI CFO TOBY JAY SPENCER-DAVIES PUBLISHED BY AND © 2020 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. MEDIA12 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 BUSINESS OPINION NEWS INNOVATION MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP W HEN CHINA CONFIRMED THE FIRST CASES OF CORONAVIRUS, MOST GCC COUNTRIES, including the UAE, restricted direct travel to and from China (with the exception of Beijing). In just a few months, the virus has a name – Covid-19 – and over 110 countries have recorded cases, including most countries in the Middle East with Iran probably the worst hit in the region. As the virus has spread and reported cases increase so too have the region’s travel restrictions. First Saudi Arabia introduced travel bans from five new countries increasing the total number of travel bans to 14 countries. The UAE Ministry of Health first advised citizens and residents to avoid travelling abroad and as of now, flights in and out of the country are stopped until further notice.. Many businesses based in the GCC have been affected by COVID-19 whether by reason of supply chains from severely hit countries, such as China or Italy, having been cut off or due to key members of staff being unable to travel to the GCC. In some cases, the restrictions on transporting people and goods have caused business to fail to fulfil orders or meet deadlines. Whether those business are excused from liability for failing to comply with their contractual obligations boils down to three main factors: the governing law of the contractual arrangements; the terms of the contract; and the real cause of prevention. All GCC countries recognise the legal doctrine of ‘force majeure’ in some form. Generally, where an obligation under a contract is rendered impossible to perform, due to an external event, the non-performing party may be excused from liability. Broadly, a party is entitled to rely on the concept where the event is exceptional and performance is made impossible. So, for instance, if the closure of a port or travel restrictions have made performing a contract more difficult, but still possible (even if more expensive), it is unlikely the restrictions will qualify as a force majeure event. However, if the restrictions mean that specialist equipment, which can only be manufactured in, say, China cannot be supplied to the GCC due to the closure of Chinese ports, that may qualify as a force CORONAVIRUS: THE IMPACT ON BUSINESSES IN THE GCC WHAT IMPACT WILL THE CORONAVIRUS HAVE ON GCC COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS, WHOSE SUPPLY CHAIN HAS BEEN ADVERSELY IMPACTED?APRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 13 majeure event which excuses a party from any liability for non-performance. In certain circumstances, even where an event is not a force majeure event, the laws of most GCC countries may permit the court to reduce (but not necessarily fully excuse) a parties’ liability where the imposition of a contractual obligation would be onerous due to unforeseen circumstances. The scope of such reduction differs in each GCC country. In the UAE, for instance, the reduction is triggered on the occurrence of “exceptional circumstances of a public nature.” Arguably, COVID-19, and the resulting travel restrictions, are exceptional circumstances of a public nature. However, whether a non-performing party may avail themselves of a reduction in liability will depend on the connection between COVID-19 and the non-performance, the relative loss the party would suffer from enforcement of the contractual obligation and a balancing exercise which the court would have to undertake in relation to the interests of each party. For a party to take advantage of the legal doctrine of force majeure (or, separately, the reduction in liability outlined in the paragraph above) its commercial relationship must be governed by a law which recognises the concept. If the substantive or underlying law governing the contract does not recognise it, the terms of the contract itself may excuse liability for exceptional events. Confusingly, such clauses are often called force majeure clauses but whether they operate in the same way as the legal doctrine of the same name, depends on the precise wording of the clause. For example, the effect of the clause will depend on what has been agreed between the parties and may range from a reduction in liability, an entitlement to suspend obligations or even termination. Businesses which have been adversely effected by the COVID-19 outbreak should check the governing law clause of all relevant contracts and also review whether there are any specific force majeure clauses which may be relied upon. If such clauses exist, it is important to ensure that any notice provisions are complied with. Businesses should also be careful when entering into supply contracts during the midst of the outbreak. The application of the remedies outlined in this article is often assessed by reference to the parties’ knowledge at the time of entering into the contract. Seeking relief for non- performance caused by COVID-19 may be much more challenging in relation to contracts which have been entered into after both the outbreak and its implications have been well publicised. Finally, as is often the way with these things, obtaining early legal advice, can frequently save