DECEMBER 2022 # 187 STRIKING DIGITAL GOLD Global entrepreneur Alex Reinhardt opens up on leadership, building success, and the prospects for blockchain UAE AED 20 KSA SAR 20 BAHRAIN BHD 2 KUWAIT KWD 2 OMAN OMR 2 INNOVATE. DISCOVER. CONNECT. WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT 16-18 JAN 2023 10AM-5PM/ADNEC-ABU DHABI Hosted byPart of 4 FOCUSED EXPOS 5 LEADERSHIP FORUMS 300+ EXHIBITING COMPANIES 110+ KNOWLEDGE SESSIONS 300+ SPEAKERS RESERVE YOUR ATTENDANCE AT WORLDFUTUREENERGYSUMMIT.COM WATER SMART CITIES SOLAR ECOWASTE ENERGY CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT C M Y CM MY CY CMY K CEO Middle East Full Page Advert.pdf 1 28/09/2022 5:54 PMCONTENTS DECEMBER 2022 CEO MIDDLE EAST 3 DECEMBER 2022 # 187 6 EDITOR’S LETTER 8 COMMENT The UAE is a place where expats prefer to stay much longer than anywhere else in the world, says Jerome Droesch, CEO of Domestic Health and Health Services at Cigna International Markets 10 LEADERSHIP Leaders who can effectively navigate the unexpected are the ablest to succeed, Niousha Ehsan, Chief Energy Officer of LINKVIVA 12 LEADERSHIP While communication, creative thinking and problem-solving are ranked higher than empathy, it is just as essential as the rest, especially as communication is critical 14 LEADERSHIP Top CEOs in the UAE want to stop working completely to improve their mental health, a report found 16 REAL ESTATE Dubai’s meteoric real estate sector will see further gains from the millennial buyer, believes Leigh Williamson, Managing Director at LUXHABITAT Sotheby’s International Realty 10 0812 16CONTENTS 4 CEO MIDDLE EAST DECEMBER 2022 24 INVESTING Maintaining a diversified portfolio helps in periods of market volatility, says Joseph El Am, GM of StashAway MENA 26 INVESTING Improving investor relations is a must for businesses in the region, believes Oliver Schutzmann, CEO of Iridium Advisors 28 CIRCULAR ECONOMY It’s time to change the global economy from a line into a circle, says Simon Sharp, Partner at Global Ventures 32 SUSTAINABILITY Enhancing efficiency is key for the UAE, says Ayman Ismail, Gulf VP at Schneider Electric 20 24 32 28 International entrepreneur, venture capitalist, business coach and expert in blockchain technology Alex Reinhardt tells CEO Middle East why – despite of the recent developments in the digital assets space – there’s still a future for crypto COVER STORY 26CONTENTS 36 TECHNOLOGY FTX downfall: Decentralised finance is a broken system and is the antithesis of decentralisation, says lawyer and business leader Farah Zafar 40 SPOTLIGHT With an agile response to rapidly changing market dynamics and obsession with customer-centricity, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Communities Hawazen Esber explains why their focus on human-centred design has been a game-changer 42 RETAIL Homegrown retailers have an advantage international competitors lack – a far better grasp of local market conditions, culture, language and social nuance, says Mohammad Baker, Deputy Chairman and CEO of GMG 45 SPOTLIGHT With over 1,100 hotels in operation and under development in close to 100 countries, Elie Younes, executive vice president and global chief development officer, Radisson Hotel Group, reveals exciting plans of the hotelier across the next five years 46 TECHNOLOGY Unlocking information and enabling more data-driven decision making across an organisation is foundational to being more strategic, says Tarek Akl, Partner Manager – Middle East at PFU 50 FINAL THOUGHTS Boardrooms can only reach net zero through evidence-based commitments, believes Lisa Wee, Vice President of Sustainability at AVEVA 42 45 36 50 40 DECEMBER 2022CEOMIDDLE EAST5EDITOR’S LETTER 6 CEO MIDDLE EAST DECEMBER 2022 nations are poised to record excellent growth rates. Indeed, the IMF predicts that in 2023, the UAE will become the fastest growing country in the GCC, recording 4.2 percent, following Saudi Arabia at 3.7 percent. The stability of the region has already paid dividends. Dubai in particular has been a beneficiary of this trend, with its real estate market turning red hot as global investors come to the city’s calm white sand shores in look of property investment. Coupled with the UAE’s reformed, and highly attractive, Golden Visa programme, there’s no end in sight for this trend. On page 16 we dive into this topic in a bit more detail, examining