DUBAI — The “Top CEO Conference and Awards” will return to Saudi Arabia for the second time on April 10-11 at King Abdullah Economic City, where business leaders and more than 40 expert speakers from across the Arab Gulf and the Middle East will gather to discuss the burning issues facing the corporate world today, while also recognizing the very best in business leadership.
Julien Hawari, Co-CEO of Mediaquest — the company behind the “Top CEO Conference and Awards” — commented: “The Arab Gulf and the Middle East have entered a new phase. Youth and women are being empowered, start-ups are making their mark and new political relations are being formed, yet challenges lie ahead. In this context, the ‘Top CEO Conference and Awards’ will ask participants to consider how business leaders and governments can transform old bureaucratic administration and implement new strategies to prepare them for the future. The event aims to frame global issues — specifically disruptive leadership, innovative corporate strategies and changing dynamics of the business ecosystem — in a regional context to help executives and leaders navigate challenges, embrace a new reality and take their organizations forward in the right direction.”
The first day of the conference will kick off with the newly launched “Arab Women Forum.” The new forum aims to enhance and support the growing contribution of Arab women to the region’s economy and society and will serve as an elite gathering of top female executives, decision-makers, professionals and experts on women empowerment and business leadership.
The second day will feature a comprehensive agenda of sessions covering topics ranging from “The Execution Challenge,” “Moving Away from Bureaucracy” and “Maintaining Momentum” to “The Social Model,” “The Private Sector” and “A New Era.” Other topics include “Leveling the Playing Ground,” “Internationalizing Business,” “Lean and Mean” and “Startups: Rethinking the Ecosystem” as well as forward-thinking sessions on “Beyond Vision 2030” and “Securing the Future.”
The Top CEO Awards, organised by TRENDS magazine and INSEAD, the leading international business school, are designed to honor the region’s top 100 CEOs from publicly listed companies in a credible and transparent process based on hard facts such as growth, profitability, size and corporate governance. The awards program is also supported by Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance to ensure that corporate governance and disclosure criteria are strictly adhered to as a part of the ranking, as well as a global auditor to ensure full transparency. The award-winners will be announced on 11th April as a fitting conclusion to the “Top CEO Conference and Awards.”
The event is supported by American Express as the strategic sponsor, King Abdullah Economic City as the strategic partner, Al Aan and DHL as silver sponsors, KPMG as bronze sponsor, INSEAD and IPSOS as knowledge partners and the Capital Club Bahrain, ECA and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce as supporting partners. Communication sponsors of the event include Cicero & Bernay Public Relations as PR partner, Arab News as official English media partner, the BBC World News as international TV partner and The New York Times as media partner. — SG
