Dubai, UAE, 16th February 2012: As part of its "Business Talks" series, the Tharawat Business Family Forum organized a conference on "New Perspectives on Organizational Structures" in Dubai. The conference brought together regional and international family business leaders and their young generation members for a comprehensive overview on the need for structural innovation in order to maintain growth and adapt to a rapidly changing world.
The conference held in Dubai, on Monday February 13th, 2012 at the Palace Hotel Downtown, was opened by Dr. Hischam El Agamy, Executive Director of Tharawat Family Business Forum, UAE and the Institute of Management Development (IMD), Switzerland, who, as he welcomed the more than 50 attendees from the Arab region, noted that "Business leaders sharing experiences and real cases is one of the most important sources of learning for any family business. What better way to learn than from a leader, who has guided his organization through change to come out stronger and ready to face the regional and global challenges?"
The conference attendees were family business leaders from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, Lebanon, and Pakistan. The four distinguished speakers from among the most successful family businesses in the Gulf address the diverse audience by introducing their organizational structures and explaining the journeys of their companies to a stage in which they have the capacity to grow despite internal and external challenges.
In an introductory overview, Mrs. Noor Sweid, Managing Director Strategy, Depa Ltd. addressed the impact of organisational structure on businesses. She stressed that it is essential for leaders to examine each element of their organisational structure in detail and to understand that such structures need to be adapted according to the growth strategy of an organization.
In an insightful overview, Mr. Essa Al Ghurair, Chairman of Al Ghurair Foods and Vice Chairman of Al Ghurair Investments outlined the development of Al Ghurair Investments, which saw the company re-aligning its core business units to sustain growth and absorb innovation.
Mr. Abdullah Almajdouie, President of the Almajdouie Group in Saudi Arabia took the floor to map his family business' journey from a group of companies to a holding structure, emphasizing the fact that strengthening the corporate structure of a company is an ongoing process.
The final presentation was given by Mr. Khalid Al Zamil, Managing Director Strategy Planning of the Zamil Group. Mr. Al Zamil addressed the elements of family governance that have to be in place to be able to strengthen the owning family and to enable it to address the requirements of the business and the family in an efficient manner.
The conference ended after an intense exchange of questions and answers between the audience and the speakers. In his closing words Dr. HIscham El Agamy emphasized the importance of creating a strong family business community through Tharawat, which enables families to exchange best practices and to freely debate the pressing issues of our times. Participants left the conference with new ideas, and the knowledge of how to innovate and use best practices in organizational business structures of their own.
-Ends-
About the Tharawat Family Business Forum, Dubai, UAE:
Tharawat Family Business Forum is a non-profit organization, managing a network of family-owned enterprises in the MENA and is the first Arab forum for family firms. The purpose of the organization is to provide a platform for the mutual exchange of knowledge and insights on management, growth, continuity, strategy and other business-related topics. Tharawat Family Business Forum was founded in 2006 by several Arab family businesses and Dr. Hischam El Agamy.
www.tharawat.org
www.tharawat-magazine.com
www.youtube.com/user/tharawatfbf
www.facebook.com/tharawat
www.twitter.com/tharawatfbf
Tharawat Family Business Forum
Media Contact:
Ms. Nadine Wells
Dubai
00971 (0)4452 6578
Office Times: Sunday to Thursday, 9am-6pm
info@tharawat.org
media@tharawat.org
www.tharawat.org
© Press Release 2012