the role that millennials are having the market. The region’s investors are significantly global in nature though, and are not immune to the bear market. A recent note from global investment bank Goldman Sachs included the note “The bear market is not over, in our view,” as the firm warns that the market is poised for a long trough of growth deterioration before a sustained recovery period can begin. In this vein, we have included some thoughts in this issue on how to invest during the bear market, available on page 24. With times of economic stress, leadership is more crucial than ever. Answering the basic question of how to be a good leader will be crucial task (page 10), while ensuring that bosses place empathy first when dealing with their workforce (page 12). While the role of leaders will be important in keeping workers motivated, experts have already rung alarm bells on the strain that this is placing on the leaders themselves. In the UAE, some bosses are facing immense stress which could have a deleterious not only on the leader personally, but the business and economy writ large. Turn to page 14 were we go into this topic in more detail. Finally, the region’s focus continues to be on the future, with sustainability driving the region’s growth agenda. On page 32 we look at the role sustainability plays in building industry at scale, while on page 34 we look to the future generation and examine why education is at the core of sustainable development. Until next time. Share your views on thought leadership and innovation by getting in touch: matthew.amlot@itp.com QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? MATTHEW AMLÔT Managing Editor @MatthewAmlot RUNNING WITH THE BEARS Cautious ambition will be key to success for 2023 H ello and welcome to our last issue of CEO Middle East for 2022, and what a year it has been. Beginning with momentum, and positivity, buoyed talks of the ‘new normal,’ the global economy has subsequently seen a downturn. From rampant global inflation, to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and sky-high energy prices, the macroeconomic environment has certainly been a challenging one. However, while the scene may not look rosy everywhere around the world, here in the Middle East there is still much to be positive for. Despite these global challenges, the Gulf DECEMBER 2022CEO MIDDLE EAST 7 To receive your copy delivered directly to your door, subscribe online at www.itp.com/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. 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ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO ALI AKAWI CFO TOBY JAY SPENCER-DAVIES MANAGING DIRECTOR ALEX REEVE DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ANIL BHOYRUL EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR MATTHEW AMLÔT matthew.amlot@itp.com SUB EDITOR EDWARD LIAMZON SENIOR DESIGN MANAGER GERI BATARA SONNY DESIGNER MOHAMMED IRQSOSY EVENTS & MARKETING DIRECTOR OF AWARDS & MARKETING DANIELFEWTRELL +9714 4443684 Daniel Fewtrell@itp.com ADVERTISING GROUP COMMERICAL DIRECTOR SARASWATI AGARWAL +9714 444 3352 saraswati.agarwal@itp.com SENIOR COMMERCIAL MANAGERR MANSIKHATWANINI +9714 4443242422 mansi.khatwani@ni@i@ittp.c.comm PO BOX 500024, DUBAI, UAE +971 4 4 44 3000 OFFICES IN ABU DHABI, DUBAI & LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHER JULIUS GARCIA VIDEOGRAPHER MUHAMMAD KALEEM VIDEO EDITOR LIJU CHERUVATHUR PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION PRODUCTION MANAGER DENNY KOLLANNOOR PRODUCTION COORDINATOR MANOJ MAHADEVAN SENIOR IMAGE EDITOR EMMALYN ROBLES CIRCULATION CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE RAJESH PILLAI DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR AVINASH PEREIRA ITP LIVE GENERAL MANAGER AHMAD BASHOUR PUBLISHED BY AND © 2022 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. MEDIA OCTOBER 2022 #185 UAE AED 20 KSA SAR 20 BAHRAIN BHD 2 KUWAIT KWD 2 OMAN OMR 2 FOSTERING INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL Sahar Al Marzouki, owner and director of Al Faris International School, focuses on the value of building the next generation8 CEO MIDDLE EAST DECEMBER 2022 mong top reasons why people relocate to a new country, job prospects, a reasonable cost of living, better education, access to quality healthcare, improved work-life balance, social security, or a better quality