REGIONAL NEWS BUSINESS BANKING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MEGAPROJECTS BRAND INSIGHTS DRIVING FORWARDS LAMBORGHINI’S PAOLO SARTORI ON WHY THERE’S ROOM FOR OPTIMISM THE BUSINESS OF LUXURY RICHARD MILLE HAS GRAND DESIGNS IN 2021 INSPIRING LEADERS THE MEN AND WOMEN LEADING BOLDLY THROUGH TOUGH TIMES JANUARY 2021 # 165 THE GUIDE TO GOOD BUSINESS AND BETTER LIVING TALABAT CEO TOMASO RODRIGUEZ ON DRIVING DIGITAL INNOVATION AND ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE DELIVERING RESULTS A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY HH SHEIKHA INTISAR ALSABAH UA E AED 20 KS A SAR 20 BA HR A I N BHD 2 KUW A IT KWD 2 OM AN OMR 2 Arabian Business THE BEAUTY OF TIME WRISTWATCHES TO CELEBRATE ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES STEP BY STEP DUBAI CHAMBER CEO HAMAD BUAMIM ON GROWING UAE-ISRAEL BUSINESS TIES THE ADVENTURE EMIRATE IN CONVERSATION WITH RAK TOURISM CEO RAKI PHILLIPS JA N U A R Y 20 21www.amaala.com AMAALA, located along Saudi Arabia’s northwest coast, is an ultra-luxury destination that focuses on curating transformative personal journeys inspired by arts, wellness and the purity of the Red Sea. AMAALA will allow travellers to immerse themselves in the finest wellness, art, culture, sports and fitness offerings, redefining the tourism experience. Hidden A GemJA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 3 contents 10 12 20 22 7 LETTER FRO M TH E ED ITO R Business 8 BA N K I N G O N IT UAE businesses see profitability return to pre-Covid levels by 2022, says Daniel Howlett, HSBC’s regional head of commercial banking 10 BR AINS T O RM The notion that great ideas can be sparked by locking people in a boardroom with a whiteboard is one that needs to die, writes Mark Fiddes 12 L UXUR Y WAT C H The appetite for ultra-luxury goods is strong, says Richard Mille’s EMEA CEO, Peter Harrison 14 IMPOS T E R S Y NDROME Sheikha Intisar Al Sabah of the Kuwaiti royal family admits that even those in power can sometimes doubt themselves 16 M E G AV I SI O N S FO R 20 2 1 Ambitious projects such as Qiddiya will define 2021 in Saudi Arabia 18 DRIVING F O R WARDS Lamborghini is revving up for the new year, writes Gavin Gibbon 20 PAT I ENCE IS A VIRT UE The CEO of Dubai Chamber, Hamad Buamim, says patience is paramount in fostering long-term sustainable business relationships between the UAE and Israel 22 T H E AD VEN T URE EMIR AT E With its flagship sporting event the RAK Half Marathon just around the corner, Ras Al Khaimah is positioning itself as the region’s adventure emirate, writes Jola Chudy 14 January 2021Leadership 26 THE LEADERS OF 2020 As a new year unfurls, we salute the men and women whose visionary leadership helped to inspire and motivate those around them during a challenging and turbulent year 36 COVER STORY Talabat is a regional success story; its CEO Tomaso Rodriguez tells CEO Middle East about innovating, redefining an industry and what’s next for the food delivery platform that’s eyeing up expansion, growth and new developments 4 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 contents January 2021 36JA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 5 47 50 48 Pleasure 42 LEADING LUXURY Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new collection, introduced by its product director Lionel Favre 44 GRAIL WATCHES Breguet continues to astonish with timepieces created for connoisseurs and collectors 46 DEEP AND MEANINGFUL Dive into Panerai’s stylish new watch that features a precious new material never before seen 47 THE MEANING OF TIME Bremont pays tribute to Professor Stephen Hawking with its new collection of watches 48 GREAT ESCAPE Abu Dhabi offers up a moment of natural escapism courtesy of Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island 50 WHAT’S YOUR APPETITE LIKE? Brand expert Gaurav Sinha ponders the role that appetite plays as it adjusts as a company matures contents January 2021 426 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 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 REGIONAL NEWS BUSINESS INSIGHTS TIKTOK FOR BUSINESS ED AID ZAIB SHADANI JEWELLERY & WATCHES REAL ESTATE REAL TALK WHAT’S NEXT FOR PROPERTY? MAKE 2021 A YEAR OF PROFITS STRATEGIES TO GROW INVESTOR RETURNS SHOULD LEADERSHIP DURING A PANDEMIC BE DIFFERENT? TRADELING CEO MUHAMMAD CHBIB ON THE VITAL SKILLS THAT MUST COME TO THE FORE DECEMBER 2020 # 164 THE GUIDE TO GOOD BUSINESS AND BETTER LIVING ADAPTABILITY AND INNOVATION MONTHER DARWISH ON FINDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN A ROUND-UP