Business Review Middle East magazine - June 2017

June 2017

TOP 10 Richest

families

www.businessreviewmiddleeast.com

How to safeguard remote data

WE LOOK AT THE REGION’S DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS A ROBUST POST-OIL ECONOMIC SETUP

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

BEYOND OIL HELLO AND WELCOME to the June issue of Business Review Middle East.

Our cover story this month explores how the Middle East is starting to develop a robust post-oil economic vision. Mihir Kapadia, CEO and Founder of Sun Global Investments, explains why investors from around the world should consider the region a dependable growth market.

Perhaps one of the key reasons why the Middle East is ripe for investment is how highly data security is valued in the region. On that theme, Gregg Petersen, Regional Director, Middle East and SAARC at Veeam Software shares some advice for enterprises in the UAE looking to protect remote and branch office data.

We also explore a number of successful companies in the region, including Dubai Parks & Resorts, New Mowasat Hospital, and Emirates NBD. Our top 10 this month explores the region’s richest families. Do our findings surprise you? Let us know! .

As ever, join the debate @BusinessRevME

Enjoy the issue!

Nye Longman Commissioning Editor nye.longman@bizclikmedia.com

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FOR INVESTMENT PROFILE

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TECHNOLOGY

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HOW TO SAFEGUARD REMOTE DATA 4

June 2017

LIST

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10 RICHEST FAMILIES in the Middle East

C O M PA N Y P R O F I L ES

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Dubai Parks & Resorts Construction

New Mowasat Hospital Healthcare

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Emirates NBD Supply Chain

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PROFILE

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FOR INVESTMENT WE LOOK AT THE REGION’S DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS A ROBUST POST-OIL ECONOMIC SET-UP

WRITTEN BY: Mihir Kapadia

CEO and Founder of Sun Global Investments

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PROFILE INVESTORS INTO THE Middle Eastern markets have been largely attracted by the bright lights of the oil industry over the past few decades.

With a rapidly growing economy fuelled by vast energy resources, the region has also welcomed many expatriates to contribute and benefit from the economic boom.

The region’s success emerges from an economic model unique to the Middle East – a fiscal ecosystem supported by global oil exports which supports each of the region’s taxation and Treasuries. There are concerns over the global crude prices, which, although recovered momentarily in 2016, have been under a slump over the last couple of years. These have led to legitimate questions about the robustness of the region’s business and economy.

While many countries in the region continue to rely on crude oil to support their growth, some forwardlooking governments have spent their historically large budget surpluses on public works and other projects designed to stimulate and diversity their domestic economies. After the fall in the oil price, the region has been under pressure to diversify its 8

June 2017

‘By some estimates, GCC countries can expect to have more than $3.5 trillion in FDI by 2020’

economy for a post oil scenario.

For instance, Saudi Arabia had to undertake significant austerity measures and was forced to remodel its economic outlook after experiencing a two-year fiscal deficit. The fall in oil prices from over $100 in 2015 to $50 in 2016 has meant their revenues had also slumped by half. The commendable aspect here is the Saudis have recognised the problem and are focused on building and sustaining a post-oil economy. Their strategy has received

the endorsement of international investors as evidenced by the record sale of $17.5 billion worth of bonds.

While the six member GCC countries represent the wealthiest collective of nations in the world, they operate on different economic and business terms with varying tax structures, foreign investment caps and employment terms. However, that being said, they have a shared ideology of developing an innovationdriven structure, competing amongst

each other to attract Greenfield investments, attract foreign direct investments and increase infrastructure, technology and job creation. By some estimates, GCC countries can expect to have more than $3.5 trillion in FDI by 2020.  Routes into the Middle East One of the best ways to gain a broad exposure to the Middle East market is through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) targeting the region as a whole.

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PROFILE For example, particular ETFs offer broad exposure into countries like the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait in sectors like financials, telecom and industrials.

Such a diversification from a single source ETF offers a great means for gaining a wider footing in the region.

Another less common way to get exposure is through venture capital.

The post-oil economy promises exceptional growth in new sectors such as technology, retail and realty in the region, which have been largely ignored. The potential of initiating tech-enabled developments in the region is second to none, as unlike other developing countries, the ME, especially the GCC countries are not constrained by investment capital.

There is also a growing interest to incubate a start-up and entrepreneur friendly environment, breaking away from the traditional family business pyramid structures which have been a feature of the region hitherto. A strategic entry into this space would potentially reap the best returns.

Finally, the Middle East provides the best conducive environment for market entry as the potential it holds for creating a new economy is through a significant and clear 10

June 2017

shift in global economic and, to some extent political, power from West to East. Unlike the Western developed markets which are largely flat and mostly reached a point of saturation, the East provides a safe and level playing ground for bold experimentation and innovation.