of life, are the most crucial factors that help expats make the deci- sion to embrace a new destination. As an international destination, the UAE offers the best of all, backed by a high standard of living with world-class infrastructure, unparal- leled entertainment and shopping, multi-cuisine options, an amazing coastline, year-long sunshine, and an incredible range of leisure facilities. It doesn’t come as a surprise then, that as per our most recent 360 Global Well-being Survey 2022, the UAE ranked as the number one destination for expats to relocate across the Mid- dle East, Africa and Asia. The country also ranks among the top 10 global destinations out of 197 countries. What’s more interesting to note from this survey is that expats record a longer period of stay in the UAE, when compared with expats moving to any other country across the world. As per the survey, expats in the UAE have recorded an average stay of 4.4 years against the global average of 3.2 years. Only Switzerland [4.1 years] and Saudi Arabia [3.7 years] ranked close. The findings bring into perspec- tive the advantages the UAE offers to the expat population – be it a better quality of life, improved options to manage the finances or the nation’s stable job market. In fact, the UAE ranks above the global average across all performance indicators and fares better than some of the leading mar- kets worldwide. In general, the overall well-being index of the UAE is significantly higher at 68.2 than the global average of 62.9. The country scores high on each of its specific indicators too, such as physical well-being [UAE: 65.4, The Emirates is not only an attractive and preferred destination for expatriates, but also a place where they prefer to stay much longer than anywhere else in the world HERE’S WHY UAE EXPATS STAY Citizen of the world. The choice of potential countries to settle in the foreseeable future is endless, Droesch says COMMENT A BY: JEROME DROESCH, CEO OF DOMESTIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES AT CIGNA INTERNATIONAL MARKETSDECEMBER 2022 CEO MIDDLE EAST 9 COMMENT Ideal. UAE expats enjoy a cosmopolitan hotspot, a vibrant global community, luxury lifestyles and assured well-being Second home. A wide array of choices in the UAE have also helped expats to reevaluate their lifestyle and workplace experience global average of 59.9]; social well- being [UAE: 67.2, global: 62,8]; family well-being [UAE: 73.1, global 67.1]; financial well-being [UAE: 59.8, global 56]; and work well-being [UAE: 71.7, global 69.5]. What this proves is that the UAE has all the elements required to make it a preferred destination for expats. And this index is on growth path, with the UAE’s overall well-being index surging by 2.1 compared to 2021, as opposed to the global growth of only 0.7 – reflecting the country’s attrac- tiveness among expats as a long-term destination. A wide array of choices in the UAE have also helped expats to reevaluate their lifestyle and workplace experi- ence. For instance, nearly 56.4 percent of residents in the UAE feel they enjoy high-quality family time compared to a global average of 45.5 percent, which further accentuates the reason why expats feel UAE is the best place for them to settle down with family. A lot of these critical success factors are a result of UAE’s progres- sive policy changes, visa regulations, increased resident confidence on the country’s economic growth over the past two years, and its investor and business-friendly approach that have added to the country becoming a preferred choice for long-term stay among expats. For today’s globally mobile expats, the choice of potential countries to settle in the foreseeable future is endless. If expats are making such a huge change in their lives, picking the right country to move is essential. In a world emerging from a pandemic, ex- pats now seek a cosmopolitan hotspot, a vibrant global community, luxury lifestyles and assured well-being. As the UAE solidifies its regulatory and socio-cultural framework for non- citizens and travellers, it is undoubt- edly one of the most expat-friendly countries in the world. 68.2 The overall well-being index of the UAE, according to the 360 Global Well-being Survey 2022 “THE UAE IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE MOST EXPAT-FRIENDLY COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD”Next >