< Previous30 C EO M I D D L E E A S T AP R I L 202 1 LEADERSHIP | MASDAR CITY Masdar City, one of our biggest invest- ments over the years. A flagship for sustainable urban development, build- ings in Masdar City consume around 40 percent less electricity and water than conventional ones, and utilise extremely efficient heating, cooling and water conservation systems. Transport, too, is one of the ma- jor challenges to overcome. Today, 15 percent of global emissions are due to transportation. Furthermore, global pas- senger vehicle demand is set to double through 2050. We therefore need more investment in sustainable mobility, to ensure mass transit of the future is efficient, conveni- ent and clean. We were one of the first in the world to launch an electric autono- mous vehicle at Masdar City 10 years ago, and we have since deployed ad- ditional technologies, such as charging infrastructure and battery and storage solutions. We continue to test the latest EV technology, including locally manu- factured solutions. Where does the UAE stand in terms of achieving the targets set out in its Energy Strategy 2050? Our leaders put us on a path to sustain- able development and the UAE is setting the pace for the transition to cleaner energy sources in the Middle East. In 2017, the UAE launched its Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50 percent by 2050 and reduce carbon footprint of power generation by 70 percent, thus saving AED700bn($190.5bn). It also seeks to increase consumption efficiency of indi- viduals and corporates by 40 percent. In fact, even before the Strategy and before the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016, we were the first Arab nation to set voluntary renewables targets. In 2009, Abu Dhabi, our home city, set itself a target of 7 percent renewables by 2020; and it overachieved it. Another good example is Dubai, which in 2009 set a 5 percent target by “WE NEED MORE INVESTMENT IN SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, TO ENSURE MASS TRANSIT OF THE FUTURE IS EFFICIENT, CONVENIENT AND CLEAN” Solar energy The Masdar Solar Hub at Masdar City is an R&D centre for photovoltaic and solar thermal technologiesAP R I L 202 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 31 2020, then in 2015 increased this to 7 percent, and also overachieved. And, at the end of 2020 the UAE set itself a new ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions by 23.5 percent by 2030, on top of previous commitments. What is in the pipeline for Masdar in 2021? With the global green recovery, our purpose, mission and our mandate have never been more relevant. To take advantage of that, we will be embarking on the next chapter of Masdar’s story. We will acquire the scale required to benefit from the op- portunities of the green recovery that will enable us to deploy capital and create value through diverse opportu- nities. I look forward to sharing more with you on this in the very near future. The signing of the Abraham Accords last year has opened up a new era of collaboration for us with some of the smartest, most agile and most advanced companies in renewables. And, something that I am particularly excited about is that we are increasing our focus on green hydrogen, applying our expertise in solar to extract, cleanly and efficiently, what may well be the fuel of the future. In addition, new opportunities are emerging, in electric mobility, in energy trading, in the carbon markets and else- where, and Masdar will be a key player in these sectors as well. With increased focus on sustainable urban development worldwide, our flag- ship Masdar City development is going from strength to strength. I am pleased to see our innovation ecosystem get stronger year after year. I expect 2021 to see the expansion of the portfolio of The Catalyst, our joint venture with BP; more recipients of the Alpha Wave Incubation Fund setting up in Masdar City; the expansion of the high tech investment company G42; and the first intake of students at Moham- med Bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence, whose campus we are proud to host. Wind power There is a global shift of capital towards clean energy, according to Al Ramahi $19.9BN Masdar’s investment in renewable energy projects since 2006 “ENTERING 2021, THERE IS RENEWED ENERGY BEHIND THE CLIMATE DEBATE, AS A RESULT OF THE GREEN RECOVERY OBJECTIVE”LEADERSHIP | ZENITH 32 C EO M I D D L E E A S T AP R I L 202 1 eaders have to lead, even and especially when the world goes to hell in a handbasket. As it did spectacularly at the beginning of 2020. It all started out so well, with Swiss watch exports up nearly 10 percent, an ebullient mood amongst brands, and growth in big markets reflecting rays of confidence back to sleepy Swiss watch manufactures. Then of course, the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, and alarm bells replaced the sound of minute repeaters and cash registers. Watches and Wonders and Baselworld both announced that they would not be holding physical fairs in 2020, and that has held true for 2021. Brands have been forced to turbo-charge their digital strategies, from offering watch sales online for the first time, to implementing digital presentations to buyers and collectors around the world in lieu of physical show and tell sessions. Adapting to change 2020 watch sales were on a par with 1945, but 2021 is showing signs of recovery. For a brand such as Zenith, poised on the edge of the next chapter in its story, the past 12 months have been an exercise in keeping focussed and adaptable through unsettled times. Thankfully for the aviation-inspired brand, it seems that its pilots are well-versed in steering through turbulence… “Year after year we’ve focussed on product development and had great results in the years up to 2020. 