LEADERSHIP DURING A PANDEMIC JLL MENA AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CLOUD APPS NEWS WATCHES THALES ON NAVIGATING THE NEW NORMAL DATA SECURITY IS IN THE HANDS OF THE C-SUITE TRANSFORMING SECURELY CYBERSECURITY AND THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION FORMING NEW HABITS LOMBARD ODIER’S STÉPHANE MONIER ON THE POST-COVID-19 LANDSCAPE MAY 2020 # 160 THE GUIDE TO GOOD BUSINESS AND BETTER LIVING THE CEO OF AL MASAOOD AUTOMOBILES IS AN INDUSTRY TITAN ON A MISSION TO SHARE HIS KNOWLEDGE MASTERING YOUR MESSAGE BUSINESSES MUST THINK NIMBLY WHEN MARKETING DURING A PANDEMIC PLUS : SEEDING THE CLOUD AVAYA OFFERS TANGIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR REMOTE WORKING THE RIGHT MINDSET MARCUS SMITH ON MENTAL FITNESS COURTING THE FUTURE THE UAE ENTITIES LEADING THE WAY IN DIGITAL THINKING UA E AED 20 BAHR AIN BHD 2 KUW A IT KWD 2 OM AN OMR 2 Arabian Business DRIVING DISRUPTION, OVERCOMING CRISIS IRFAN TANSEL M AY 2020For more information IF THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS IF ONLY there was a place that provided unparalleled access to the fast-growing Middle East, Africa and South Asia markets. IF ONLY there was a place with an internationally recognised legal and regulatory infrastructure. IF ONLY there was a place with an established ecosystem of over 24,000 professionals working across 2,200 top global companies. There is. DIFC. Set up your business in the region’s leading financial hub today. @difcdifc.aeM AY 2020 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 3 contents May 2020 16 18 22 Business 12 NEWS News and updates for May 16 COURTING JUSTICE How UAE entities including DIFC Courts are adjusting to offer their services remotely 18 THE PEOPLE SIDE OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Transformation is driven by people, writes Dana Salbak, Director, Head of Research MENA at JLL 20 REWORKING THE FUTURE Technology is reshaping the way we work today and into the next decade, writes Mohammed Amin of Dell Technologies 22 CALLING THE FUTURE Telcos, 5G and more post-Covid 26 C IS FOR CYBERSECURITY Data security is in the hands of the C-Suite, writes Neil McElhinney at Thales Middle East 28 PREDICTING THE FUTURE What are the longer-term impacts of the pandemic, asks Lombard Odier’s CIO, Stéphane Monier 30 BRINGING REMOTE CLOSER Avaya, leaders in cloud solutions, are enabling businesses to carry on working 34 HEAD IN THE CLOUDS Proofpoint’s regional director Emile Abou Saleh on cybersecurity challenges 34 204 C EO M I D D L E E A S T M AY 2020 contents May 2020 0 Leadership 38 DRIVING DISRUPTION Irfan Tansel is an automotive industry leader who is determined to give back and share a lifetime of experience, knowledge and insights 44 SETTING THE RIGHT EXAMPLE In a time of crisis, it’s purposeful leadership that makes businesses stand out from the crowd 46 SECURITY AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Digital transformation brings challenges and opportunities, writes writes Cherif Sleiman, VP Europe, Middle East and Africa at Infoblox 50 JUDGEMENT DURING A PANDEMIC Sir Andrew Likierman, Professor of Management Practice and former dean of London Business School, explains how leaders form judgements to make decisions, and provides a framework to help navigate the crisis. 52 MENTAL FITNESS Entrepreneur and extreme athlete Marcus Smith on staying mentally fit during Covid-19 50 44 46 36SAVE THE DATE Wednesday 30th September 2020 Celebrating its 14th year in 2020, the MEP Middle East Awards are an opportunity to highlight the excellence in MEP design and installation underpinning those iconic projects contributing to the evolving and rapidly- maturing construction landscape in the UAE. The combination of a global economic downturn and the advent of environmental awareness in the construction industry have resulted in the MEP sector playing a pivotal role in the advent of ‘green’ building in the UAE. #MEPAwards FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES Anup Nagpurkar Group Sales Manager +971 4 444 3373 + 971 52895 0931 anup.nagpurkar@itp.com FOR NOMINATION ENQUIRIES Tom Oxtoby Editor, MEP Middle East +971 4 444 3419 tom.oxtoby@itp.com FOR EVENT & TABLE SALES ENQUIRIES Teri Dunstan Events Manager +971 4 444 3227 teri.dunstan@itp.com Visit www.mepmiddleeast.com/mepawards for more information or contact a member of the team today. GOLD SPONSORScontents May 2020 66 56 6 C EO M I D D L E E A S T M AY 2020 58 Pleasure 54 MARKETING DURING A CRISIS Even brands and companies that are closed for business can lay the groundwork for the future