ENOC highlights its corporate governance model at Hawkamah Governance Forum

Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), a wholly-owned entity of the Government of Dubai, highlighted its corporate governance model at the Hawkamah Governance Forum held in Dubai.

At the event, organised by the Hawkamah – The Institute for Corporate Governance, ENOC’s Chief Executive Officer Saeed Khoory discussed ‘the role of CEOs in subsidiary governance’ putting the spotlight on the leadership vision and corporate governance framework of the organisation.

Interviewed by Hawkamah CEO Leonardo F. Peklar at the forum, Saeed Khoory shared his philosophy and leadership style with the audience. On asked why corporate governance was important to him, Khoory said: “ENOC is part of everybody’s daily life in Dubai. Either they use petrol provided by ENOC petrol stations, or they register their car through Tasjeel. Even when they go on vacation, flying in an airline from Dubai, we are touching their lives indirectly, as ENOC supplies jet fuel to these airlines. Therefore, I believe it is our responsibility towards everyone living in Dubai, as well as to our employees and the Government that we promote a strong corporate governance culture within our organisation. This will not only lead us to the highest success, but also help build unconditional trust among our stakeholders.”

He elaborated the importance of Corporate Governance at the subsidiary level, stating: “Corporate Governance is not about controls and doing everything as per policies and procedures. It is about how you run your business as well as manage effective communications. Our subsidiaries and joint ventures, both domestic and international, follow the same Corporate Governance guidelines as adopted by ENOC.”

Khoory added that the biggest challenge in implementing Corporate Governance was change management, especially since people usually resist change.

Aley Raza, Director – IA & BE of ENOC, provided a detailed insight on the history of ENOC, the organisation’s Corporate Governance journey and its Corporate Governance programme.

At the forum, a panel discussion was held where Aley Raza and Petri Pentti, ENOC’s CFO, answered questions from the audience on ENOC’s Corporate Governance programme. The forum was attended by Corporate Governance practitioners representing various sectors including the Dubai Executive Council, telecom, financial institutions and investment management, among others.

ENOC’s corporate governance programme is in line with its expanded geographic presence and business diversification to ensure that all concerned parties adhere to the principles envisioned by the organisation. A ‘Corporate Governance Progression Level Matrix’ has been adopted that aligns all related practices of the company on par with international benchmarks.

The Matrix has six key attributes and four levels starting with ‘compliance with laws and basic corporate governance formalities’ to ‘corporate governance leadership.’ With the new programme in place, ENOC will continuously assess the operations of all its companies to ensure that its existing levels of corporate governance conform to international best practices. These will be enhanced regularly to promote the group’s leadership regionally.

ENOC is also evaluating its existing corporate governance practices across all companies, led by a dedicated team. Following the review, a full-fledged ENOC Code of Corporate Governance will be developed and implemented by the end of the year.