H.H. Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan, Chairman, Bin Zayed Group, Maha Mulla Hussain of PIC and Donald Sull of London Business School Share Insight and Expertise
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Agility, the harnessing of talent and regionally-relevant strategies were just some of the hot topics that were addressed at today's GPCA Talent Convention sessions.
The convention, which takes place from 9-11 October, 2011 at Park Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, is designed to give local and regional company executives a platform to exhibit their knowledge in the fields of strategic organizational capabilities and development and talent management.
Ms. Maha Mulla Hussain, GPCA Board Member and Chairperson GPCA HR Committee, President & CEO of Kuwait-based Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), began the mornings proceedings by highlighting the importance and relevance of this inaugural event.
According to Ms Hussain, "This event is a testament to the fact that promoting knowledge transfer and sharing best practices amongst members, building the organizational capabilities within the petrochemical sector and consequently synergizing and capitalizing on talent have become key focus areas for the GPCA."
H.H. Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan, Chairman, Bin Zayed Group gave the opening address this morning, recognizing and addressing regional HR issues.
"Paying attention to the human element has become so integral to the success of any organization in this part of the world. Today you can acquire any resource but unless you have the talent to efficiently use these resources and create competitive advantage, it means very little. People are key and it is our responsibility to harness this talent and make our communities, be it our companies or our countries, as efficient as possible," he said.
Dr. Donald Sull, Professor of Management Practice in Strategic and International Management and the Faculty Director of Executive Education at the London Business School, also spoke this morning, after conducting a very insightful pre-conference workshop the day before.
This morning, he discussed key drivers but also old-school beliefs and archaic mindsets that hinder most companies from being agile and seizing opportunities. By bursting common myths and using both regional and globally successful companies as examples, he urged Gulf companies to focus on ambition in order to become globally competitive.
"You need to raise your sights and think big and global. It is also essential to think beyond the hardware. Focus on the software and your people. Finally, find people who have the drive and passion, harness these attributes and convert them into success," he concluded.
Strategy lessons were given by Mr. Ramesh Ramchandran, CEO, MEGlobal. He highlighted the vast differences between the Middle East and the rest of the world in his presentation. Western models and theories cannot be applied to this part of the world, according to him. Locally advantaged models work here.
"If you allow a person to define their job, the results will be amazing. Organizations that are not agile will not be sustainable in the Middle East. It's very easy to steal employees away from staid, boring organizations here," he said.
Other speakers on Day 1 included Mr. Oliver Triebel, Partner, McKinsey & Company, Lulwa Al Mutlaq, Chairwomen, President & CEO Golden Trust Co. and Ms. Reem Al-Ghanim, Coordinator Office Planning and Design Div. Saudi Aramco.
Other topics high on the Day 1 agenda included Regional Culture and Organization, High Performance Organizations and Understanding Workforce Needs, with speakers from SABIC, Zain Group, Ernst and Young, Towers Watson and Al Jazeera Media Training & Development Centre on hand to share their experience and expertise.
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About the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association
Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) is the first such association to represent the interests of the industry in the Middle East and it has brought a major dimension to its task by creating both a forum for discussion and a place where likeminded people can meet and share concepts and ideas. Since its inception in March 2006, the GPCA has earned the enviable reputation for steering the regional industry towards a whole new level of co-operation and raising the standard in terms of common ground interests.
As the regions' Petrochemicals and Chemicals Industry's most respected representative body, GPCA will continue its efforts to enhance the role of the region in international debate and policy making while always ensuring that its doors are always open to its members and it acts as a catalyst for focusing attention on matters on issues relevant to the industry.
GPCA's mission is singular and specific in that it intends to support the growth and sustainable development of the petrochemical and chemical industries in the Gulf in partnership with its members and stakeholders and be both a sounding board and a meeting point for debate and discussion. Additional information is available at www.gpca.org.ae
© Press Release 2011