parties time, money and frustration in the future. “BUSINESSES SHOULD ALSO BE CAREFUL WHEN ENTERING INTO SUPPLY CONTRACTS DURING THE MIDST OF THE OUTBREAK” Expert Raza Mithani is Partner at at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP Insight Richard Dupay, Senior Associate at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP14 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 THE UAE HAS LAUNCHED ’20 FOR 2020’ AIMED AT DRIVING GENDER BALANCE AT BOARD LEVEL. Twenty women will have the opportunity to take part in a year- long professional development course while they gain board-level experience. The programme is in line with the objectives of the Dubai Women Establishment to increase female representation on corporate boards to 20 percent within 2020. The first partners of the ‘20 for 2020’ initiative include the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), who will selected the first two participants. The remaining 18 places on the programme will be reserved for future partners, who will make their own selection. Abu Dhabi Global Market, Dubai Future Foundation, Egon Zehnder, Fidelio Partners, INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre, Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance and Nasdaq Dubai were all named ‘Founding Knowledge Partners’. Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, co-founder of ‘20 For 2020’, said: “This initiative is about creating a pathway which enables inclusiveness and creates opportunities. “By placing more women into board positions we’re enriching the perspective of boardrooms across the UAE, and thus creating a work environment where business operations have an opportunity to perform optimally. “By championing equality and ensuring balanced representation on boards, we can create a culture of diversity that is essential in combatting groupthink and driving competitiveness.” NEWS UAE REAL ESTATE ABU DHABI NATIONAL OIL COMPANY TO SELECT FIRST TWO PARTICIPANTS UAE LAUNCHES ’20 FOR 2020’ TO DRIVE GENDER BALANCE AT BOARD LEVEL Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais to launch 250 rental units for Expo 2020 Dubai Real estate developer and asset management company, Sultan bin Ali Al Owais, has revealed a short term rental division to cater to the demand during the Dubai Expo 2020. The company specifically develops properties to rent, and owns and manages a portfolio of over 2,000 properties across the UAE. The new division is being launched with 250 short term rental units and all properties are located within accessibility to the Expo 2020 site. “Coming from a heritage of real estate development where we build for the purpose of renting out, our principal audience is predominantly made up of expats looking for long term rentals. However with the expected influx of people coming into the UAE based on the country’s economic and leisure offerings and this number will only go higher considering the Expo 2020,” said Haleema Al Owais (pictured). “We have been in the process of developing and acquiring assets with the vision of short term rentals for the past two years and are confident about the company’s new direction.” LONG-TERM GAIN FROM SHORT-TERM RENTALAPRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 15 THE GCC CONSULTING MARKET GREW BY 9.9 PERCENT IN 2019 TO HIT $3.3BN, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST REPORT FROM SOURCE GLOBAL RESEARCH. Almost half of that ($1.6bn) was recorded in Saudi Arabia, despite a royal order being issued in September last year, effectively banning government departments and agencies in the kingdom from using foreign consultancy firms. Zoë Stumpf, head of consulting market trends at Source Global Research, said the decree has not impacted services in Saudi. “Following royal decree in September 2019 to ban foreign consulting firms from public sector work, we spoke to a number of firms operating in Saudi Arabia,” she said. “Some of these consulting firms said at the start of 2020 that they were concerned about how this could impact future demand, and acknowledged that much would depend on full enforcement taking place. “A few other firms were sufficiently concerned that they were factoring it into their 2020 plans, though others were much less worried, and were expecting things to be very much business as usual.” Annual consultancy revenues in the UAE were up 7.2 percent to $916 million, while in Kuwait they increased 8.8 percent to reach $214m. Governments across the GCC continued to invest heavily in consulting support to diversify their economies and reduce their dependency on oil revenues – with public sector work rising 10.2 percent to hit $1.1bn for the first time in 2019. Technology consulting services rose 10.7 percent to $1.2bn, while financial services revenues grew 9.3 percent to $698m. CONSULTANCY REVENUES IN THE GCC HIT $3.3BN IN 2019 NEWS OMAN EDUCATION GOVERNMENTS IN THE REGION SPENT $1.1BN IN CONSULTING SUPPORT TO DIVERSIFY THEIR ECONOMIES OMANI GIRLS TAKING TO HIGHER EDUCATION LVMH TO PRODUCE HAND GEL The number of Omani students enrolling into higher education establishments in the Sultanate and abroad showed a 2.6 percent increase last year compared to the previous academic year. According to the Statistics and Information Department of the Higher Education Admission Centre (HAEC), Ministry of Higher Education, from