2020 was poised to be the year in which the brand got to a new level. We started in January 2020 with Dubai’s LVMH Watch Week, which was a success. February was good, and then suddenly the world ground to a halt,” says brand CEO Julien Tornare. In Dubai to unveil 2021 novelties as part of a whistle-stop, if very curtailed, global tour, the CEO has had to navigate closed borders and lockdowns; not to mention having to adjust strategy swiftly to respond to the biggest crisis facing the watch industry in decades. Between April and May, sales of Swiss watches hit a low, and continued UPWARDS TRAJECTORY FOR ZENITH, THE ONLY WAY HAS ALWAYS BEEN UP, SAYS CEO JULIEN TORNARE, AND THAT CONTINUES TO BE THE DIRECTION EVEN DURING THE MOST CHALLENGING PERIOD IN LIVING HISTORY FOR THE WATCH INDUSTRY (AND THE REST OF US) BY JOLA CHUDY LAP R I L 202 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 33 over the summer, rallying a little by the autumn. For much of this time of course, industries around the world were on lock- down, with factories and offices closed, and only those whose work was primarily digital continuing to work. “The most pressing for me was to react immediately to tell the team not to be discouraged and what we were sup- posed to do in 2020, we will do in 2021,” he notes. One of Tornare’s first directives was to instigate a morning meeting to maintain communications within the company. “I asked my team how they could digitalise their job as best they could. We had been doing well and I wanted to continue this momentum. We rolled out ecommerce swiftly, and were one of the most active brands on social media. It took weeks instead of months to get the ecommerce off the ground. Now, the mind-set of the company is so connected and focussed to innovation and creativity. At Zenith, we have 18 different buildings, and it is a bit of a labyrinth, but it was great for isolating groups of people dur- ing Covid. “When we brought the workforce back in early May, it was very safe. We felt the pulse of a comeback and I really didn’t want to lose that dynamic and that mind-set. My job was to make them believe that in 2021 we can rebound.” Despite the challenges, and having postponed several launches, Zenith in 2021 is looking formidable. The Chrono- master represents perhaps the most high- profile evolution for the brand. “The Chronomaster Sport sets a new standard of precision, performance and design for the staple Zenith automatic chronograph,” notes Tornare. Historic name Zenith brings back one of the earliest and most emblematic El Primero-equipped chronographs from the earliest days of the revolutionary calibre in the form of a Chronomaster Revival model The Chronomaster line has been one of Zenith’s most emblematic, referencing the company’s heritage while pushing the boundaries of precision. Presicion timepieces Zenith’s mastery in high-precision chron- ographs is a pillar of the brand. In 2021, the Chronomaster Sport is equipped with the newest version of the legendary El Primero 3600 calibre. With a redesigned aesthetic, it features a refined and legible tri-colour dial, steel bracelet and steel 41mm wide case. A polished black ceramic bezel offers superlative legibility on the dial. It is a flagship launch for the brand and has been received avidly by fans of Zenith. It’s also been a long time coming for the brand itself, having originally been set for launch in 2020. “We had originally followed on from 2019 50th anniversary celebra- tions of the El Primero. The momentum from that had been really great, but in April we decided to postpone the June launch,” explains Tornare. It made sense – such a significant launch was all but impossible with the world at near-standstill. “It was one of three major launches that we postponed. I knew we had other interesting things to focus on such as the Shadow, the Defy Midnight, the Zenith Icons…. So I felt we could keep these launches for 2021. This year, we had planned to do the Watch Week digitally, which doesn’t replace the face-to-face, but the watch has still got a great reac- tion. We always knew it would get a great reaction, but not to this extent. “I knew people were expecting Zenith to bring a casual sports watch, with the inherited history. The expecta- tion was there, but I had not realised the extent and it was amazing. The watch came out at the right time – if you know a lot about watches, and if you don’t, you will say ‘wow’. It can be worn with a suit, casually, it is an easy watch to wear.” Alongside the Chronomaster, a similarly wearable, though very different piece makes its debut – a chronograph in shades of green. The Defy 21 Urban Jungle unites innovative and high-per- formance materials paired with ground- breaking manufacture movements; the manufacture has cladded its 1/100th of a second chronograph in a green ceramic for the first time. “THE CHRONOMASTER SPORT SETS A NEW STANDARD OF PRECISION, PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN FOR THE STAPLE ZENITH AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH”34 C EO M I D D L E E A S T AP R I L 202 1 ounded in 2005, MB&F is more than your average inde- pendent luxury watchmaker. The company founder and creative director, Maximilian Büsser, refers to it as a ‘horological concept labora- tory’, thus setting the scene for a collective of highly skilled designers, artists and watchmakers who created radical watches that bring some- thing