DKP’s I-UP Forum Promotes Enterprise Leadership as a Model for Success

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Experts and industry leaders discussed the emergence of “Enterprise Leaders”, and their role in the UAE, at the first of a series of initiatives planned for 2016 that form part of Dubai Knowledge Park’s (DKP) Industry and University Partnership Forums (I-UP) program.

The first event of the year was held in partnership with CEB Global, a best practice insight and technology firm, and coincided with the launch of their new market research study that showed only 27% of business unit managers believe they have the right leaders in place to handle the future needs of an organization.

The research also identified a new model for leadership success: enterprise leaders. These are typically people who share resources and best practices to improve results across an organization. The study showed that engaging such talent can boost revenue, increase customer satisfaction, drive innovation and improve engagement.

As it stands, 88% of leaders fail the requirements for Enterprise Leadership, according to the CEB Global report. To help address this gap, CEB has developed a New Enterprise Leadership Solution where organizations can assess and benchmark leaders against CEB’s own competency model. The program also increases leader ability to model and enable Enterprise Leadership.

During the half-day event a panel discussion debated which leaders have the greatest impact and how their leadership skills can drive organisational efficiencies and employee engagement. Panelists included Matthew Mee, Managing Director GCC & Middle East at CIPD; Brad Boyson, Executive Director at SHRM MEA; Mohamed Farid, Managing Director Middle East North Africa, at CEB; and Neil Jones, Senior Affiliate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD.

The remodeled I-UP Forums are a series of initiatives that aim to bring together professionals from universities, industry, and government departments to discuss potential collaborations, partnerships, research, and business development opportunities. The I-UP forum was originally launched in 2014, but due to popular demand the yearly event has been turned into a series of conferences to he held over the course of 2016 to cover various topics in Higher Education and HR sectors.

Commenting on the success of the I-UP Forum, Mohammad Abdullah, Managing Director at DKP and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), said:

“The popularity of the I-UP Forum continues to grow, and we have responded to this by turning the annual gathering into a series of dynamic events to be held throughout the year.

These initiatives serve an important purpose in bringing together industry professionals and top decision makers to highlight current, critical and challenging issues in Higher Education and HR. All of this is aimed at supporting Dubai’s economic development, and that of the wider region.

The success of the I-UP Forum is a testament to the industry shaping discussion it enables. Topics such as “The Changing Leadership Environment in the UAE” is a clear example of this. Investing in leadership is paramount if organizations are to grow alongside industry. Only by developing tomorrow’s leaders can we create a culture that truly fosters creativity, collaboration and innovation.”

Mohamed Farid, Managing Director of Middle East and North Africa, at CEB added: We are very proud to have partnered with DKP to deliver the first I-UP Forum of the year, and showcase CEB’s proven practices and data-based insights to their network of premiere executives and senior professionals in the region.
In an era of unprecedented technological, economic and global change, we believe that there is one common thread that differentiates successful firms: their leaders.
Yet 73 percent of companies do not have the leaders that they need to seize future growth opportunities. Events like today provide an important platform for advancing the science and practice of talent management and generating discussion about —and solving for—the most pressing business challenges.”

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