Gulf Air reveals the secrets of corporate transformation

Gulf Air's charismatic President and Chief Executive, James Hogan, will present the keynote address on day one of the forum, which will discuss the need to change, while the Vice President of Human Resources, Ian Waterhouse, promises a lively case study - "Death or Glory, Saving Gulf Air from Oblivion"

Waterhouse said the case study will focus on how Gulf Air's survival was dependent on three things: world class professional management, strong discipline and hard driving.

"Our people have been fantastic, now in order to sustain our turnaround longterm, we will invest in supporting and developing them." The newly introduced multi-level Gulf National Programme is early evidence of Gulf Air's commitment to focussing on employee development.

"It has not been easy," said the HR expert. "We had to prove we could survive, and now we are beginning to turn a corner. We are building a world class organisation, which will eventually be managed by a professional, world class, Gulf National management team."

At the crux of long term corporate transformation lies HR, according to the Vice President. He said first and foremost, corporate transformation at Gulf Air would never have occurred without the strong leadership skills demonstrated by Hogan and his carefully picked team. Secondly, the senior management team are now assessing the airline's 5,000 staff to ensure that we play to their strengths and give well focussed training.

Waterhouse, who has spent more than five years in the Middle East, sees corporate transformation as a challenge, but not an insurmountable one.

"We are more than willing to share our experiences - 'warts and all' with delegates at the forum, as the lessons we have learned along the way are not only applicable to the airline industry, but across all industry sectors," he said.

The airline is in the first year of a three-year strategic recovery programme, which will see it go from BD50m losses to profit over the three-year period.

Gulf Air's amazing achievement is not the only highlight of the two day conference, which will be chaired by Michael Greenwood, Director, Local Government Practice in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, UK, and is organised by IIR.

The event, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai, features contributions from Ernst & Young, GASCO, Emirates Group, Al Futtaim, Dubai Police and Jordan Telecom.

Following the forum there is a two day workshop, entitled 'Corporate Transformation - Making it Happen', led by Dr Gerry Gannon, which will examine the drivers of change and identify the challenges and opportunities any transformation process generates.

Jackie Wilks, IIR's Corporate Transformation Conference Manager, said: "This conference is targeted at experienced managers and executives involved in the re-building process, at divisional or corporate level.

"By attending this forum, you will learn how to develop a culture that embraces innovation and change, learn how to effectively introduce culture change and understand the vital role human resources play in the transformation process, to name just a few of the benefits," she added.