< PreviousCOVER STORY | SHAILESH DASH 40 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 Having spent decades in the finance industry working for others, he reached a point in his life when he no longer felt that he was learning anything new. The sense of growing stagnation became persistent enough that the highly successful financier made a decision, turning his back on a guaranteed salary in search of something a little more thrilling: the unknown. “I wanted the satisfaction of creating something, instead of implementing someone else’s vision.” Modestly, he notes that this ambition wasn’t necessarily destined to translate into doing something better than his previous employer, and indeed he roundly credits the people he has worked for in the past with contributing to his success today. “In my own way, even if I was only to build a small business, the happiness in doing so has the most value. Being part of a big organization is great, but I had some ideas and at age 40, I wanted to at least try and implement them. You have to at least try. I believe it has been a very rewarding experience in terms of job satisfaction, and when people speak well of our businesses, well, I feel very happy.” Dash says he has been incredibly fortunate over the past few decades to have met mentors, advisors and individuals who have helped him to implement his vision. “People in my world of finance, similarly to other industries, may share certain qualifications and education, but it is the experiences that ultimately differentiate,” he says. “The people around us influence us and change us.” When I was starting out from an investment background, I initially thought of building upon what had come before.” Unfortunately – or perhaps ultimately for the good – 2009 wasn’t a particularly fortuitous year in which to be building on the established APRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 41 The real deal “People in this part of the world believe in this region, and are interested in developing tangible businesses. However, they don’t want to be hands-on. This is where we come in to manage, and how these businesses have evolved. Education and healthcare have done well historically in the region, but there are challenges. That is part of an economic cycle.” Having established his empire here and in South-East Asia, he is eyeing up Europe for his next venture. Technology is a huge focus and one that interests him personally. “You need to be ready, as an advisor to your investors. They are wealthy, intelligent and successful people and you have to respect that in your role as their advisor. We build eco-environments for entrepreneurs to build businesses to grow.” Encouraging a nimble mindset in his company remains key, a vital component of growth. “I think you learn to swim by being thrown in the deep end, though when we are talking about investor funds, it isn’t quite like that! But it is important to give people the training and support they need, and support them in an environment where they can bring fresh, new ways of thinking to the business.” Future-forward thinking Despite the markets indicating a global recession and some of the worst figures in living memory, Dash remains upbeat about the bigger picture. He doesn’t believe that economic recovery is destined to be as painfully slow as many predict. “Sentiments in the market are always momentary, they are a knee-jerk reaction. A longer-lasting effect is that many business models may change; trends such as e-business and online businesses will grow at a faster rate. Unfortunately there may be less human interaction, which is not my preferred way of doing business, but we have to accept change and deal with it humanely. Change is the only constant.” practices of the investment world. Instead, Dash was compelled to look at his industry in a completely fresh way, creating a business model that would attract the trust of investors while bringing something viable to the table. “We ended up going into debts and bonds, and did hundreds of millions of dollars of that even though I hadn’t done it specifically for over a decade. Change is the only constant – you can’t have a fixed mindset! You must look at how you can add value to your investors, and at that time investors wanted security but also to be able to access their funds whenever they wanted. And of course, still a good return!” What qualities does a leader need? I like what Steve Jobs said, that you have to be hungry. You see a lot of successful parents who have created businesses; the second generation who has everything pro- vided for them aren’t as hungry. The hunger – with the right ethics and values –makes the difference. The hunger is critical. How do you ensure productivity? That is a question that has a different answer depending on the period in history. We are moving from a people-centric to a technology-centric business environment. Today, AI will be a factor in business and human productivity. Every industry is differ- ent. People are being replaced by machines and it saves money, but is it human? What happens to those people who have been replaced? They need to be retrained. If productivity doesn’t improve as a result of technology, then society isn’t improving. What are your views on CSR? People think CSR is just about donations. It should be about being able to build busi- nesses and ideas, while allowing people to work, be skilled enough to support their families and have a comfortable life, while protecting the environment. All of us have a shared responsibility as human beings. We donate as a business, but I personally believe we can do a lot more. It shouldn’t be just down to leaders, but to everyone, as we can make a difference as individuals. Not everything can be achieved just by giving money and donations. I personally feel I could be doing more, donating of my time, not just money. LEADERSHIP | HOURS 42 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 SOWING TODAY WHAT WE REAP TOMORROW LEADERSHIP | SUSTAINABLE FARMING 42 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 43 