Mohammed Bin Rashid named Arabia's most admired leader

The survey, carried out online through www.alarabiya.net, the news portal for the Arabic news channel Al Arabiya, and on AME Info, the Middle East's premier online business resource, was designed to encourage analysis of the region's best business practices.

Tina Schneidermann, CEO of the summit's organisers Leading Minds, said: "Sheikh Mohammed was recognised for his vision and his commitment to seeing it become reality. What is interesting is that the survey was carried out region wide in English and Arabic - and the results were the same."

Three late regional leaders appeared prominently in the poll: the UAE President, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; King Fahd of Saudi Arabia; and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Other leaders to be named were King Abdullah of Jordan; Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, owner of Kingdom Holdings; and Mohamed Al Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties.

Participants were also invited to grade their companies in terms of transparency, employee empowerment, ethics, best practice processes and non-discrimination. In addition, they were asked to comment on the responsibilities of leaders, the role of government in Corporate Arabia and statements such as "you cannot be a good corporate citizen and still maximise profits".

The results will form the basis of debate at Leaders in Dubai. Nine business and political headline names, including Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet Union leader and, via videocast, former American President Bill Clinton will take part in the debate on leadership best practices.

Other Leaders in Dubai 2005 speakers include: Madeleine Albright, the USA's first female Secretary of State and a New York Stock Exchange director; Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Malaysian Prime Minister; Daniel Pink, author of the Washington Post bestseller Free Agent Nation; Kenichi Ohmae - 'Mr Strategy' - a former McKinsey Japan director; Arie de Geus, who led Royal Dutch Shell for 40 years and has been described as "the global statesman" of business change; Spencer Johnson, author of the bestselling Who Moved My Cheese and The One-Minute Manager and Scott Bedbury, one of the world's leading brand architects, responsible for Nike's Just Do It campaign and the emergence of the Starbucks brand.

Regional business leaders - the Leaders in Dubai corporate alumni - have confirmed their support for the event. They include: HE Sheikh Faisal Al Qassemi, founder of the Al Qasimi Group; Nabila Al Anjari, Assistant Under-Secretary for Tourism Affairs in Kuwait; Aramex's President and CEO Fadi Ghandour; former Lebanese minister of national economy Saeb Jaroudi; Bharat Jashanmal, of the GCC retail corporation Jashanmal & Sons; Khamis Al Muqla, founder and chairman of Gulf Hill & Knowlton and Gulf Saatchi & Saatchi; Lebanese industrialist Jacques Sarraf; veteran hotelier Sami Zoghbi, regional head of Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts; and Saudi industrialist Abdulla al Zamil.

Leaders in Dubai is expected to attract more than 2,000 business leaders from across Arabia and will be held at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, from November 28 to 29, 2005.

Headline sponsors are the international names Citigroup, EMAAR, Mastercard, Nokia and Saudi Oger Ltd.

CNN is confirmed as the international media partner, with Al Arabiya News Channel as headline media partner. Media sponsors are Al Hayat, AME Info, Gulf Business, Gulf News and Oman Economic Review.

LEADING MINDS, part of the international conference organisers IIR, is a company specialising in presenting the latest thoughts and groundbreaking ideas from pre-eminent international business authorities.