OF HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS UA E AED 20 KS A SAR20 BAHR AIN BHD 2 KUW A IT KWD 2 OM AN OMR 2 Arabian BusinessDE CEMBER 20 20 THE GIG ECONOMY KAWTHAR BIN SULAYEM ON HOW GIG WORK CONTRIBUTES TO THE ECONOMY MOST WANTED LUXURY GIFTS FOR THE MAN OR WOMAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING RETAIL DETAILS IN CONVERSATION WITH LIFESTYLE CEO RUBAN SHANMUGARAJAH PLUS : 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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MEDIAJA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 7 ED IT OR ’S P OR TR AI T: O LI VE R @ P HO TO SO LU TI ON S. M E ell. We made it. It’s 2021, and we are all still here, just about. I think that deserves a moment of acknowledgment. As we emerge, blinking, into the light of a Brand New Year, I can’t help hoping that it’s the start of a new beginning, a little more than just the symbolic turn- ing of a calendar page. In this edition, I wanted to pay tribute to the men and women who worked to ensure the survival of their businesses during one of the most challenging economic periods in living memory. Thanks to their leadership, bravery, decision-making and swift responses, they were able to navigate and respond to challenges that left many of us floundering. I wanted to take a moment to recall some of their words and hold them in the forefront of my mind as we take a collective deep breath and move into 2021. One of the changes that many identified early on was the changing importance of physical office space. “Business models will be made up of a combination of the virtual world, more companies working from home, and reduction in spending on office space,” Ciaran Kelly, Managing Direc- tor and Regional Leader of FCM Travel Solutions, told CEO. “Virtual meetings have enabled business momentum and CEOs should be looking to implement a combination of virtual technology.” A second key change was the strato- spheric evolution of digital technology. I know from speaking with many of you that it remains a hot topic for 2021. “It’s incredible to see how digital change is accelerating,” noted Okadoc founder Fodhil Benturquia. “It took the likes of Amazon and Booking.com 25 to 30 years to reach where they are today; Uber took around half that time to redefine ride-hailing. We communicate via Whatsapp; we buy online. There are so many industries that are completely different today to a decade ago.” That’s something that is echoed by our cover star, Talabat CEO Tomaso Rodriguez, who tells us all about the ambitious plans for the food platform that will see it poised for big growth and change in the future. From new work- place norms to the latest thought lead- ership on technology, leadership, busi- ness culture and more, it is our mandate in 2021 to bring you a consolidated edit of the most relevant and current topics in the business world. It’s reassuring, that some of the region’s leading business voices see posi- tive signs for the future, and we also want to continue to shine a spotlight on these. “We’ve seen many positive regulatory changes in the UAE, particularly with 100 percent foreign ownership, reforms on family and criminal law, the visa pro- grammes etc. The reality is that the UAE has had a very good Covid performance especially when it comes to screen- ing per capita,” said Daniel Howlett, HSBC’s regional head of commercial banking, Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT). “As the economy recovers, the UAE continues to attract investments and I think I am right in saying it remains at the top 20 from a world-ranking perspective for foreign direct invest- ments. All of these are very favourable elements.” We look forward to bringing you 12 months of valuable insights, inspiring stories and thought leadership from the region’s most inspiring men and women. Here’s to a better 2021, from all of us. 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 A fresh horizon. Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island is open for business, anticipating an uptick in local travel in 2021.8 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 BUSINESS THE OUTLOOK FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS INNOVATION MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP “WE’VE SEEN MANY POSITIVE REGULATORY CHANGES IN THE UAE, PARTICULARLY WITH THE ABILITY FOR A 100 PERCENT FOREIGN OWNERSHIP, REFORMS ON THE FAMILY AND CRIMINAL LAW, THE VISA PROGRAMMES.” POSITIVE OUTLOOK IS DRIVEN BY THE UAE’S CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE AND BUSINESS-FRIENDLY REFORMS, SAYS DANIEL HOWLETT, HSBC’S REGIONAL HEAD OF COMMERCIAL BANKING BY NABILA RAHAL OME 90 PERCENT OF BUSINESSES IN THE UAE EXPECT TO RETURN TO PRE- CORONAVIRUS PROFITABILITY LEVELS BY THE END of 2022, and 78 percent believe the busi- ness outlook will stay the same or become more optimistic by the same time period. Overall, UAE companies have a more optimistic and positive outlook than the global average – which came at 80 per- S UAE BUSINESSES SEE PROFITABILITY RETURNING TO PRE-CORONAVIRUS LEVELS BY 2022 cent for profitability levels and 67 percent for optimism – because of the way the government handled the pandemic and its recent business-friendly initiatives, says Daniel Howlett, HSBC’s regional head of commercial banking, Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT). “We’ve seen many positive regula- tory changes in the UAE, particularly with the ability for a 100 percent foreign ownership, reforms on the family and criminal law, the visa programmes etc. Also, the reality is that the UAE has had a very good Covid performance espe- cially when it comes to screening per capita,” said Howlett. “As the economy recovers, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE contin-JA N UA RY 2 0 2 1 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 9 digital offers can be made available by banks,” said Howlett. “We have seen a huge amount of our customers migrate to digital payment technologies in 2020. We are also seeing investments in sustainable finance op- portunities,” he added. A focus on sustainability is a key driver for the UAE going forward with 99 percent of businesses surveyed in the country seeing multiple opportuni- ties for improving their environmental and ethical sustainability; the highest in the world. Over 85 percent of companies in the UAE have set targets for a broad range of aspects of environmental, social and gov- ernance issues and more than four-fifths are measuring environmental and social aspects of sustainability, according to the survey report. “THE ONES WHO WERE MOST SUCCESSFUL THIS YEAR ARE THE ONES WHO ARE INNOVATING AND INVESTING IN THE LONG TERM.” ties appears undiminished, according to the report. When asked about their outlook on international trade, 90 percent of UAE companies said they have a positive out- look over the next two years, compared to 72 percent globally. Investments in digital technology and sustainability in the UAE are on a growth trajectory as well, according to Howlett. “The conversations we are having now are very different from the ones we were having six months ago. If you think of back in June, at the height of the pan- demic, there were a lot of concerns about cash flow pressures, customers not pay- ing, the difficulties in sourcing supplies, etc. But, now customers are talking about how to expand and what they can do to grow through the use of digital technol- ogy; they are looking at what in-house ue to attract investments and I think I am right in saying it remains at the top 20 from a world-ranking perspec- tive for foreign direct investments. All of these are very favourable elements,” continued Howlett. Howlett was speaking at a media roundtable on Sunday, discussing the re- sults of HSBC’s annual Navigator survey, which gauges sentiment and expectations of businesses in the near to mid-term future. This year, HSBC surveyed 10,000 companies globally, including 700 from the Middle East. The survey revealed that busi- nesses in the UAE recognise the need to invest for future growth, with 81 percent of respondents intending to increase their investment in their busi- ness next year, compared to 67 percent globally. The three most commonly cited investment priorities are product and process innovation, marketing and customer experience. While Saudi Arabia offers the great- est levels of investment going forward, both the UAE and Egypt are not far behind, said Howlett. “The reality is that the Covid pandemic has compelled companies to adapt to survive. The ones who were most successful this year are the ones who are innovating and investing in the long term,” said Howlett. “As Winston Churchill famously said: ‘You should never let a good crisis go to waste’, and we certainly feel that our customers in the Middle East are making sure they are adapting and growing going forward,” he continued. While 74 percent of businesses from the UAE feel that international trade has become more difficult due to the impact of events in the last 12 months, their com- mitment to pursuing overseas opportuni-Next >