Dubai World Future Leaders visit Singapore, Hong Kong and China

Under the Dubai Leaders Program, designed and developed in collaboration with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Dubai-based holding company.

The Asian tour was the third stage of the unique and elite Dubai Leaders Program and it included site visits to leading public and private sector organisations and ports, where a process of observation, questioning and collective reflection helped shape the set of background assumptions for work on Action-Learning Projects. A company-specific case study was also conducted for the participants who were all hand-picked from Dubai World group companies for the one year long Dubai Leaders Program.

The Chairman of Dubai World, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said that Dubai World seeks to propel the national workforce towards becoming future global leaders in the world of business and to make their mark in the international business arena.

'Dubai has been at the forefront of encouraging young talent and our collaboration with Wharton Business School underlies our commitment towards honing our skilled workforce by enabling them to achieve world-class leadership qualities. The Dubai Leaders program will not only boost Dubai World's growth by intensifying efforts towards cultivating new generations of young leaders but will also encourage talented people to participate in Dubai's economy.'

The participants during the journey honed their managerial skills and re-learned how to operate in varied work cultures.. They also learnt from the success of these 3 cities, linking them back to the current and future challenges that Dubai faces. Participants were able to identify the critical challenges that globalization poses for each of these three cities, and compare how the challenges that each faces differ, and ultimately how they differ from those facing Dubai. Participants also looked at how such challenges might affect Dubai World and the strategic and organisational implications they carry.

Mahmoud Saleh, Executive Director, Dubai World said: 'The main aim of the Dubai Leaders Program has been to make our young leaders think globally and expose them to different cultural settings. Through this Program, we have been able to get our team to diverse destinations such as USA, Hong Kong, China and Singapore and learn from their experiences, which are invaluable for us to understand how the international business community operates. The commitment that we have received from the Wharton School has been noteworthy and we have worked hard to ensure that our young leaders receive a comprehensive view of today's global business dynamics.'

The Wharton School has tailored the Dubai Leaders Program with the aim of building a strong pool of corporate leaders within the Group, employing a wide range of learning tools and methods to develop each one of the 35 candidates over a one-year period.

A participant in the Program, Maryam Al Suwaidi, Procurement Manager for Nakheel, commented on the broad perspective and change in mindset that resulted from this Global Learning Journey:

'The networking opportunities that arose during our site visits were invaluable. We were exposed to numerous industries and sectors, and afforded the chance to meet with and pose questions directly to the CEOs and top level Directors of public and private sector organizations such as TEMASEK, Singapore Airlines, Singapore's Economic Development Board, Hong Kong Invest, China's Yantian Container Terminal and many more. The interaction with the top directors running these diverse organizations gave us broad insights into the interactions between state and organization, management styles and planning behind their successes.'

The high-level interactive Program addresses three critical levels of executive educational needs: organization-wide business management skills, operating unit-specific skills, and individual skills.

Mahmood Al Bastaki, Chief Information Officer, Dubai World Corporate Services, and Director, Dubai Trade Portal Department, also one of the 35 participants in the Program said:

'My experience with the program has been fantastic as it gives us a unique opportunity to gain insights into marketing, business development and strategic planning from world renowned gurus. Carrying out case studies on specific companies will also enliven the Dubai World management culture and help our managers to compare and contrast their own management challenges with those experienced by others. Some of the case studies cover ports, airports and other businesses key to Dubai World, and we hope to apply what we've learnt right here in Dubai.'