Bahrain to host TOP CEO Conference & Awards

Manama, Apr. 8 (BNA): GFH Financial Group (GFH) has announced that this year’s Top CEO Conference & Awards will be held on April 11, 2019 in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Al Areen Palace & Spa with the Group acting as its Country Hosts. With the support of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and line with GFH’s efforts to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain as an investment, business and leisure destination, the Group secured the move of the awards to Bahrain this year, where more than 500 regional CEOs and business leaders are set to gather. The Top CEO Conference & Awards, now in its 5th year, organized by the Dubai-headquartered multi-dimensional media firm Mediaquest, which over the past decade, has showcased the vision and ingenuity of leading CEOs from the region and beyond. The event each year aims to gather business leaders from around the region and their international counterparts to look at the burning issues that CEOs in the Middle East, which continues to undergo rapid transformation, need to tackle today for sustainable growth and success. Addressing the conference are a world-class lineup of speakers and panellists. Kicking off the day will be keynote addresses by the Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB, Khalid Al Rumaihi, and CEO of GFH Financial Group, Hisham Alrayes. Other keynotes will be delivered by Jassim Alseddiqi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) and Chairman of GFH Financial Group, and the renowned economist and author, Professor Nouriel Roubini, who is famed with predicting the 2008 global financial crisis and is set to speak on "Building Knowledge Economies." Other plenary, panel and breakout sessions will look at a ring of critical topics shaping the regional economies today including: "Future of Growth Amid Volatility", "Bahrain’s Growth Dynamics", "Future of Women Business Leadership", "Structural Reforms and Direct Investment", "The Blockchain Opportunity" and "The Human Factor and Tech Innovation", among others. Jassim Alseddiqi, Chairman of GFH, said, "We are delighted with the opportunity to host some of the region’s top visionaries in the Kingdom of Bahrain, a leading business, financial and investment hub for the region. We are at an important time of transition and change in the global economies and regional markets alike and the opportunity to share and exchange ideas and tackle the most important challenges and opportunities of the day together will help illuminate the path that we are on and the strategies being used by the region’s top CEOs and their teams to maximise the vast potential that exists in the GCC and broader Middle East region. As a major investor in the Kingdom of Bahrain, we are particularly excited to help showcase and highlight Bahrain’s growth dynamics and the important strides being made in key areas of the economy including financial services, Fintech and other knowledge and technology based advancements that GFH itself continues to invest in and support." Alexandre Hawari, Co-CEO of Mediaquest – the company behind the Top CEO Conference and Awards – commented: "Our region is going through a digital transformation and is embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution at a rapid pace. Despite global and regional challenges, there are several green shoots when it comes to reforms, innovation, entrepreneurship, women leadership, and digitization. In this context, the Top CEO Conference and Awards will highlight and discuss new business models, collaborative economic eco-systems, disruptive leadership, the impact of new technologies and innovative growth strategies. In order to highlight the importance of concepts such as design thinking and decision-making, the Conference will bring regional context to global challenges." Similarly, the TOP CEO Awards, which will be presented at a Gala Dinner at Al Areen Palace & Spa following the conference, have been designed to be world class with selection and criteria decided with full transparency. The Awards are being judged in collaboration with top ranked global business school, INSEAD, as well as with the support of the Dubai- based corporate governance institute Hawkamah in addition to a leading external global audit firm. Selected and shortlisted for the awards are publicly listed companies, with those selected for the shortlist assessed on hard facts such as growth, profitability, size and corporate governance. Award categories are based on the key business sectors under which companies are listed on the GCC stock markets. They are: Banking, Financial Services and Investment, Tech and Media, Insurance, Retail, FMCG and Consumer Care, Energy and Utilities, Malls, Real Estate and Construction, Mining, Metals and Chemicals and Sharia-compliant banks and financial services.