Dunkin' brands Executive Chairman shows how to turn challenges into profit

DUBAI: Entrepreneurs can learn how to turn challenges into profits  at  an  exclusive evening with business legend   Nigel Travis, Executive Chairman  of  Dunkin’ Brands, parent company of two global brands, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins. The event is hosted by the Emirates Literature Foundation on Sunday 11 November at 7pm at the World Trade Club Dubai.

Travis was Chairman and CEO of Dunkin' Brands for almost a decade and now serves as Executive Chairman. He has held senior positions with big name brands such as Papa John, Burger King and Blockbuster. Speaking to a small group in an imtimate setting, Travis will explain why businesses need to be more flexible, more egalitarian, and more able to adapt. He believes that embracing challenges will bring new ideas and improve existing practices, leading to long term success for business. The talk expands on Travis’ new book, The Challenge Culture.

‘This is an amazing opprtunity for business professionals in the UAE to gain insights from the Executive Chairman  of a major global brand and learn how to turn challenges around so that they bring success,’ said Isobel Abulhoul, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation ‘We’ve kept spaces limited so that those taking part can really engage and benefit from the event. It’s an evening not to be missed by anyone who want to run their company more effectively, boost their brand, and get ahead in business.’

Book a place online here at only AED 30 ticket, AED 100 with book (signed at event).

More information about the Emirates Literature  Foundation can be found online and year-round news of #ELFDubai on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

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For more information, please contact:
Elise Butler
Tel: +971 55 980 6697
emirateslitfest@fourcommunications.com
Rahaf Awad
Tel: +971 55 591 0723
emirateslitfest@fourcommunications.com

1.Nigel Travis Biography
Nigel Travis was named Chief Executive Officer of Dunkin' Brands in January 2009 and appointed to the additional role of Chairman of the Board in May 2013.  In July 2018 he stepped down as CEO and became the Executive Chairman of the Board.

From 2005 through 2008, Travis served as President & CEO of Papa John’s, the pizza chain with annual system-wide sales of $2.1 billion and more than 3,300 restaurants throughout the U.S. and 29 international markets. Prior to Papa John’s, Travis was with Blockbuster, Inc. from 1994 to 2004, where he served in increasing roles of responsibility, including President & Chief Operating Officer. Before that, he was with Burger King, first as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and later as Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.He has been an avid sports fan all his life with his true passion being his support of the East London Football team, Leyton Orient F.C., which along with a consortium he bought in June 2017.  Travis now is Chairman of the Club.  He has also coached in the UK and America for 48 years and currently coaches his two young children in Wellesley, MA.

Travis received a bachelor’s degree in business administration for Middlesex University in England. He previously served as Lead Director on the Board of Directors for Office Depot, where he currently serves as a board member.His first book, “The Challenge Culture” is being launched in the US and UK in September 2018.

2. The Challenge Culture
The executive chairman and former CEO of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins reflects on the unique, results-oriented discipline he's developed over decades of leadership, which provides a blueprint for any organization to achieve prosperity.

‘We live in an era in which successful organizations can fail in a flash. But they can cope with change and thrive by creating a culture that supports positive pushback: questioning everything without disrespecting anyone.’

Nigel Travis has forty years of experience as a leader in large and successful organizations, as well as those facing existential crisis-such as Blockbuster as it dawdled in the face of the Netflix challenge. In his ten years as CEO and chairman of Dunkin' Brands, Travis fine-tuned his ideas about the challenge culture and perfected the practices required to build it. He argues that the best way for organizations to succeed in today's environment is to embrace challenge and encourage pushback. Everyone-from the new recruit to the senior leader-must be given the freedom to speak up and question the status quo, must learn how to talk in a civil way about difficult issues, and should be encouraged to debate strategies and tactics-although always in the spirit of shared purpose. How else will new ideas emerge? How else can organizations steadily improve?

Through colorful storytelling, with many examples from his own career-including his leadership in turning around the fear-ridden culture of the London-based Leyton Orient Football Club, of which he is part owner-Travis shows how to establish a culture that welcomes challenge, achieves exceptional results, and ensures a prosperous future.

3. About the Emirates Literature Foundation:

The Emirates Literature Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which supports and nurtures a love of literature in the United Arab Emirates and the region, through a programme of varied cultural initiatives.

Established in 2013 by Royal Decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Foundation aims to foster a love for literature, with a focus on the Arabic language.

In line with the National Reading Policy of the UAE, the Foundation has implemented several long-term projects including the School Librarian of the Year Award and the annual Arabic Language Week, as well as conducting year-round student education programmes, book clubs and creative writing courses. The Foundation’s previous initiatives included the 2016 Dubai Translation Conference and the 2017 Dubai International Publishing Conference, which hosted a number of international participants.

The Foundation is also the governing body of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the UAE’s premier literary festival, which will be held from 1-9 March, 2019.

Emirates Literature Foundation
Dar Al Adaab
Al Shindagha Historical Neighbourhood
PO Box 24506
Dubai, UAE
www.elfdubai.org

4. About the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature:
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is the Arab World’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, featuring international and regional writers, poets, thinkers and speakers from around the world. In 2018, 41,780 visitors enjoyed the Festival’s main programme of events starring David Walliams, Jacqueline Wilson, His Excellency Omar Saif Ghobash, Anthony Horowitz and Shashi Tharoor, among many others.

The aim of the Festival is to develop a culture of reading as an enjoyable habit in the UAE, and its efforts have been recognised through many awards over the years. By providing an equal platform for international and locally-based talents, the Festival continues to build the literary landscape in the UAE and further afield.

Alongside the main programme, the Festival organises an Education programme, which positively impacted on 28,000 students across the UAE in 2018. The programme includes education days, student sessions and author school visits where young people meet and interact with their favourite authors, plus student competitions, held in Arabic and English, which allow young people to showcase their skills through poetry, short stories and reading.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Festival is a key part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established in 2013 by Royal Decree. In partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will be on from 1-9 March 2019.

For information and updates about the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature visit the website: www.emirateslitfest.com

© Press Release 2018