Dr. Gifford Pinchot, "Godfather" of intrapreneurship and Dr. Saad Al Barak among leaders to address Forum

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain - 26 May, 2012 - The Firm (TF), an international private members networking organization for business development and intrapreneurship, today announced that key highlights of the Global Intrapreneurship Forum™ 2012, taking place in Bahrain on May 27-28 2012 at the Gulf Hotel under the patronage of His Excellency, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Hassan Fakhro.

The first ever global conference of its kind dedicated to supporting the development of intrapreneurship within corporations and SMEs will feature a number of exciting business leaders and intrapreneurship experts. This includes a keynote address by Dr. Gifford Pinchot, CEO of Pinchot & Company and Co-founder and President of Bainbridge Graduate Institute, USA. He is known as the "Godfather" of intrapreneurship and was responsible for coining the words "intrapreneur", "intrapreneuring" and "intrapreneurship". The core concept of intrapreneurship is to help those individuals working within large corporations and SMEs better understand how they can leverage their deep industry knowledge and understanding of the business gaps within their sectors to create profitable, new concepts and companies.

The Forum will also hear from Dr Maher Chebbo, VP, Head of EMEA Utilities & Services Industries SAP AG, Germany, who will provide "Top 10 recommendations for a successful intrapreneurship investment in rewarding sectors of the economy." Other key speakers of the Forum are Dr. Saad Al Barak, former CEO of Zain Group Kuwait and Mr. Naveed Khan, Executive Director of Strategic Alliance Association and Former CEO of Siemens Ventures, USA among others.  

Day two of the event will focus on the development of practical tools for fostering intrapreneurship and meeting the following challenges: How to channel intrapreneurial energy into our economies, How to develop the market-place for intrapreneurship, How to network with the emerging providers of intrapreneurship related services, How to network with investors, How to plan for early retirement and How to shift from an intrapreneur to successful businessmen and businesswomen, among other topics.

To address these challenges, Dr. Gifford Pinchot will hold an "Executive Management Workshop on Intrapreneurship," which will be opened by the Forum's Patron, Dr. Hassan Fakhro. The Workshop is designed for business leaders at corporations and SMEs and will focus on encouraging them to develop internal intrapreneurship cultures and programs within their organizations.  It will teach executives and managers how best to foster talent and drive the development of new ideas and ventures.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Abdullah AlSubyani, Founder and CEO of The Firm, said: "With the Forum now upon us, we are delighted to have assembled this expert group of business leaders and intrapreneurs to highlight the importance of intrapreneurship in the growth and development of businesses and economies over all. As the first global forum of its kind, we are certain the event will provide a significant opportunity and platform for individuals, investors and businesses ranging from large corporates to SMEs, and their efforts to develop new projects and ventures. The Forum will not only address the opportunities and challenges for intrapreneurship but importantly give participants access to information, examples and practical advice on how to turn innovative ideas into business realties."

The Forum is being supported by a number of leading public and private sector organizations. Tamkeen is the Forum's "Intrapreneurship Partner" and the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) a Gold Sponsor. Other supporters include: The Federation for the Gulf Chambers of Commerce (FGCC), Gulf Air, the event's Official Airline, Zawya and 24/7 News, the Media Sponsors.

The Firm has also established a high level Executive Steering Committee to ensure the development of a world class event. It is comprised of leading international and regional entrepreneurs and business leaders with knowledge of the unique challenges and issues facing intrapreneurs internationally and in specific high growth sectors and regions of the world including the GCC countries. Members of the committee are: Mr. James Mawson, Founder and Editor of Global Corporate Venturing magazine (UK); Mr. Richard Bendis, founding President and CEO of Innovation America (USA), Mrs. Elham Hassan, an independent consultant and Board Member of organizations such as The Economic Development Board (EDB) and Solidarity Group Holding (Bahrain), Mr. Osama AlKhaja, Chief Executive Officer at Royal Arabian, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain, Mr. Ahmed Al Sari, Executive Partner of Malaz Capital and co-founder of Al-Khaleej Al-Falak Group (Saudi Arabia), Rony Elnashar, Rony El-Nashar, founder & Managing Partner of SeedStartup  and Mr. Hassan AlJabri, CEO of SEDCO Capital (Saudi Arabia).

Further information on the agenda, speakers and other highlights of the Global Intrapreneurship Forum™ 2012 can be found at www.giforum.thefirm-online.com or by contacting The Firm on: 77022550 or 38320634.

About The Firm
Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, The Firm (TF) is an international private members organization established to provide a unique platform to corporates and investors to enhance business development and encourage and support corporate entrepreneurship ("intrapreneurship") within and between organisations worldwide. The Firm serves a regional and international member base consisting of leading global companies, investment institutions, and corporate entrepreneurs (intrapreneurs) that benefit from the club's private network and broad range of high-impact business development forums and events across key industry sectors.

The Firm is founded by a number of leading corporate intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs from the Middle East region and globally. It is further supported by an international Advisory Board comprised of individuals with significant experience in entrepreneurship and corporate investment. Membership to The Firm is referral based in order to ensure the development of a high calibre network from regional and international markets that can provide value and support the creation of an effective market place for business development and intrapreneurship.

For more information please visit: www.thefirm-online.com

© Press Release 2012