CCORDING TO A STUDY DONE BY THE World Bank, one of the most worrying predictions about the future is the fact that agricultural production will reduce by 15 to 30 percent by 2080 due to climate change. A substantial percentage of people still suffer from acute famine. This is perhaps, why human beings have become very conscious about sustainability efforts. Sustainability is the strategic efforts towards meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation from meeting their own needs. In the last two decades, consumer demand for sustainability in any industry has increased– a 2015 worldwide study found that 55 percent of consumers from 60 countries said they were willing to pay more for products and services from companies committed to social and environmental improvements. This is one of the reasons as to why sustainability has become an integral part of any business, but it’s not just about having a few clever initiatives that help keep the environment safe. Consumers, while willing to pay more, also want businesses to truly change their ways, not just because it has become a trend to do so. For consumers to really trust sustainability efforts, businesses must change their whole operation and business practices, otherwise consumers feel that any attempt at sustainability is nothing more than a PR stunt. At the centre of these efforts is the food and beverage industry, which directly affects the agricultural sector. According to research, consumers are now more than ever aligning their personal values with the brands they buy, making this one of the reasons why sustainable leadership is important to stay relevant in the food and beverage industry. This has raised the bar higher for companies to articulately define their values and what they stand for. From F&B manufacturers who adopt sustainable means of production to restaurants and cafes that minimise their impact on the environment through clever use of leftovers, worldwide, the F & A THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY MUST START WITH ITS LEADERSHIP, WRITES PRIYANKA MITTAL, DIRECTOR OF INDIA GATE, KRBL LTD B industry has embraced the greening of business practice. But how do you achieve the sustainability leadership scorecard in the industry? Sustainability is a responsibility that should be shared by the industry as a whole and alike. The F&B industry is extremely complex, involving many decision makers right from the food producers to processors to retailers to the restaurateurs. In order to maximise the performance and growth of a sustainable food model it is important that stakeholders involved at different levels come together to transform the food system with one common goal: beginning from manufacturers producing environment friendly healthy food products to retailers and other distributing junctions supporting and backing the efforts of the manufacturer and vice versa. We at India Gate have shifted the focus towards making this a reality, continuously investing in seed research and development. Having invested over $2m into agricultural research programmes, we focus on creating increases in farm productivity while simultaneously eliminating the environmental impact. Sustainability starts with the seeds. Providing the right seed (which is not GMO) which gives the right productivity to farmers. Next is the agenda that has garnered the maximum visibility – resource utilisation. There is talk on water utilisation, soil preservation without addition of too much toxicity by addition of excess pesticides and fertilisers. Basmati is naturally gifted as it is monsoon fed. Hence it requires no ground water as compared to other cash crops. With initiatives such as lesser levelling of land, further water wastage is eliminated. Shorter duration crops which are resilient to common pests reduce stress on land, improve productivity and require less chemical inputs. The output is natural product, very close to organic goals. Port harvest crop storage can also be done in sustainable ways. In order to reduce climate impact we have a plant now is practically every Basmati growing state to reduce transportation of grains. 44 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 LEADERSHIP | HUBLOT Another principle of sustainable leadership in the industry is customer engagement. Most consumers are attracted to companies because of their sustainability efforts. Communication with customers transparently on the business process and visualising the supply chain via social media, not only creates talking point on the business processes, but brings the consumers closer to growers. This generates far greater confidence in the product/brand than any marketing or promotion can do. It is estimated that more than 40 percent of shoppers are interested in purchasing environmentally friendly foods and beverages. Moreover, consumers are now willing to pay up to a 25 percent premium for foods and beverages that are certified as possibility of rejuvenation via innovation, efficiency etc. Moreover, such chains eventually become transactional agents, rather than relationship-based value agents. Companies have been the first to take the sustainability agenda head on and eventually many governments joined the initiative. Most companies started out of a business need seeing input resourcing difficult and non-perennial. However these same companies were quick to realise how it converted into better products, better brands and eventually better bottom line. Soon sustainability became a buzzword and lost its true meaning. True sustainability requires long-term vision, purpose based existence rather than profit-based existence and patience capital. Some projects may either organic or environmentally friendly. In the west, the retail chain Wholefoods espouses that consumer demands best. The products retailers stock are also important when it comes to principles of sustainability leadership. More than half the population indicate that they prefer shopping at stores that carry food grown on sustainable farms. Consumers these days are not only interested in a