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JULY 2009 T h e O n l i n e E x e c u t i v e N e w s f o r C o r p o r a t e L e a d e r s p4 Advisory Board of Stanton Chase International – Middle East Executive Newswire Within the context of the current challenges in a constantly changing and demanding business environment, Stanton Chase International – Middle East proceeded in the development of an Advisory Board. Its members are prominent professionals, with academic and professional background, coming from different geographical areas but, still, with experience in the GCC region and in HR and human talent issues. Their role will be to assist Stanton Chase in facing more effectively and efficiently the needs of the companies, by bringing together international know-how from industries not directly related to executive search and thus, add value to the services offered. Mr. Usman A. Ghani A Fortune-100 executive distinguished by his record of developing powerful board policies and business strategies for a variety of industry leaders, including McKinsey & Company, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Exxon Mobil Corporation, and Electronic Data Systems, Usman has held leadership roles in strategic planning, marketing, operations, organization development, IT, and executive education, as well as led cross-functional, multi-cultural core-business process teams. Usman has repeatedly developed winning strategic agendas and been responsible for implementation of board-driven strategies and structures. As a high-value consultant, he serves global leaders across six continents, acquiring a reputation for developing high-performance strategy and building trust with senior executives and technology teams that consistently exceed expectations. Usman holds three Masters Degrees from MIT: in Business Administration, Management of Technology, and Policy Planning from the MIT/Harvard joint program. He is a Visiting Professor at The University of Texas at Dallas, a sponsor of the Harvard Business School Club and an author of The Leader of the Future 2, a best-selling business book including his concept of The Leader Integrator. He has authored “Dynamic Governance,” a business book and concept that takes a holistic approach to providing deep insights into the dynamics and interface of corporate governance and strategy, and is now working on his next book, “InteGreat.” A Benjamin Franklin Fellow in Paris, he is listed in Who’s Who Worldwide. Usman enjoys classical music and studies Asian cultures with interest. Dr Nick van der Walt has held leadership positions in international academia and industry. With a PhD in International Strategic Management, his appointments have included roles as a non-executive director and chairman in the energy and professional services sectors, a trustee of charitable trusts for the community. Having held positions as a full professor and professorial fellow in the fields of international business and corporate governance, Dr van der Walt’s work has included strategic consulting to the boards and senior management of a range of regional and global companies as well as professional bodies. His globally published research has focused on strategy and risk management associated with corporate governance. The strategic and administrative positions held by Dr van der Walt include those of Chief Executive Officer, Dean of Faculty and membership of the senior leadership teams of global educational organizations. In 1999, Dr van der Walt was appointed by President Nelson Mandela as the Honorary Consul for the Republic of South Africa in New Zealand and was tasked with bilateral trade development as well as the support of citizens. Dr van der Walt’s interests include squash and marine sports. Dr Tommy Weir Dr. Tommy specializes in strategic leadership development for fast-growth and emerging markets. He is a thought leader concerning leadership and business, a gifted speaker, and author. Among his publications is the recently released “The CEO Shift”, which explores the new global business environment that requires CEOs to shift their perspectives in order to survive in a competitive, changing world. Dr. Tommy has a rich history of leadership development experience and has held top management and teaching positions throughout his career. He has taught organizational leadership and management courses at the graduate and university level, and consulted in leadership development for global organizations, including many Fortune 100 companies. Moreover he has a rather unique specialization “Arab Leadership Development”. His latest position was as the head of learning and development at Nakheel where he was named the Middle East’s HR Professional of the Year for his market-leading work. While there, Dr. Tommy drove the creation of an innovative learning architecture and leader development program that were as unique as the company’s explosive growth. With a deep understanding of Arab leadership development, he established the best-in-class UAE National Development program. Additionally, he played an instrumental role in the diverse multicultural environment (with over 80 nationalities working together in one location). He holds a Doctorate degree in strategic leadership and is a noted communicator. His writings on leadership in the fastgrowth and emerging markets have been featured in many publications.
By Nicolas Dietz Saudi Arabia, the apparent sleeping giant, is awake and moving forward in many ways not always noticed by the HR industry outside the Kingdom. For example, more women are graduating with college degrees than men. Some economists consider women as the largest un-capped wealth of the nation and not just for their money sleeping in banks, waiting to be invested in promising enterprises, but for the value of women in a knowledge economy. This is a work force waiting to be unleashed with a very strong desire to be more financially independent and add to a society in their own way. The rapidly growing size of Saudi families and more dispersed inheritance are also forcing the next generation to seek for more consistent revenue streams. And not only as a result of having children at a young age. Beyond the telling statistics of survival there is a clear will, a desire to ‘get busy’, away from watching TV for hours on end. Maybe the negative impact of too much TV may actually have a positive side. It could have helped to prime society into the realities of the working industrial world. Only the grandparents that did not grow up with the oil wealth knew too well that life is actually tough and reward does not come without demanding work. The average and affluent Saudis alike are, more than ever, seeking for a job title. Now, in the Kingdom of the 21st century when HR, executive search or training is mentioned I am easily handed a CV and discussion revolves around technical skill and experience and how they view their career ladder. A far cry from the claims they would always have a job waiting for them if they needed, so often expounded over a decade back. In the past one had to employ a minimum number of Saudis to comply with the ‘Saudization’ programs and they showed up late for work, or never. S T A N T O N C H A S E I N T E R N A T I O N A L ISSUE 2 SAUDI MARKET anHRpointofview Today there is a large group of Saudis that are retiring after 30+ year careers in the same field! The Aramco’s and Sabic’s are not the only ones as second and third generation career employees. There is a new sense of pride, added to the tribal or family pride, which is more personal. And with this there is a clear list in the mind of young Saudis as to who is an employer of choice – offering the best training and career plans, like Banque Al Fransi to name one of many. Large corporations have developed a majority Saudi employee base, are efficiently managed and operating a scorecard approach, as do competitive companies in western economies. The most competitive and successful companies have a maturing HR strategy. And their HR departments are closely linked to the executive board – companies can no longer afford to train up and away their brightest and most productive. They have to implement more than the yearly bonus schemes. Beyond the budgets spent on training and dust collected on training manuals, they actually have to manage the entire array of HR tools, they have to deliver a culture of responsibility and not just at the corporate level, at individual level too. The corporate ‘game’ no longer strives mainly in the boardroom, because employees have found a new passion – HR departments. Because HR are not just timekeepers, they are asked for more, they are employee-keepers. The employees that latch on adorn their walls with certificates of course completion and not surprisingly those are the ones that rise and shine. And more importantly, the ones that stay on. p5
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Page 9 and 10: p1 By Juan D. Morales The logistics
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Executive Newswire - Regional Newsletter for Middle East

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