now, writes PR and marketing expert, Zaib Shadani 56 NOVELTIES FOR 2020 A round-up of timepieces released virtually for Watches & Wonders 2020 58 FINAL THOUGHTS Justin Reiss, Global CEO for WatchBox, the world’s biggest online platform for pre- luxury watches, looks at how the industry is reacting to the current economic situationFOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.COMMERCIALINTERIORDESIGN.COM/cid-AWARDS OR CONTACT ONE OF OUR TEAM TODAy For sponsorship enquiries: Laura Collinder Sales Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3576 Mobile: 971 55 401 1628 Email: laura.collinder@itp.com For NOMINATION enquiries: JANE O'NEILL EDITOR Tel: +971 4 444 3626 Email: jane.oneill@itp.com For event enquiries: teri dunstan Events manager Tel: +971 4 444 3277 Email: teri.dunstan@itp.com For Table sales enquiries: anthony chandran table sales executive Tel: +971 4 444 3685 Email: anthony.chandran@itp.com silver SPONSOR category SPONSORs Social media SPONSOR WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 submit your nominations today! DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY 24TH JUNE PRESENTED BY GOLD SPONSORSelcome to the May edition of CEO Middle East, an edition created in its entirety by a team working remotely. Our commercial team, designers, production department, editorial team, journalists, interviewees and contributors have all worked from home to produce an edition that looks much like any other, but whose content is understandably skewed towards exploring the various issues, aspects, challenges and implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is, to use a now well-worn phrase, unprecedented, and yet, the topic earmarked for this edition at the beginning of the year – namely that of technology – could really not be more apt. As we grapple with the challenges of remote working on a scale never before seen, we are faced with questions that address both short-term issues, but also with the longer-term consequences of our prolonged social isolation. Zaib Shadani of Shadani Consulting offers some agile and actionable suggestions for how businesses can adapt their marketing strategy to build goodwill, ‘give back’ and hopefully pave the way for an abundant and loyal customer base once things begin to return back to normal. “Brands should focus on how they want to be remembered, once the coronavirus crisis is over. Fostering trust, relevance and authenticity is critical. Consumers want to know that a company’s brand values align with their own and that a brand will step up and stand with them in times of crisis,” writes Shadani. Meanwhile, remote working experts such as Avaya and Proofpoint are amongst the companies seeing business grow, as their areas of specialism have surged in popularity. Avaya, leaders and experts in remote and cloud solutions, are one of the businesses whose unique skillset is enabling other industries to carry on working during the Covid-19 global lockdown, notes Fadi Hani, Vice President. “We have offered all organisations 60 days of complimentary, full-feature access to Avaya Spaces — our flagship cloud-based collaboration app,” he tells CEO Middle East in an exclusive interview. Historically, crises have led to historic social change, notes Lombard Odier’s CIO, Stéphane Monier. “After the twentieth century’s World Wars, universal health services were put in place, women earned the right to vote in many democracies and joined the workforce in large numbers. After the terrorist attacks of 2001, we adjusted to airport security restrictions and the financial crisis of 2008 exacerbated inequalities, triggering a widespread rise in political nationalism and xenophobia.” In his opinion piece, he offers what is, in my view, one of the most perceptive articles about our post- Covid world that I have read so far. See what he has to say about broad changes in connectivity technologies, globalisation, geopolitics and sustainability on page 28. Monier is in great company this edition – we are thrilled to bring you the voices and views of some of the region’s wisest and most experienced leaders, including of course, our cover star, Al Masaood Automobiles CEO Irfan Tansel. What he doesn’t know about cars honestly isn’t worth knowing. Enjoy the issue! Jola Chudy Editor-in-Chief AS THE WORLD STAYS AT HOME, CEO ASKS: WHAT NOW AND WHAT NEXT? 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 8 C EO M I D D L E E A S T M AY 2020M AY 2020 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 9 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. 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