Khalid Abdulla-Janahi

By : Khalid Abdulla-Janahi

:: Some of the key contributors to our region’s collective growth are gathering at the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia to celebrate and help further develop the most important factors driving business.

Chief executives from the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) top listed companies will be attending tonight’s Top CEO Awards ceremony, based on a ranking derived from the annual reports of publicly listed companies. It is an awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of the region’s top players in the market, and is one of the most credible and transparent awards events in the GCC region.

Top CEO Conference and Awards are being hosted privately by Trends magazine and Insead business school. Unlike many other award-conference combination events in the region, they are truly and completely independent.

This, in my opinion, is exactly what the region needs at this key juncture — a credible, independent platform that celebrates transparency, leadership and ethics while also providing an opportunity to share knowledge, experience and expertise in these important areas.

The Top CEO Awards evaluate all companies listed on GCC stock exchanges, based on their annual reports, to help determine the 100 best CEOs. The awards are unique in the region because only the CEOs of listed companies are eligible. The award process is transparent and audited, and the organizers also work with other independent agencies to ensure that corporate governance and disclosures form part of the ranking.

The Top CEO Awards are run according to clear processes, celebrating good leadership and governance — just the kind of qualities regional businesses need to embrace.

Khalid Abdulla-Janahi

The accompanying Top CEO Conference — the open sessions of which are held today — will also allow for frank, and hopefully thought-provoking discussions among opinion leaders and business executives.

This will help bring global issues — against the backdrop of the “fourth industrial revolution,” and the urgent need for innovation — into a regional context. It will help participants consider the best ways to move the region forward.

Transparency, leadership and ethics are key factors driving our region’s economic growth and preparing us for our collective futures. In celebrating and helping develop these particular factors, the Top CEO Conference and Awards really define the needs of the hour.

Khalid Abdulla-Janahi is the group chief executive of Dar Al-Mal Al-Islami Trust (DMI Trust), with over 30 years of experience in banking and financial services.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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