2nd annual CFO Strategies Middle East Congress kicks off

The congress aims at bringing CFOs from around the Middle East to address and discuss the current challenges and concerns, share experience and most importantly provide them with a platform to network with their peers.

The first day of the congress featured keynote addresses by:

- Motassim A. Al Ma'ashouq, Treasurer of Saudi Aramco who reflected on the transformation journey of Saudi Aramco's Finance Organization to be partners in driving business performance by providing the best advice, developing the best processes, and securing the best talent;

- Dr. Muhammad Ikhwam, Senior VP - Group M&A of Savola Group, who presented the group's growth strategy and the role of Merger & Acquisition within it;

- Bram Kujiper. Regional Manager of Basware who explained the transition from transactional based processing to adding real value to the financial supply chain.

Following the interesting start of the day, CFOs attended two workshops and had the opportunity to further discuss and interact on two major topics:

- The role of the CFO as an enforcer of corporate governance, led by Dr. Faroukh El Kharouf, Chairman of Global Strategy and Governance SA and former group CFO of Arab Bank.

- The role of the 'Strategic CFO' in driving corporate strategy, led by Anurag Chandra, Managing Director and founder of Aurora management consulting.

The day concluded with a panel discussion on the impact of the global economic slowdown on the Middle East.

The participants discussed different angles and opinions on the matter and were involved in an interactive Questions & Answers session.

The panelists included:

- Sanjay Uppal, Group CFO, Emirates NBD
- Pinak Maitra, Group CFO, Kuwait Projects Co.
- Hesham Heikal, CFO, Hydra Properties

Presenting one of the major leading sectors of the economy, finance and real estate, the panelists brought an interesting perspective based on their experience within the market and their organizations.

They discussed the challenge of the limited level of transparency within the market, the regulatory policies, governmental involvement, and the effect on the private sector by presenting various previous and current case studies.

The key messages outlined were that the market faces problems and challenges and those definitely create opportunities to be looked at but at the same time organizational processes have to be transparent in order to attract investment.

The 2nd day of the CFO Strategies Middle East Congress will commence with a keynote presentation on the synergies within the post merger integration by Sanjay Uppal, Group CFO of Emirates NBD.

Throughout the day, the following speakers will be leading other keynote addresses:

- 'Elevation finance to the next level' by Ghaith Shocair, CFO of Kingdom Hotel Investments
- 'Managing Expectations: Challenges involved in managing internal and external stakeholders' by Pinak Maitra, Group CFO of Kuwait Projects Co.
- 'Managing change in a global scenario' - Masoud Ali Khan, CFO of HAMG
- 'Capital Management Strategies: A UAE banking perspective' - Vijay Kasturi, Head of finance and planning of ADCB Bank

The congress will also host a panel discussion on 'Cross border expansion in the current times' featuring Georges Schorderet, CFO of AL Marai Group and Abdul Rahman Al Sufiancy, CFO of SAGIA.

The CFO Strategies Middle East Congress will end with the awards ceremony for the 'MENA CFO OF THE YEAR'.

The awards recognize and reward the achievements and the excellence of the finest CFO's in the following categories:

- MENA CFO of the year
- Revolutionary CFO of the year
- Excellence in finance - Public company
- Excellence in finance - Private company
- Hall of fame award

The nominees for the Awards are the CFOs of the leading companies in the Middle East including Al Habtoor, Boubyan Bank, Emirates NBD, KIPCO, Oman lng, DEPA, NSCC Ltd., MADAR, DAMAS, Saudi Aramco, DP World, SAGIA, just to name a few.