One of the reasons the Middle East has been largely ignored is because the investors are apprehensive for venturing beyond the comfort of known and established markets.

Sun Global Investments over the past few years has been working to debunk the myth surrounding the ‘established markets’, and we have opened a pathway for investors from the developed markets in the West to engage with the potential the Middle East holds.

Some of the world’s best performing and high return equities are from countries such as the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, which also happen to be safer than traditional markets such as Germany, Italy and even the UK. 2017 is certainly going to be exciting as we are going to witness the heralding change of a post-oil economy and the renaissance period has just started.

Now is the time to make the first move.

A S M A R T D E S T I N AT I O N F O R I N V E S T M E N T

‘Some of the world’s best performing and high return equities are from countries such as the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, which also happen to be safer than traditional markets’ Mihir Kapadia, CEO and Founder of Sun Global Investments

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TECHNOLOGY

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HOW TO SAFEGUARD REMOTE DATA Gregg Peterson provides some expert advice for enterprises in the UAE looking to protect remote and branch office data Written by: Gregg Petersen, Regional Director, Middle East and SAARC, Veeam Software WE’VE ALL HEARD about fantastic new data centre technologies, but all too often it looks like these technologies only seem to apply to the largest organisations with a wealth of centralised resources. Because data doesn’t just live in the data centre, we often face daily challenges when data is put to use in the field at remote offices and branch offices (ROBOs).

Business and IT leaders need to recognise the unique needs of ROBOs. For instance, teams based in remote offices need constant, reliable and fast access to essential data, without sacrificing data security and integrity.

A challenge for IT leaders is how to

ensure that data is available, even without a dedicated local IT team to govern and control it. The 2016 Veeam Availability Report showed that half of the respondents only test backups on a monthly basis, or even less frequently.

Long gaps between testing increase the chance of issues being found when data needs to be recovered – at which point it may be too late for these organisations. And out of those who do perform such tests, just 26 percent test more than five percent of their backups.

This means that the vast majority of backups are not verified and could fail. The percentage is even higher when it comes to ROBO locations.

TECHNOLOGY The good news for ROBOs is that it’s now easier than ever — with the help of the right solutions — to extend data centre backup, replication and availability capabilities all the way out to the edges of an entire organisation.

So, how can ROBOs achieve excellent levels of availability without facing complexity?

The modern data centre extends to ROBOs The modern data centre has three key attributes – it is highly virtualised, it uses modern storage solutions and has a cloud strategy in place.

Each of these attributes is critical to a ROBO’s success. However, because of each ROBO’s specific needs, there are no real roadmaps for building and implementing architecture for a remote office.

VIRTUALISATION has had a huge impact on ROBOs. From reduced equipment footprints and lower setup costs, to simpler management workloads and faster deployment of new services, virtualised environments have become the natural choice for ROBOs. MODERN STORAGE systems have also made life a lot easier for ROBOs. Whether it’s a new solution rolled out to serve every branch or a solution that’s just deployed on-site, new storage solutions are helping ROBOs store — and what is more important, backup and Gregg Petersen, Regional Director, Middle East and SAARC

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replicate — their data more intelligently.

THE CLOUD is now a suitable option to move and store backup and replicated data, unlike the leased private lines that are often a significant performance bottleneck to perform this task.

Best availability practices for the branch office Many organisations struggle to select the best solutions for on-site and off-site backup, because there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for remote office architecture.

Organisations often end up choosing between taking on-site backups, writing backups offsite or doing replicas both on and off-site — instead of considering how they could utilise them all.

There is the long-promoted 3-2-1 rule for availability that can be the best solution in this situation. It states that there should be: 3 copies of important data, on 2 different media, with 1 off-site.

The 3-2-1 rule is highly versatile and can address just about any failure scenario imaginable by ensuring that all data is both backed up in multiple locations, and also

“Because data doesn’t just live in the data centre, we often face daily challenges when data is put to use in the field at remote offices and branch offices (ROBOs)” quickly recoverable. This approach means that companies don’t have to worry about getting locked into any particular technology or specific vendor and can stay flexible as their IT environment evolves and expands.

Replicas are more suitable than backups in true disaster situations, when the RTO needs to be reduced to a minimum and all production loads need to be moved to another site in the least amount of time possible.

Replicated virtual machines (VMs) are inventoried and ready-to-run VMs in their own right, so when the worst happens, they can be failed over very quickly on dedicated and similar hardware that’s pre-deployed on the Disaster Recovery (DR) site.