the 24,445 new students, 57.3 percent were females. LVMH is currently using all production facilities for its perfumes and cosmetics brands to manufacture hydroalcoholic gel to tackle the coronavirus. Brands include Christian Dior, Guerlain and Parfums Givenchy. The gel is being delivered free of charge to French health authorities as a priority.16 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 NEWS UAE SERVICES TOASTING A GOOD ROAST COFFEE PLANET ACHIEVES BRAND CERTIFICATION Global demand for UAE-based conference provider has rocketed as a result of COVID-19 UAE-based conference provider Meetupcall has reported a 300 percent increase in global enquiries and a 500 percent rise in new subscriptions in the UAE since the outbreak of the coronavirus. However, CEO Simon Moxon (pictured) revealed total customer usage has seen a 40 percent week- on-week increase over the last four weeks as more and more employers adopt work-from-home policies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. He said: “Remote working is not a new concept. While more conservative industries such as banking and legal firms have been rooted in traditional office- based working, industries such as technology, marketing agencies and sales organisations have been reaping the benefits of hot- desking and remote working for quite some time. “However, during the past two months, we have seen a marked increase in enquiries from businesses recognising the need to embrace change and adapt to the reality that modern, remote working is rapidly becoming the new norm.” MEETUPCALL PROVES IT’S GOOD TO TALK COFFEE PLANET IS THE FIRST COMPANY IN THE MIDDLE EAST TO ACHIEVE BRAND REPUTATION THROUGH COMPLIANCE (BRC) CERTIFICATION. The BRC is a globally renowned UK trade organisation, which establishes a series of standards to help companies to comply with food safety legislation, and provides guidelines for the manufacture of safe, quality food products. The accreditation acknowledges organisations’ compliance to industry best practices and is an internationally recognised mark of food and safety quality. Robert Jones, managing director at Coffee Planet, said: “The accreditation will continue to motivate us to push the boundaries for success, all while keeping the highest standards of production practices, producing quality products and seamlessly implementing our 360-degree approach. “As always, Coffee Planet continuously promises to focus on improvement and innovation at all levels. The accolade places the home- grown brand at the forefront of the coffee service industry, showcasing our passion to provide the best experiences to consumers and clients.”APRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 17 INSTAGRAM HAS JOINED THE FIGHT TO PREVENT FAKE NEWS DURING THE CURRENT CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. The social media giant has partnered with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to counter the spread of misinformation and make sure communities are following appropriate healthy guidelines. When users tap on a hashtag related to COVID-19, Instagram shows resources from the WHO and respective local health ministries, which are also available at the top of users’ feeds; posts that may be misleading are being sent to the platform’s fact-checking partners for review; hashtags being used to spread misinformation are being blocked and restricted; and ads exploiting the situation are being banned. A spokesperson said: “We are thinking through a longer-term solution to help connect people searching COVID-19 related terms with credible information. In the meantime, we’re showing the accounts of leading health organisations in these searches to better connect people to credible resources.” Instagram will no longer allow people to search for COVID-19 related AR effects on the platform, unless they were developed in partnership with a recognised health organisation. INSTAGRAM FIGHTING FAKE NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT TACKLING COVID-19 MISINFORMATION NEWS UAE ENERGY SUPPORTING ARAB ENTREPRENEURS ORDER A PIZZA, WIN A PROPERTY Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) and Almentor have launched the ‘One Million Arab Entrepreneur Initiative’, an online learning platform designed to support start-ups. The pan-Arab online learning platform, which is free of charge, gives entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to potential and well- established entrepreneurs. Whenever users order a pizza from Pinza Restaurant through the Deliveroo app they are entered into a competition to win a one-bedroom apartment from MAG Property Development. Each pizza order must be for at least AED40 and the prize on offer is an apartment located in Dubai South and valued at around AED600,000 ($163,376).18 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 BUSINESS | LEADERSHIP A CEO PLAN FOR CORONAVIRUS: ACTIONS TO TAKE NOW I. The situation The process of containment and slowing the spread of COVID-19 in each country will create major disruption, irrespective of the seriousness of the virus spread. This should not cause additional fear in a situation that is already frightening for everyone, rather, it is a simple reminder that during times of crisis, such as the financial crisis of 2008, the strong will get stronger and strength here will be define by