Highlights from Previous Luncheons

 

The Emerging Need for Interim Executives in the Middle East

This luncheon included presentations by Aaron Bielenberg, Senior Vice President of the Recovery and Transformation Services at McKinsey & Company and Robert Palazzo, Group CFO of Al Jaber Group.

Leadership Development and Onboarding

Presentations were from KPMG partner Rohit Rajvanshi and Al Futtaim Training Director Eric Keoman. Eric was able to share Al Futtaim’s ‘accelerated leadership pathway’ initiative in contribution to the discussion.

Pathway to Non-Executive Director & Board Appointments

Qamar Rasheed, CFO with Smartworld, gave a presentation at this luncheon. Qamar has sat on a number of high profile MENA boards including NGSCO, D&K Holdings – ENOC, Souq Extra and Oman Aviation. There was also a talk by Ben Derwent, founder of Derwent Executive, global boutique search firm.

Growth Issues for Family Group – Listing or Refinancing

Presentations from Majed Mansour, Director and Senior Partner at Falcon Equity and Simi Nehra, Head of M&A at KPMG.

The Dynamic Role of the CFO in holding companies, private equity, and sovereign wealth environments

This luncheon included presentation by Muhammad Khurram Ashraf, Director of Finance & Accounting of Dubai Holding; Taimoor Labib, Regional Head of Private Equity of Standard Chartered; and Russell Yeomans, founding partner of Derwent Executive in MENA. It covered the dynamic commercial mandate of the CFO, supporting CEO & Board; Critical success factors for CFO’s; Getting the business ready for sale, IPO and Wealth creation.

Peak Performance at the Executive Level

This luncheon addressed the general challenge of establishing an Employee of Choice brand in family groups in the UAE with presentation by Nicolai Tillisch, Founder of Dual Impact & Author of Effective Business in the Gulf. Nicolai conducts executive coaching, and runs tailored leadership development programs. Also presenting was Leadership Coach Dr. Mike Ryan.