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TECHNOLOGY This is why replication needs a higher investment when it comes to storage and computing power at the DR site.

Backups don’t offer the same speed for recovery time objectives (RTOs), but are more flexible and portable and require lower storage consumption.

Backups can be copied on different support media and are much more manageable when addressing day-to-day recovery scenarios typical in ROBO environments.

With a large number of sites and locations, companies need to make a choice about where to do their backups and replication. This can be a challenge because some sites may require replicas, others may need backups as well, and they all need to have their individual specifications and requirements considered.

Balancing budgets and business requirements

Having backups taken on-site provides some important benefits: • Backup times are fast: because no information needs to be sent off-site; • Restore times are fast: because all data is very close to the host; • New replication features open up new options: such as creating a backup file and replicating a running VM at the same time.

Unfortunately, the best solutions for a remote office rarely line up to what most companies can afford to implement. It’s widely understood and accepted that replication grants the greatest availability benefits for ROBOs because of the fast recovery times, but budgetary constraints often just allow for the use of backups.

Generally speaking, setting up backups is a very versatile and

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“A challenge for IT leaders is how to ensure that data is available, even without a dedicated local IT team to govern and control it�

cost-effective solution. Setting up replicated virtual machines grants prompt business continuity, but requires a higher infrastructure investment.

The real challenge is finding the right solutions for rolling out across diverse remote office environments. No two locations ever look exactly the same; they often are designed and deployed on different dates and include their own individual requirements. This challenge can make it very difficult to roll out global backup and recovery

policies across an entire organisation.

It can also lead to increased inefficiencies and longer restore times.

With a cost-effective hybrid solution in place that merges the advantages of on-site backup with the high availability and security offered by off-site replication, IT leaders can take control of this complex environment. They can ensure that everybody plays by the same rules and, regardless of the location, can recover data as quickly as the data centre at headquarters.

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TOP 10

10 RICHEST FAMILIES in the Middle East Writ ten by: DALE BE NTON

TOP 10

FORBES MIDDLE EAST RECENTLY REVEALED ITS 11 RICHEST FAMILIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ALL OF WHICH ARE BASED IN THE GULF. WITH AN AGGREGATE NET WORTH OF $25.7 BILLION, SAUDI ARABIA CAN LAY CLAIM TO HAVING SOME OF THE RICHEST FAMILIES IN THE WORLD. HERE, WE LOOK AT THE TOP 10 IN THE MIDDLE EAST 20

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10 SHARBATLY Net worth: $1.3 Billion Hassan Abbas Sharbatly founded the AlNahla Group in 1930 in Jeddah.

Sharbatly was also a founder of Saudi Arabian Refineries Company and Riyad Bank, which AlNahla owns 8 percent. Nine of his children inherited the company, with Abdulrahman who founded Citystars which is set to inaugurate this year in Sharm El Sheikh.

9 ALAGIL Net worth: $1.5 Billion The Alagil family owns the Jarir Marketing Company, the Riyadhhbased supplier of Office and School Supplies, Children’s Toys and Educational Aids, Arabic and English Books and Publications, Arts and Crafts Materials, Computer Peripherals and Software, Mobile Phones and Accessories, Audio Visual Instruments, Photography Tools, and Maintenance of Computers and Electronic items. In 2016, the company opened the first Apple shop and saw its stock rise more than 10 percent on the back of this development.

8 AL MUHAIDIB Net worth: $1.7 Billion Al Muhaidib is a diversified company, working across food, building materials, real estate, contracting and utilities & infrastructure. Across its five core sectors, Al Muhaidib Group supplies food for Nestle, Del Monte, as well as major local food suppliers in the region.

It is a major investor in the Saudi stock market, with stakes in Savola, one of the country’s biggest food processors, and Saudi British Bank.

7 ALRASHED Net worth: $2 Billion AlRashed Abdul Rahman Alrashed & Sons was founded in 1950 and sold building materials during the construction boom in the region.

Over time the company moved into real estate, automotive parts and food, with food supplies shipping to McDonald’s, Burger King and Hardee’s.

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5 AL DABBAGH Net worth: $2 Billion

6 ALAJLAN Net worth: $2 Billion From humble beginnings as a small clothing retail shop in Riyadh back un 1979, both Ajlan Alajlan and his brothers Mohammed and Fahad have partnered with major fashion labels such as Versace to transform the head cover worn by millions of Arab men. Their company, Aljan& Bros sells these head garments in over 6,000 stores across the Gulf.

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The company was founded by Abdullah Al Dabbagh back in 1962 and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Agriculture.