healthy body but also in a healthy environment. Since retailers are at the end of the supply chain and capture the bulk of the value of the product, they need to learn to share value across the value chain, in order to keep the chain healthy. Capturing bulk of the value, without redeployment backwards, will either kill the chain in the long term, or leave it with little Sustainable farming Priyanka Mittal is the director of KRBL Ltd, the first company to sustain a successful public-private partnership in Basmati farming in IndiaAPRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 45 not generate the requisite ROI, but still need to be undertaken because they make sustainable sense. The most important contributor in the present and future scenario to the sustainability efforts will be governments. WTO pressures have brought a lot of homogeneity and improvement in global lives on many economic and sociological fronts such as treatment of labour, standards etc. However, in the name of consumer protection, the same standards are now being used as protectionist barriers to prevent free trade of goods risking the entire sustainability movement. Sustainable supply chains are now struggling to find markets for their products due to adoption of various forced standards. Therefore the governments globally will have to lead a movement in the support of ethical value chains allowing sustainable chains to flourish. The sustainable movement needs more cradling, rather than strangling, to cater to the future generations and growing populations’ needs. *India Gate is a global food brand within the KRBL Group, specialising in basmati, brown rice and quinoa. With a heritage of over 120 years, it is the world’s largest basmati miller and exporter, present around the world. KRBL is known for its seed development and farmer engagement programme and for implementing the fastest scalable lab-to-market public-private partnership project with high-value 1121 grain. KRBL has won many accolades with its most recent being the coveted APEDA Award Golden Trophy for the largest exporter of basmati rice. Improving productivity India Gate has invested over $2m into agricultural research programmes46 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 LEADERSHIP | FASHION LIMATE CHANGE IS A REALITY AND sooner or later, our lifestyles must change. As a society, there are certain things governments and corporations can do. Some countries started banning single use plastics, but for things to be implemented at a legal or governmental level takes time. And, at the moment, time is of the essence. There are many things we can do as individuals to help the situation and lead more sustainable lives, but are we ready to change our ways? When it comes to fashion, there is a lot to be done by an industry that is the second largest polluter in the world and associated with far too many cases of human exploitation and poor working conditions. AN AWAKENING At the moment, and thanks in no small part to documentaries such as The True Cost or RiverBlue, people are getting to know the darker side of fashion. In the Middle East, however, it is still a relatively new concept. We are so used to the glamorous facade and cleanliness of malls that somehow we assume the whole supply chain is as pristine. ‘Fast fashion’ companies have been profiting for years on unethical supply chains and there is a tangible sentiment, especially from millennial consumers, that this is no longer acceptable. In addition, international organisations such as Remake or Fashion Revolution are asking brands for more transparency and a fairer supply chain. And thanks to the media and social media, these questions are being heard and sometimes even answered. We have seen some brands like H&M launching her Conscious Collection and together with other 31 fashion brands of different segments signed the Fashion Pact in Biarritz in August 2019, just before the G7 Summit. THE FASHION PACT This pact signals a good intention but not much action. It is timid in its goals and is taken as a guide and not as a legally binding agreement. The closest deadline is 2030 when there is not much time left and it is acknowledged so in the document itself. Also, it focusses on climate, biodiversity and oceans. But what about people? People are barely mentioned. Our hope that the Fashion Pact might bring real change disappeared pretty fast and many have seen it as little more than green washing. Fashion has a big impact because of the chemicals, resources and energy it uses in its production. Making clothes requires a highly intensive usage of water, creates pollution and vast amounts of waste. In addition to this, fashion shows can be black holes when it comes to sustainability. Flying international models in, gathering buyers, celebrities and editors to enjoy a stage that will be dismantled, burned or thrown away the next day is far from sustainable and indeed is extremely wasteful, not to mention carrying a heavy carbon footprint. There is still a lot to be done but we have seen how the industry is evolving. Stockholm Fashion week cancelled their show “due to the future” and there is something of a shift in the way fashion is exhibited, consumed and shared. In addition, with the coronavirus, we all have a wake-up call about how to speak to our customers when face to face meetings C ARE WE READY TO EMBRACE SUSTAINABILITY IN FASHION? ARACELI GALLEGO IS THE CO-FOUNDER AND MD OF GOSHOPIA, AN ECOMMERCE PLATFORM DEDICATED TO SLOW, SUSTAINABLE AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE STYLEAPRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 47 want that. We need to stop buying impulsively and being more rational. Look for quality and design, instead of price. Avoid trends that will be démodé after the season ends. Customers don’t need to compromise in style. Quite the opposite, sustainability might help you find your true style, your own fashion voice and what really resonates with you. We urge our customers to buy things they love and will be able to wear many times. We source items based on