clear leadership, plans and actions. The high likelihood of a substantial revenue disruption will lead to a potential liquidity crisis for many businesses. This could mean that the recovery may not be a quick bounce-back. Accordingly, CEOs need to plan for multiple quarters of lower revenue. All stakeholders including employees and customers are probably experiencing fear or panic. Hence, you need to appoint a senior, fully dedicated COVID-19 war room team focused on this all day, every day. As CEO, you must be out in front with a planned cascade of possible actions, probably more aggressive than your team can imagine right now. Customers will change some behaviours permanently, accelerating prior trends. Taking bold action now can set you up for success through the downturn and beyond. II. Six urgent priorities 1- Protect your employees and customers Implement the best-known guidelines available for both employees and customers. This includes monitoring global health guidelines and other companies – and continue to fine tune. Don’t be afraid to over communicate with full transparency and assist epidemic-limiting initiatives in any way possible. 2- Stress test P&L and liquidity Outline macro scenarios by market, translate into revenue-decline and P&L scenarios. You should also build extreme downside scenarios as this has the potential to be a 100-year event. Therefore, an outline of the major operational actions should be in place. 3- Defend against revenue declines You need to take a customer-centric view and ask yourself questions like how you will build trust, loyalty and market share through and beyond this crisis. Similarly, you should build specific revenue-mitigation actions for declines in core revenue streams. 4- Stabilise operations for the new normal Stabilise supply chains of physical goods from likely geographic and labour disruptions while building contingency AS THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK HAS UPENDED BUSINESSES AROUND THE WORLD AT ALARMING SPEED, ONE THING HAS BECOME CLEAR TO EXECUTIVES GRAPPLING WITH THE CRISIS: DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION. COVID-19 IS UNLIKE ANY PREVIOUS CRISIS AND TAKING TRADITIONAL CRISIS-RESPONSE APPROACHES WILL NOT BE ENOUGH. WITH OUR OPERATIONS RUNNING SMOOTHLY AND BUSINESS RUNNING EFFECTIVELY AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WE SHARE THE STEPS THAT CEOS NEED TO TAKE TODAY TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC BY TOM DE WAELE, MIDDLE EAST MANAGING PARTNER, BAINAPRIL 2020 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 19 • Set up a senior, dedicated team from multiple disciplines (operations, sales, HR, finance) • Prioritise and put major work streams into action; set a tone of daily progress using an agile methodology • Break the usual reporting and update cycles; Urgency of the situation requires a different model, such as daily informal CEO updates 3- Outline macro scenarios and translate to contingency plans • Outline specific macro COVID-19 scenarios by major geographies • Translate those scenarios into tangible operational plans for all aspects of the business 5- Plan urgent cost cuts to conserve cash You can control the sending hand brakes by initiating immediate actions (e.g. hiring freeze, opex, capex, working capital). Similarly, set aggressive break-the-glass cost actions triggered by more extreme revenue scenarios. Outline a medium-term plan to lean out the cost structure for the future. It should be a plan that is more automated, more variable and, more shock resistant. 6- Play offense, not just defence Define how you’ll outperform competitors and expand share through and beyond the crisis. This also means that you should prepare for bounce-back and recovery. At the same time, plan for and take advantage of a leapfrog change in customer behaviour – especially digital. III. Actions to take now There are several moves that CEOs can take right now to help ease the impacts of the epidemic and come through stronger on the other side. As the economic fallout continues, business leaders will want to first model their exposure to the coronavirus fallout and street test their P&L and liquidity. There will be critical “triggers” where more aggressive actions will be needed. We recommend immediately launching three actions simultaneously: 1- Align your senior team with a wake-up call • Get the full team aligned with the true severity of the macro COVID-19 situation and worst-case financial scenarios • Set safety as the number one priority • Set cash conservation and liquidity as a secondary priority • Avoid inaction; “wait and see” approach could damage the company 2- Establish a dedicated senior team in a war-room setting revenue-decline and operational- disruption scenarios • Begin to outline no-regret moves. There will be an impact so start acting wisely • This needs to be done in days, not weeks (and you can continue to iterate) It is obvious that the COVID-19 outbreak is unlike any previous crisis. Hence, CEOs need a unique, tailored and immediate crisis- response. A wait-and-see approach has no chance of being effective. CEOs should be aware of the situation and up to speed with the latest updates. They should also understand that there are six main priorities to focus on during this calamity and implement a mapped out action plan. Next >