authentically new to the luxury watchmaking scene. As the company celebrates ten years of its Legacy Machines — wrist- watch creations that draw from an imagined past for their inspiration — the founder and creative director tells CEO Middle East about how creativity and teamwork have helped the brand thrive even during a crisis. MB&F is an independent brand that makes luxury watches. By those two facts alone, looking at your industry, you should be in a pot of hot water by now. Why aren’t you? I wonder virtually every day how is it that 2020 was our best performing year ever in terms of sales at our retailers. At the be- ginning of 2021, demand has gone insane. It is probably a mix of many elements. In 2013, when my first daughter was born, I decided that the company would not grow anymore. We kept that line even though every year demand grew and it outdid production every year. It escalated in 2020 when demand grew even more, but there was no product to find, making it even more desirable. Insanely intense creativity and state-of-the-art engineering are also paving the way to success. Over the last ten years, we have created 15 totally new calibers (movements). That is way more than any other watch brand during the same time period, even those whose revenue is 50 times bigger than ours. We have also developed a very strong bond with our followers, both owners and fans. For 16 years we have been very outspoken on why we exist, how we work and what we stand for. MB&F is not only about incredible watchmaking, it is WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET CREATIVE, SAYS MAXIMILIAN BÜSSER, F OUNDER OF INDEPENDENT LUXURY WATCH BRAND, MB&F By JOLA CHUDY F LEADERSHIP | MB&F CREATING A LEGACYAP R I L 202 1 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 35 about defending values such as trans- parency, humanity, respect and a strong artistic stance. We have never followed the market, we have never even listened to the market. We create our own path. Those who resonate to that, feel very strongly about us. What leadership traits are needed during a crisis to steer a luxury brand? A mix of very long-term thinking mixed with pragmatic short-term decisions. And always, keeping a strong connection with your team. Twenty years ago, I decided that being proud of my decisions would always supersede any other reason, especially money. Every decision I have made at MB&F has been the right one even though many of them did not make much economic sense or did not bring success. Because at the end of the day I will always be proud of them. In March 2020 I thought the year would be a disaster and anticipated -50 percent revenue on 2019. We took all the necessary cost cutting measures except we never let anyone of the team go, even though I was expecting heavy losses. Our team took 16 years to build, every member is the best we have found. There is no way we were going to let any go because all of them would be crucial to manoeuvre through the storm. During the whole of 2020, even though most of us were working re- motely, we kept a very strong bind with the whole team, scheduling global meet- ings every week to outline the challenges at hand and what decisions were being enacted in every department. Do you think as a leader of a luxury watch brand, that you are by default a spokesperson for the industry, as people in your position are often asked questions about ‘the industry’? Is there a sense of responsibility in that regard? The media are always interested in our opinions, especially as we are pretty candid about them but let’s face it, they are only our perception of reality. We all see the world through our own filter. What do you think MB&F could have done better in the past 12 months and what was your toughest lesson? I honestly do not see how we could have done better. We learned as we went, going from an anticipated disaster to the best sales year ever in less than eight months, and adapting our strategy every month according to the new data at hand. What did your company do that ensured its survival? When you go track driving for the first time, the instructor tells you that at the end of the straight line you never brake progressively because it will get you killed. The same applied in March 2020 for us. We hit the brakes with both feet, and then eased off as we saw that the curve was not as steep as we expected, hence maintaining control. At the same time, none of our planned launches were postponed — when most big brands cancelled virtually all their launches, leaving us a lot of space. In parallel we increased our presence on social media dramatically, especially on platforms like IG live or Zoom webinars which allow in- teractivity, thus massively increasing our footprint in a year where most competi- tors disappeared from the radar. Luxury brands that rely on the touchpoint of ‘one to one’ especially for its most exclusive or highly priced items have had to resort to creating an emotional response digitally. What has been your strategy and plan in this respect and how has it worked? I used to think that one of the most im- portant assets of a small artisan brand like ours was that I travelled extensively every year to meet customers. In the last twelve months I have not travelled once, but replaced that by many more interac- tions on digital media — mostly Zoom meetings but also IG live and others. Has your future product offering been influenced by the pandemic? Our incredible success has not altered our ways. We still want to grow and our creative drive is going to be even more intense. “INSANELY INTENSE CREATIVITY AND STATE-OF-THE-ART