the quality of the and large-scale industry events are not on the table. It has shone a spotlight on alternative options and perhaps one of the few glimmers of positive news have been the swift reduction pollution and wildlife sightings in urban areas, to remind us that beneath our high-impact lives, nature remains a resilient force. If brands can take this time to get authentically creative about avoid travelling and social gathering, it could usher in a much-needed period of innovation to the fashion industry. SO, WHAT IS NEXT? Digitalisation, augmented reality, virtual showrooms, and ecommerce are some of the trends being anticipated in how we will enjoy or purchase fashion. Sustainability affects how the pieces will be produced and recirculated, avoiding becoming part of landfill. HOW CAN WE BE MORE SUSTAINABLE? To be truly sustainable we could just use what we have in our closets already and stop buying altogether. But that would mean a lot of job losses and sink economies. We don’t garment and how easy it is to care for. It should suit the style and also the lifestyle of our customers. For true sustainability, if you have an event and need a dress, rent or ask friends if you can borrow. The reason why I started Goshopia was because I struggled to find sustainable fashion options in this market that would be of great quality, but didn’t come flown in from far away, bringing with it that additional carbon footprint. Most of the brands are local, regional or have some local presence and they work with small ateliers or artisans to produce their pieces. Designers and brands follow at least one of our ‘three S’ core values: Slow fashion, meaning no mass production, sustainable fashion, using organic and biodegradable materials, and socially responsible, namely being produced in an ethical and traceable way. For us, the market is awakening, and we are excited to be able to assist our customers to find pieces that will bring joy while supporting others and minimising damage to the environment. Because we truly believe fashion can be a force for good. LEADERSHIP | ROLLS-ROYCE 48 C EO M I D D L E E A S T APRIL 2020 HAPPIER COMMUNITIES FOR A HAPPIER WORLD S A FLAGSHIP EXAMPLE OF SUSTAINABLE building and management, The Sustainable City is an example of what can be achieved if stringent planning and a ‘can do’ approach go hand in hand. The Middle East’s first fully-operational sustainable community of over 500 villas delivers measurable outcomes across three key pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. The three intertwine, ticking green boxes thanks to a reduction in the neighbourhood’s carbon footprint while the innovation in build and design offers residents a chance to live in an almost utopian-style environment. There are no cars once you’re inside, and the areas feature abundant green spaces, solar panels, mini farms and communal areas designed to foster a sense of community and connection between residents. Awarded ‘Happiest Community’ for the third year running, the community also aspires to the environmental goals of the Paris Agreement (2050), United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030), Dubai Clean Energy Strategy (2050), and the UAE Vision (2021). “The Sustainable City was always intended to be a working blueprint for low-carbon living,” says its founder, CEO of Diamond Developers Faris Saeed (he also happens to be a resident of the development). “When we first set out to design it, we went through a monumental amount of research, as there was nothing in the region we could LEADERSHIP | SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES A IF RECENT EVENTS HAVE SHOWN US ANYTHING, IT IS THAT GLOBAL CHANGE STARTS WITH LOCAL ACTION. WITH THE NEED TO SAFEGUARD OUR PLANET’S RESOURCES MORE PRESSING THAN EVER, NEIGHBOURHOODS SUCH AS THE SUSTAINABLE CITY IN DUBAI DEMONSTRATE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO LIVE BOTH LUXURIOUSLY AND ETHICALLY BY JOLA CHUDYAPRIL 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 49 The first residents moved to The Sustainable City in 2016. The neighbourhood today spans 5 million square feet and comprises more than 500 villas, grouped into five residential clusters and connected to an urban farm and park that runs along the entire length of the development, forming the community’s ‘Green Spine’, within which there are 11 biodome greenhouses. Features available to its 3,000 residents include an electricity-generating gym, equestrian club, mixed-used plaza, Fairgreen International School and several clinics. Residents have access to a park, and with cars parked nearby beyond residential zones, children are able to run with the kind of free-range freedom that when adopting a sustainable approach. It’s a matter of mindset, the right knowledge tools, and the will to surpass the norm and present a sample of the future rather than a copy of what already is.” Saeed and the project’s co-founder Wassim Adlouni researched similar communities around the world for several years before alighting on a blueprint that would work well in the environment of Dubai, securing 5 million square feet in Dubailand, a then empty stretch of road along Al Qudra. The project work commenced in 2013, with precast wall panels to reduce construction waste and many recycled materials including crumb rubber incorporated into the build from the beginning. refer to.” Today, Saeed is proud to share the breadth of experience gained with others; The Sustainable City stands as a benchmark globally for what can be achieved. “In developing The Sustainable City, I realised that developing a project with sustainability at its core is not as ‘out of reach’ as many people perceive. Neither is it as demanding on a developer as many developers believe. Another challenge that seems to impede property developers is the inability to recognise the inherent relationship that exists between environmental building design and its economic and social dimensions. Additionally, there seems to be a misconception regarding the price point; no extra needs be incurred Next >