Sons Amr, Hussein and Jamal inherited the business which now runs one of the country’s biggest poultry farms and the largest producer of lubricants in the region. The company reportedly spent millions to create a seven-course curriculum with the goal of providing free online courses for non-profit sector professionals and entrepreneurs looking to make the right social impact with their money, improving 100 million lives by 2020.

4 JAMEEL Net worth: $2.2 Billion Owned by Mohammed Jameel, Jameel pits itself as the largest independent distributor if Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the world.

I 2016, the company opened the world’s largest Lexus retail facility in Riyadh. Jameel has also purchased Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, developing 50 solar and wind energy projects across the world including a recent contract that will see 45,000 Australian homes benefit from a solar farm. The company has also committed to investing up to $2billion in manufacturing, financial services and retail estate into Saudi Arabia over the next five years.

3 ABUDAWOOD Net worth: $4 Billion The Abudawood Group is a major manufacturer and distributor of Procter & Gamble products across the country. Osama Abudawood, Anas and Ayman, have expanded the footprint of the business significantly, with P&G products and PepsiCo products distributed across Pakistan, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and Iraq

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2 ALSHAYA Net worth: $5 Billion Known as the franchise king of the Middle East. M.H. Alshaya Co is a “pioneering force” in the retail franchise sector. Mohammed Abdul Aziz Alshaya, a thirdgeneration member of the family and a Wharton MBA, is executive chairman. The company franchises more than 75 of the world’s leading retail brands, including Starbucks, H&M, Debenhams and – in what was its first licence back in 1983 – Mothercare. Later this year the company looks set to open the first Four Seasons Hotel in Kuwait.

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1 OLAYAN Net worth: $8 Billion The Olayan Group is a private multinational enterprise, an international investor and a diverse commercial and industrial concern with operations in the Middle East.

The Group was inherited by Khaled, Lubna, Huthan and Olayan from their late father Suliman. As a major player in the world and across the U.A.E, Olayan owns licencing rights to companies such as Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola and General Foods to name a few. In 2017, the company owns property around the world including the Hotel Ritz in Madrid, and 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

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THE RIDE TO

SUCCESS

Writ ten by Dale Benton Produced by Kiron Chavda

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

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In just a few short months, the first integrated theme park and resort in Dubai looks set to define the region’s theme park industry of the future It is a legacy for residents and tourists who will come here again and again,” – Raed Kajoor Al Nuami, CEO of DXB at the official inauguration of Dubai Parks and Resorts, December, 2016.

Dubai Parks and Resorts (DPR) officially opened its doors in December 2016. As the largest integrated theme park destination in the Middle East, spanning 30.6 million square feet of land and filled with over 100 rides and attractions, building a legacy is key to the success of the park and to the future landscape of Dubai.

“This entire resort was built to drive the vision of his highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for Expo 2020, which is to get 20

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million visitors to Dubai. I don’t know how you’d achieve a number like that without something of this size and calibre being built,” says Brian Machamer, Vice President, Theme Park Operations, DPR. The calibre and magnitude of DPR is a true sight to behold, with three theme parks, a water park and a themed hotel integrated into the overall experience as well as over 50 themed retail, dining, and entertainment experiences on offer within the 234,000 square feet “gateway” between each park.

Spared no expense As we walk around each park, Motiongate, Bollywood Parks, Legoland and Legoland Water Park, as well as the Riverland “gateway” it is somewhat overwhelming with a seemingly never ending offering of entertainment, food and activities.

With Dubai Parks and Resorts, it really is a case of sparing no expense.

Make no mistake, DPR has something quite literally for everyone, all with the goal of serving that ultimate vision for Dubai.

“With DPR, you want to influence

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people’s travel patterns and help create a more well-rounded experience. That is what’s going to take the average three-night stay of a tourist up to seven nights, which is ultimately what the city needs to take the next step and hit 20 million overnight tourists and beyond,” Machamer says.

DPR is of course not the only theme park in the region, and Matthew Priddy, CTO of DPR, believes that only together can that goal be achieved.

“We look at other venues as complimentary. Together it’s our goal to have a regional destination for tourists, not just something to do when you’re here,” he says.

One such venue will be but a stone throw away from DPR. Though there are still new developments to come late this year, including a Lionsgate Hunger Games themed section of Motiongate, DPR has already begun construction on Six Flags Dubai, the first Six Flags branded theme park in the region. With an open date planned for late 2019, the 3.5 million square ft., AED 2.6 billion park will consist of 27 rides and attractions tailored towards the thrill seekers of all ages.

