Besides the global factors such as war and inflation, businesses in the GCC and the Middle East are facing unique challenges in the post-pandemic market. Global players and innovative new businesses are getting increasingly competitive against the region’s legacy business groups.
The 6th edition of the TOP CEO Conference on May 17 and 18 in Dubai brings together regional and international experts to assemble pieces of the puzzle of our increasingly complex world.
The pandemic has pushed an accelerated digitalization and digital outreach, forcing companies to adopt a leaner and more flexible approach to work. It has accelerated the digital transformation and created a landscape that will continue to encourage innovation and technological adoption moving forward.
“Some companies in the GCC have already changed their strategies and made investment decisions to help them protect their digital security while building a technology infrastructure that gives flexibility to employees to get work done from anywhere,” said Samia ElKadiri, Advisor & Head of Research Governance & Compliance, Hawakamah, who will be sharing her insights in one of the most trending discussions, “A new beginning: Work 2.0”.
“As the world looks forward hopefully towards an end of the pandemic, it is likely that many of these changes are here to stay,” she said.
The pandemic also significantly influenced people’s health and mental well-being worldwide, including here in the Gulf. It had an impact on people of all ages and walks of life. And it has also altered the workplace of the future.
“As more people were affected by COVID-19, whether through illness or losing a loved one, several companies modified their policies to offer help and advice. Many others began to show more empathy toward their employees,” said Khaled Almaeena, Managing Partner of Quartz Communications and speaker on “The Workplace of Tomorrow”.
“The workplace of the future is very informal and flexible. Working from home is the way of the future,” he said.
Battle for skilled talents
There is a lack of compatibility between the GCC plan for a wide economic transformation of the region and a labor market not yet at the required level to help staff these megaprojects. As a result, violent regional competition occurs between countries and between government and private sectors to hunt, poach, and explore new and suitable talent.
“Difficulty in finding talent varies depending on the type of industry. Local talent is in short supply due to a lack of skills and experience, but their desire to be entrepreneurs rather than employees adds to the issue. “We need to train, train, and train our own young men, women, and people with disabilities to become strong talents for our rising economy,” says Amr M Khashoggi, CEO of Amkest Group.
The Inflation Monster
Politics, economy, and society are also among the most intriguing issues nowadays, and they are so linked that business executives must constantly adapt and develop their growth strategies. Foreseeing the challenges of global inflation, the TOP CEO Conference’s session, The Inflation Monster, will dissect the issues from different angles to ascertain their impact on the Arabian Gulf.
“The most serious challenge that businesses in the GCC face today is uncontrollable events like geopolitical or shipping cycles, insurance, industry instability, technology or game-changing difficulties, and competitive hurdles,” says Mohammed H Abudawood, Executive Chairman of the Abudawood Group who will be a key speaker in the panel.
The Metaverse is here to stay
“The Metaverse is shaking our economies and our sociology. Even our political systems are impacted. We have seen the massive power of Facebook in the US elections and Brexit. We had seen its power also more recently, when Elon Musk took over the ownership of Twitter, one of the main spaces within the Metaverse. Although it started to grow dramatically at the end of the 90s, however, In the last six months, this new realm has become a burning topic of discussion. The Metaverse goes beyond technology development as it addresses all aspects of our communities, how we communicate, how we do business, how we learn, how we keep healthy, and even how we love. It is not a fad. It is a new stage of our evolution. And it is here to stay forever,” says Philippe Blanchard, the founder of Futures, who will participate in “The Metaverse: A fad or a revolution” panel.
The pandemic’s impacts
To be held under the general theme of The Great Business Reset, the conference highlights the transformational changes in the Arabian Gulf economies, reflecting an important reset of business, society, and global integration.
CEOs, market leaders, and strategy analysts from all over the GCC will discuss the most pressing issues of our times confronting the business sector today under a variety of sessions and panels such as The Certainty of Uncertainty; The Execution Challenge; The Inflation Monster; The Metaverse: A fad or a revolution; Battle for skilled talent; IPOs, SPAC, and Raising Capital; A new world: The Blockchain revolution; The leaking pipeline and many others.
TOP CEO Conference and Awards will be held on May 17 and 18, 2022, at Palazzo Versace, Dubai, UAE.
The two-day conference’s mission is to facilitate connections, generate growth opportunities, recognize the GCC’s most prominent executives, and allow participants to freely talk and exchange ideas in both on-and off-record sessions.