His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group inaugurated the first CEO Leadership Summit organized by Dubai Quality Group (DQG) at the Dubai International Financial Centre yesterday (March 4th).
Dubai’s centre as a global financial services hub to match London and New York is dependent on the Banking and Finance sector’s industry commitment and their CEOs pioneering measures to set world class standards. This belief emerged strongly at the inaugural CEO Leadership Summit, organized by the Dubai Quality Group’s Banking and Finance Sub-Group earlier today.
It was unanimously agreed at the meeting that CEOs will need to lay down formal targets and standards to have a measurable impact on improving the sector over the next five years.
Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group, the summit was titled; “Roadmap to Excellence - Creating a World Class Financial Hub.” The invitation-only conference for financial sector leaders was the first such event held and will be an annual occurrence.
HH Sheikh Ahmed in his welcome message said: “Dubai is an economic success story on a global scale. Yet we cannot stand still. As HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, so clearly outlined in his presentation of Dubai’s economic plan to 2015, we have instituted and planned for new framework conditions, policies, initiatives and projects to move Dubai to the next frontier of success.”
“Our aim is to bring Dubai to the next frontier of success. Our aim is to achieve by 2015 a level of GDP commensurate with some of the most advanced European economies and bring about growing prosperity for our people,” Sheikh Ahmed said.
“Dubai’s goal is to become not only the region’s top financial centre but a world-class hub in banking and financial services. In order to achieve this, CEOs will have to assume a crucial role in creating the right professionals,” Sheikh Ahmed remarked.
The Dubai Quality Group (DQG), which strives for excellence in all walks of life especially in business, recently set up the Banking and Finance Sub-Group under the guidance of HH Sheikh Ahmed. This is the Sub-Group’s first of several key initiatives to bring workplace excellence of global standards to Dubai and its business community.
In his presentation titled “Is Dubai on Track?” Mr. Nasser Al Shaali, CEO, DIFC, outlined some impressive statistics that highlighted the phenomenal levels of growth and economic diversity that the city was experiencing; “Dubai’s GDP growth in 2005 was 27%,” he said. “In 1985, oil accounted for half of the GDP and in 2005 it was less than 6%.” He thanked the CEOs in attendance for their contribution to the city’s expansion. “It is because of people like you - the financial wizards, experts and knowledge workers, who have transformed the vision of Dubai into reality,” he said.
The Summit covered various related subjects including “Compliance, Regulation, and Governance: Are we good enough?” which was moderated by Samuel Lohman, Offshore Institute, 32 Group, Geneva Trust; “Service & Customer Advocacy: Can we compete with London and New York?” which was moderated by Brett King, CEO, American Academy of Financial Management and User Strategy; and “Direct Investment: Would you invest here?” which was moderated by Gordian Gaeta, Author and Private Equity Specialist.
Marwan Al Sawaleh, Chairman, DQG, said: “To begin with, I would like to thank HH Sheikh Ahmed for his constant guidance and support. The Banking and Finance Sub-Group activities are focused towards helping businesses in the region develop a code of practice, benchmarks and standards for improving our global competitiveness. The Sub-Group will also earnestly strive to ensure such elements are practical and attainable.”
“The DQG will continue to create opportunities for members and professionals to enhance their knowledge and build on their services. Through conferences and training programs DQG will offer all the help needed to improve performance levels and to obtain a sufficient quality system,” Mr. Al Sawaleh added.
Osama Hamza Al Rahma, Director of DQG and Chairman of the Banking and Finance Sub-Group, said: “It is our sincere desire to bring the top-level industry professionals and CEOs to share best practices and knowledge in Banking and Finance services for the general benefit of the community. We are confident our efforts will steer the banking and finance sector professionals towards global standards and help Dubai achieve the status of a true hub.”
Ms. Samia Al Yousif, DQG's Manager, said: “The DQG Sub-Groups will stay on their paths to work towards creating awareness on the best practices among the business community in particular and the society in general. We are hopeful the CEO Leadership Summit and other such events will have a substantial impact on the business practices in the region especially Dubai.”
