Keynote Address given by Mr. Omar K. Alghanim

Kuwait - 26 March 2014: Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), recently hosted a seminar in Kuwait focused on family businesses and how to create proper structures to ensure sustainability. 

Mr. Omar K. Alghanim, CEO of Alghanim Industries, Chairman of Gulf Bank and a Board Member of the Family Business Network, presented as the keynote speaker.   Mr. Alghanim delivered a powerful speech to a capacity crowd, emphasizing the importance of creating the proper structures in family businesses to ensure longevity and to foster, reward and retain the best talent.  "Within 3 generations less than 10% of family owned companies are still owned by the same family; those that do survive, tend to outperform their corporate peers" noted Mr. Alghanim.

Upon conclusion of Mr. Alghanim's address, Mr. Essam Al Tamimi, the founder and senior partner of Al Tamimi & Co echoed the same views. "From a succession point of view, Shariah is a perfect system in protecting the rights of family members with respect to inheritance issues.  However, legal structures need to be put into place to sustain the continuity and prosperity of the businesses that the founders of the same have created.  Without implementing a proper succession plan, the individual's estate, which would include his business, would suffer from fragmentation of ownership", said Mr. Al Tamimi.

In addition, Mr. Alex Saleh, Partner and Head of the Kuwait office of Al Tamimi & Co, presented along with Mr. Gary Watts, Regional Head of Corporate Commercial of Al Tamimi & Co.  Finally, Mr. Amin Nasser, and Mr. Daryoush Pour presented on behalf of PWC.

Mr. Saleh and Mr. Watts then discussed the mechanics of implementing a legal structure that would accomplish the various goals and objectives.  Mr. Saleh focused on Kuwait companies and how the new company's law allows for greater flexibility in structuring a succession plan, while Mr. Watts focused on the family arrangements, including the establishment of family trusts off-shore.

Mr. Saleh, who first arrived to Kuwait in 1994, remarked that "as a legal professional who has advised many of the Kuwaiti merchant families for decades now, I am passionate about encouraging these families to structure their companies in a way that allows for continued progress and growth".

After the seminar, the crowd engaged the presenters in an open floor session of questions and answers, and ended with a networking session.  Mr. Yaqoub Al Munayae, the Al Tamimi & Company Kuwait Joint Venture Partner noted, "We are pleased to discuss this very important topic; the feedback from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive."    

-Ends-

About Al Tamimi & Company
Al Tamimi & Company was established in 1989 and is the largest regional law firm, with thirteen fully-owned offices or through partners in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and employs over 500 staff and 270 lawyers.  The Kuwait office offers full legal service in Kuwait through a joint venture with Kuwait lawyer Yaqoub Yousef Al Munayae.  

For further information, please visit:  www.tamimi.com

© Press Release 2014