Top 100 CEOs In The Middle East Honoured During “Top CEO Conference And Awards”

The winners of the Top CEO Awards 2018 have been announced following the successful conclusion of the “Top CEO Conference and Awards,” which took place under the “Paradigm Shift” theme at King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, on April 10^th and 11^th. The event saw business leaders and more than 56 expert speakers from across the Middle East gathering to discuss the burning issues facing the corporate world today in a series of keynote sessions and was concluded with an awards ceremony that recognised the exceptional business leadership of the region’s top 100 CEOs.

The Top CEO Awards, organised by TRENDS magazine and INSEAD, the leading international business school, celebrates the region’s best-performing CEOs from companies that are listed on the stock exchanges of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The transparent ranking process is based on hard facts, such as growth, profitability and size, and supported by corporate governance institute Hawkamah to ensure that governance and disclosure criteria are strictly adhered to, as well as a number of global auditors to ensure full transparency.

Julien Hawari, Co-CEO of Mediaquest, the company behind the “Top CEO Conference and Awards,” commented: “Over the years, we are proud to have seen the ‘Top CEO Awards’ growing into a globally esteemed platform that sets a gold standard for business leadership and stimulates business growth by opening up tangible new opportunities for companies in the Middle East. Our meticulous, independent and credible ranking process recognises only the leading expertise and has been designed to distinguish exceptional companies with a respected accolade that boosts their businesses. The winners of the ‘Top CEO Awards’ stand as role models to all members of the region’s business community.”

The second day of the “Top CEO Conference” also featured keynote sessions including “Lean & Mean,” where panellists explored the importance of restructuring businesses in the Gulf and Middle East to adapt to the end of the era of abundance; “The Execution Challenge,” which addressed the fact that the majority of C-suite executives consider poor execution the single biggest hindrance to the growth of their industry; and “Moving away from Bureaucracy,” which considered how hurdles can be removed at an administrative level to allow the public sector to come into its own.

Other topics included “Maintaining Momentum,” “The Social Model,” “The Private Sector” and “A New Era,” as well as “Levelling the Playing Ground,” “Internationalising Business,” “Startups: Rethinking the Ecosystem,” and forward-thinking sessions on “Beyond Vision 2030” and “Securing the Future.”

The event was supported by American Express as the Strategic Sponsor, King Adbullah Economic City as the Strategic Partner, Al Aan and DHL as Silver Sponsors, KPMG as Bronze Sponsor, INSEAD and IPSOS as Knowledge Partners, and the Capital Club Bahrain, ECA, Hawkamah and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce as Supporting Partners. Communication sponsors for the event include Cicero & Bernay Public Relations as PR Partner, Arab News as Official English Media Partner, BBC as International TV Partner, and The New York Times and Nabd App as Media Partners.