ENGINEERING ARE ALSO PAVING THE WAY TO SUCCESS” High-end watch brand MB&F is pushing the limits of horology into a new dimension36 C EO M I D D L E E A S T AP R I L 202 1 PLEASURE SPRING STYLE FOR MEN STYLE WATCHES TRAVEL ACCESSORIES P rofessional and personal bounda- ries are drawn on the runways as well as in our everyday lives this Spring, with menswear collections that reflect a hankering for wardrobes that are easy to wear. The appearance of traditional formal- ity has been largely dispensed with and while suits are still recognisably so, they introduce irreverence, comfort and flex- MENSWEAR COLLECTIONS THIS SEASON TAKE A DECONSTRUCTED APPROACH TO STYLE IMPECCABLY TAILORED ibility courtesy of bright colours such as at Paul Smith, dandyish touches of sum- mery flair such as at Dolce & Gabbana, and warm, soft leather hues such as in the shoe collections at Bally. Brunello Cucinelli takes a typically understated yet elegant approach, while Dunhill blazers take on an edgier, urbane feel thanks to deconstructed elements incorporated into the exterior of the blazers. A P R I L 2 0 2 1 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 37 PLAYFUL, RELAXED ELEGANCE IS A RECURRING MOOD THIS SEASON Style Brunello Cucinelli takes a typically understated yet elegant approach. (above, left) Sophisticated colours and ‘70s style are the highlights of the Spring collection from Paul Smith (above, right) Footwear Bally honours its heritage of craftsmanship with natural materials and legacy details Fashion Alfred Dunhill’s collection is about the joy of making clothes and the emotional investment in them Blue jeans Dolce & Gabbana pays homage to Italian design (and a whole lot of blue) this season38 C EO M I D D L E E A S T AP R I L 202 1 T here’s a lot of buzz at the moment about ‘plant-based’ lifestyles. Plant-based athletes are some of the world’s most high-achiev- ing sportsmen and women, and those that have embraced the diet that restricts all animal meats and byprod- ucts become almost evangelical about its purported health benefits. But — can a balanced plant-based diet trump a regular one? It seems CAN A PLANT-BASED DIET TURBOCHARGE YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELLBEING? CEO MIDDLE EAST PUTS LEADING MEAL PLAN ROOT’D TO THE TEST ROOTED IN HEALTH “AT THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK, WE FELT MORE ALERT, LESS SLUGGISH — AND HAD EVEN MANAGED TO SHIFT A FEW STUBBORN POUNDS ON THE SCALE” PLEASURE | ROOT’DA P R I L 2 0 2 1 C EO M I D D L E E A S T 39 “THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING LESS MEAT HAVE LONG BEEN ARGUED BY PHYSICIANS AND DIETICIANS” daily and taste delicious. There’s no sense of being deprived or fed bland forgettable salads. Instead, you can almost feel the nutrition pouring forth from the bowl and into your soul. And actually, that’s no surprise, because the dishes are created by skilled nutri- tionists, so you know you’re getting just what your body needs to function optimally. After all, our bodies are our machines, and can only function on what we fuel it with. There are three main plan options — weight management, balanced lifestyle and detox-refuel. Each comes with a five or six days a week option, and while the plans are recommended as monthly to see more tangible results, there is a trial option to do just one week. For those who aren’t especially inter- ested in pursuing a plant-based lifestyle permanently, this still offers a valuable reset in terms of cleansing the palate from craving junk food, processed food and fast, easy carbs — all of which can contribute to a sense of sluggishness and weight gain. the experts agree, that whether you’re going full vegan or omnivore, eating a diet rich in the nutrients your body needs does affect your wellbeing, alert- ness, energy levels and overall health. Dipping a toe into the plant-based life, CEO Middle East tried one of the new- est meal plans to hit Dubai. Root’D is the brainchild of Freakin’ Healthy, a UAE-based food company making healthy, affordable snacks that are widely sold in major su- permarkets. In addition, they offer delivery meal plans which are deliv- ered fresh to your door daily, allowing clients the flexibility to choose a fully customisable menu plan depending on individual goals. For example, with a busy, active lifestyle and a weight loss goal to attain, the 1,400-calorie weekly plan offers three meals a day plus two snacks. Clients choose their dishes for the week ahead from a list of options. These include tofu scrambled eggs, overnight carrot cake oats, slow- cooked puy lentils on toast or cinna- mon French toast with maple syrup. And that’s just breakfast. Lunches comprise hearty dishes that barely seem ‘diet’ let alone ‘vegan’ lasagne, curries, stews and burgers feature heavily, meaning that even if you’ve been used to consuming more calories, you won’t feel too deprived. At the end of the first week, we felt more alert, less sluggish — and had even managed to shift a few stub- born pounds on the scale. Alongside a sense of mental clarity, we even achieved a personal best on our running — which reflects a growing trend amongst some professional athletes who also extol the perfor- mance-based benefits of eating a plant-based menu. Certainly there are also environ- mental and ethical cases for consider- ing reducing meat, while the health benefits of eating less meat have long been argued by physicians and dieti- cians. The meal plans provided by Root’D are wholesome, balanced, made fresh Healthy food Root’D offers three main plan options — weight management, balanced lifestyle and detox-refuelNext >