CONFERENCE CONVENES BUSINESS ELITE TO DELVE INTO NOTION OF BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
INSEAD, one of the world's leading business schools, hosted the 2014 Global Business Leaders Conference yesterday at the Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.
Focusing on business as a force of good, the conference featured a keynote speech from H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Department of Transport and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and an address from H.E. Dr. Amal Abdullah Juma Al Qubaisi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Prominent business figures, including Andrè Sayegh, Chief Executive Officer, First Gulf Bank; Fadi Ghandour, Founder & Vice Chairman, Aramex and Tommy Weir, Founder and Managing Director of the Emerging Markets Leadership Center, were among the industry luminaries who spoke at the conference.
In his keynote speech, H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Department of Transport and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority remarked, “Within a few decades, the UAE has become an international destination that is one of the world’s most desired places to visit, to do business and to reside in. For a country to really prosper, it needs to have businesses, regardless of how big or small. These businesses need to be set up for the benefit of all. You need to make sure that at the core, business is a force for growth, a force for prosperity and a force for the greater good. It means a better education, a better lifestyle, and a better future for our children and our children’s children. We’re setting up the system for future generations to explore their potential and take the country to an even superior plane of economic, political and cultural existence. Let your business be a force for good,” added H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
H.E. Dr. Amal Abdullah Juma Al Qubaisi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council opened her speech by addressing the significance of the contribution of business & innovation to the betterment of society: “Abu Dhabi has long recognized that the marriage of business and innovation is central to economic prosperity. Abu Dhabi vision 2030 is about producing visionary business leaders that help diversify our economy by building new companies and creating new jobs that are anchored on the right values and high standards of ethics and practice.”
Delivering his opening address to the conference's delegates, Ilian Mihov, Dean, Professor of Economics and Novartis Chaired Professor of Management and Environment, INSEAD said, “INSEAD's Global Business Leaders Conferences provide a platform for our renowned faculty and alumni, and today's business leaders to share their unique insights on the opportunities and challenges confronting them as well as to engage in thought-provoking discussions in a dynamic setting. This year's conference theme goes to the heart of an issue confronting corporations today – are business performance and societal progress mutually exclusive, or can business be the driving force for the greater good? At INSEAD, it is our goal through teaching and leveraging our Global Business Leaders Conferences to drive meaningful dialogue and debate so as to nurture leaders and entrepreneurs who create tangible, long-lasting value, not only for their organisations but also for their communities.”
Miguel Lobo, Associate Professor of Decision Sciences and Director of INSEAD’s Abu Dhabi Campus added, “We are pleased that INSEAD's fourth Global Business Leaders Conference has been a success. The Middle East plays an increasingly important role on the global economic stage and we are excited to harness some of the region's most influential business minds at this year's conference.”
The conference featured sessions, panel discussions and interviews examining the dual, and often conflicting, aspirations of enterprise and society, and the role of business in societal change.
Subramanian Rangan, Professor of Strategy and Management, The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Endowed Chair in Societal Progress, INSEAD, explored the fundamental dilemmas associated with capitalism, ranging from climate change and fairness to future generations to the growing income disparity in his session “Irreconcilable Differences? Capitalism, Business and Society”. Rangan also raised the issue of reconciling business performance with societal progress and whether the responsibility for progress ultimately lies with government, before chairing a panel discussion on the subject.
Other topics covered at the conference included 'New Business Models Move the World', the disruption of established businesses and economic systems. Speaking to delegates, Karan Girotra, Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management, INSEAD highlighted some of the greatest challenges facing mankind including environmental sustainability, urbanisation and demographic change. Having extensively examined the process of business process innovation in his research, Girotra, co-author of the book The Risk Driven Business Model, went on to discuss how these challenges might be best overcome by new business models and provide new entrepreneurial opportunities.
This year's INSEAD Global Business Leaders Conference saw a record number of senior leaders from both the private and public sector, coupled with INSEAD alumni who have deep insight into local and regional cultures, in lively discussions centred on the conference theme of Business as a Force of Good. These discussions served as a reminder that, in the pursuit of growth and profit, enterprises need awareness of their societal impact.
