Latest Audio

Audio: Global Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) totals approximately US$5.3 trillion in assets under management, with the second largest being Abu Dhabi's "ADIA". In this interview, based around a recent report highlighting trends in SWF in the Middle East, Phil Blizzard talks to Vikas Papriwal, Partner & Head of Sovereign Wealth Funds & Private Equity, UAE & Oman.

Audio: The demand for mid-level hotels is likely to be significant as Dubai aims for 20 million visitors per year by 2020. At the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, organised by MEED and The Bench, Russel Sharpe, COO - Hotel Division, Landmark Hospitality talks to Phil Blizzard about their development pipeline, brand values and the future demand for hotels in the mid-level sector.

Audio: Omar Samra, Founder & CEO, Wild Guanabana in conversation with Phil Blizzard talks about his passion for climbing and what it meant to summit Mount Everest, being the first Egyptian and the youngest Arab to conquer the world's highest peak. He also talks about his major career move, from the coporate world of banking to that of adventure tourism.

Audio: Marc Dardenne, former CEO of Emaar Hospitality who launched The Address and Armani hotels in Dubai talks to Phil Blizzard at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference about his new venture in Singapore. As CEO of Patina Hotels & Resorts he will be creating a new style of luxury hotels and hopes to bring the brand to the Middle East.

Audio: A look at the key trends in the real estate market for the first quarter of 2013. Phil Blizzard talks to Bharat Kumar, Marketing Director, Propertyfinder.ae on the day they publish the first report for the year 2013. Listen to discover what is happening to both the rental and sellers markets in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Audio: The FIFA World Cup is probably one of the largest events in the MICE sector of the travel and tourism industry and with Qatar hosting the 2022 event we speak with Abdulla Malalla Al Bader, Director, Qatar Tourism Authority. He talks to Phil Blizzard about their hotel pipeline, the range of sporting events which they host, the cultural attractions and the importance of the MICE sector.

Audio: A significant number of companies don't pay enough attention to corporate information security practices, according to a Kaspersky Lab survey, in association with B2B International. The survey, conducted in November 2012, polled over 5,000 senior IT managers worldwide and found that 35% of companies expose corporate data to unauthorised parties by failing to use encryption technologies. Steven Bond spoke to Nikolay Grebennikov, Chief Technology Officer, Kaspersky Lab, about different types of encryption and how they are effective for enterprise security.

Previously: Understanding encryption - from ancient Sparta to modern businesses

Audio: A forum organised by Emirates for the hoteliers of Dubai has served as platform for the airline to showcase their development strategy, and in particular new source markets. Phil Blizzard talks to Marc Bennett, Divisional Senior VP, Destination & Leisure Management, Emirates about the key messages they are putting to hotel executives in their drive to increase tourism to Dubai.

Audio: The newly launched distribution platform from Travelport is aimed at aggregating information from a number of sources to enable travel agents keep abreast of the ever evolving and changing airline landscape. Phil Blizzard talks to Will Owen Hughes, Snr Director, Airline Services, ME&A, Travelport about the focus of the new merchandising platform for airlines in the Middle East.

Audio: Executive Views with Fadi Malas, CEO, Just Falafel starts with him talking about the key elements of their business development in 2012 - a year which saw rapid expansion of their franchises across the Middle East. He also talks to Phil Blizzard about their strategy for 2013 and what it meant to him and his organisation to win a raft of SME awards.