The conference, which will be held at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as part of DIFCweek, has dedicated half of the programme to a focus on family businesses in the region.
Joseph A Field, senior international partner, Withers Bergman, will give a keynote speech on Institutionalising the Family and Avoiding the Abyss. His session will address the need for succession planning, as well as the move towards selling equity in family businesses and having external directors on the board.
Field said: "International families that have made their mark in business often wish to immortalise the essence of a family by creating a dynasty built around a family mission and a desire to enrich society.
"The old Chinese proverb of 'Rags to Riches to Rags' is, unfortunately, about 95% statistically accurate, even today.
"However, by institutionalising a few simple thoughts and with a little luck, the task of passing family values down through generations becomes a little easier."
Field represents substantial international families on structuring their affairs and estate planning, and advises financial institutions with respect to the establishment of international trust companies and a wide variety of financial services.
In the dedicated panel session on risk management and succession planning, Hussain Al Qemzi, group CEO of Noor Investment Group, joins Richard Goldman, partner in the international law firm Bingham; Stuart Crocker, CEO private banking UAE and Southern Gulf, HSBC; Dr Ayman Hashem, senior vice president - strategic management centre, Savola Group; and Dr Adnan Soufi, managing director for financial investments at SEDCO.
The conference finishes with a panel session on managing and diversifying the family portfolio. Confirmed speakers are: Yousef Al-Essa, CEO Addax Investment Bank; Aman Merchant, executive director, Dubai 9 Group; Mailesh Shah, head of Middle East, Mercer Consulting; and a senior executive from Acropolis Capital.
The full-day conference has been organised by Hawkamah - The Institute for Corporate Governance. Among the high-profile speakers participating in the Hawkamah conference are representatives from the World Bank, OECD and IFC. It forms part of DIFCweek, a week of headline conferences, lectures and seminars to be held at DIFC, November 17 - 23.
Browse
related articles
Corporate governance conference, part of DIFCweek, dedicates a half-day session to family businesses in the region
- United Arab Emirates: Monday, November 05 - 2007 at 14:22
- PRESS RELEASE
The challenges and opportunities for regional family conglomerates will be the focus of an extended session at this year's Hawkamah conference on corporate governance, on November 21.
Related stories
Also consider reading:
Digg
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Browse
related articles
Log in to request more information from DIFC
Notes and media contacts
Confirmed speakers include:• HE Dr Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry
• Dr Nasser Saidi, executive director, Hawkamah
• Rainer Geiger, deputy secretary general, OECD
• Philip Armstrong, head of Global Corporate Governance Forum
• Mahesh Uttamchandani, senior counsel for insolvency & creditor rights, The World Bank
• Hussain Al Qemzi, Group CEO of Noor Investment Group and CEO of Noor Islamic Bank
• Stuart Crocker, CEO Private Banking for UAE and Southern Gulf, HSBC
• Yousef Al-Essa, CEO, Addax Investment Bank
• Sebastian Molineus, corporate governance programme manager for IFC's Private Enterprise Partnership for the Middle East and North Africa
• Bill Foster, executive director, Hawkamah Institute of Directors
• Oussama Salman, company secretary and legal counsel, Oger Telecom
• Faisal Hoodbhoy, managing director, corporate finance & listings, DIFX
• Justin Connor, head of legal & regulatory and company secretary, Emirates International Telecommunications
• Aman Merchant, executive director, Dubai 9 Group
• Richard A Goldman, partner, Bingham McCutchen
• Dr Ayman Hashem, senior vice president - Strategic Management Centre, Savola Group
The timetable of events for DIFCweek is as follows:
Saturday November 17:
• DIFC Economic Forum on emerging markets, developed with the support of Economist Intelligence Unit.
• DIFC Lecture presented by Steven Levitt, the bestselling author of Freakonomics.
Sunday November 18:
• Islamic and Ethical Finance, in association with The Wall Street Journal
• DIFC Boutique Event on Contemporary Art Investment, presented by Michael Moses, co-creator of the Mei Moses Index, the industry benchmark for measuring art as an asset.
Monday November 19:
• The FT/DIFC World Financial Centres Summit (day 1)
• DIFC Boutique Event on Carbon Trading, presented by Rod Beckstrom, a board member of Environmental Defense.
Tuesday November 20:
• The FT/DIFC World Financial Centres Summit (day 2)
• The Gate Lecture presented by Jeffrey Sachs, economic advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Wednesday November 21:
• Hawkamah Conference on corporate governance
• DIFC Boutique Event on Human Capital, presented by Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice at London Business School.
Thursday November 22:
• Middle East Capital Markets Forum, in association with Institutional Investor.
About DIFCweek
DIFCweek, the first event of its kind in the Middle East, will focus on Financial Opportunities for the Third Millennium. The week of conferences will address every principal topic in the international financial arena, all viewed from a fresh perspective.
DIFCweek will present some of the world's most thought-provoking speakers, covering the challenges and opportunities in the world's current and emerging financial markets. Sharing in the debate will be hundreds of senior industry practitioners, corporate decision-makers and regulatory and government officials.
The week will turn the financial agenda on its head: it is not about what the industry is talking about today, but what it will be discussing tomorrow.
About Hawkamah
Hawkamah was launched in February 2006 with the aim of advancing corporate governance practices in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. As an autonomous association, Hawkamah is bringing together corporate governance practitioners, regulators and institutions to define and develop a home-grown - yet globally integrated - system of governance that promotes institution building, corporate sector reform, good governance, market development and increased investment and growth across the region.
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News EditorMonday, November 05 - 2007 at 14:22 UAE local time (GMT+4)
Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited.
Disclaimer:
Articles in this section are primarily provided directly by the companies appearing or PR agencies which are solely responsible for the content. The companies concerned may use the above content on their respective web sites provided they link back to http://www.ameinfo.com
Any opinions, advice, statements, offers or other information expressed in this section of the AMEinfo.com Web site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited. AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited is not responsible or liable for the content, accuracy or reliability of any material, advice, opinion or statement in this section of the AMEinfo.com Web site.
For details about submitting your stories, please read the guide - all content published is subject to our terms and conditions
It looks like you are using a Mac - check out our 
Web Feeds