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“TO DELIVER A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE TO THE QUALITY THAT WE HAVE, WITH THE GREAT FEEDBACK WE’VE BEGUN TO GET FROM VISITORS, IT REALLY FILLS US WITH A GREAT SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT” Building a vision As we sit down in the Lapita Hotel, the 504 room Polynesian themed hotel located right in the heart of DPR and part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, we rewind the clocks to 12 months ago, when everything was still under construction and almost a lifetime away from the wonder that stands before us today.

Needless to say, to get to where they are today, both Machamer and Priddy have had quite a frenzied year that has not been without its challenges.

“It’s been a very busy year to say the least,” says Priddy. “To try and pull off what we’re trying to pull off is such a monumental thing.”

This is a feeling shared

by Machamer.

“To deliver a project of this size to the quality that we have, with the great feedback we’ve begun to get from visitors, it really fills us with a great sense of achievement,” he adds.

Both Machamer and Priddy can call upon rich histories and experience in the theme park industry, with a combined 70+ years that has seen both men working on parks with Universal Studios and Walt Disney.

It is this experience that allows Priddy to reflect on the last year and boldly state that there were no surprises along the way.

“This is actually my eleventh theme park, and as they say in Texas this is not my first rodeo,” he says.

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Our Cloud based technology powers point-of-sale and customer engagement solutions across the retail, destination and hospitality sectors.

Omnico is an official technology supplier of Dubai Parks & Resorts (DXB Entertainments PJSC) Courtesy of Dubai Parks & Resorts The Green Hornet ride

UNDERSTANDING THE VISITOR Omnico understands what visitors expect from the theme park and resort experience, thanks to the extensive and ongoing Theme Park Barometer research we conduct in the US, UK, China, Japan and Malaysia. This research is designed to help our customers understand where to focus their investments, both now and in the future, and to inform our product roadmap.

FUTURE TECHNOLOGY Our findings clearly show that visitors today want a single, connected and personalised experience, using new and innovative technologies.

65% of respondents said they expect virtual reality experiences and guides to be within theme parks in the next three years. Followed by 41% who expect voice-activated mobile apps and 38% personal digital assistants.

WHY CHOOSE OMNICO DESTINATION SOLUTIONS? At Omnico, we offer solutions for destinations from single theme parks, water parks and heritage sites, to large-scale, single or multi-site resorts. We make the guest experience personalised and seamless throughout their stay, from attractions, hotels, spas, food & beverage and retail outlets, to golf courses and beaches.

Omnico works with 7 out of the top 11 global theme parks including Dubai Parks and Resorts (DXB Entertainments PJSC ) where we installed a single integrated Point-Of-Sale (POS) system across all the parks’ retail and hospitality sites.

We are the only vendor that provides a single platform for retail (POS and mPOS), loyalty & promotions, entitlements, ticketing, stock and food & beverage. This ensures a continuous and immersive visitor experience at the point-of-sale and throughout the guests interaction with the brand.

Get more insights from our research at www.omnicogroup.com/insights

CONTACT US To discuss the ways in which Omnico can help you to meet visitor expectations of theme park and resort experiences, please contact us at enquiries@ omnicogroup.com to talk to one of our experienced sales team. www.omnicogroup.com

CONSTRUCTION

Subsequent success DPR may have been officially opened in December, but LEGOLAND was the first part of the parks to be opened in late October, followed by Bollywood in November and Motiongate in December. This staggered opening approach granted DPR a sense of breathing space, as each section of the park is made up of various different vendors and multiple themes. With the gradual opening, this made the management element of each park that little bit easier.

“Looking at it we thought, it’s better to open 100 percent of 80 percent, rather than 80 percent of 100 percent,” says Priddy.

Through subsequent opening, Priddy and Machamer were able to ensure that the necessary pieces were in place, both technically and on an operational aspect.

This created a mentality where they could strive to get everything right on the first attempt, and then follow on that success with the subsequent and ultimately seamless opening of the other areas of the park.

There is also a third benefit of this approach, marketing. Subsequent opening results in subsequent marketing “hits”.

“Now you can go back into the market and say, we have even more stuff online. It provides us with that multiple marketing hit which of course will bring more footfall,” says Priddy.

One such example of this will be the completion of the Lionsgate Zone, a new area of the park within Motiongate as part of the aforementioned Hunger Games franchise. A huge international draw, this will of course attract a new range of tourists, both first time visitors and previous visitors to the park.

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WE STRIVE TO BE INDUSTRY LEADERS WHEN IT COMES TO FUNDAMENTALS SUCH AS GUEST SERVICES AND SAFETY, AS WELL AS INTRODUCING NEW ATTRACTIONS TO DRIVE REPEAT VISITATION

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A bumpy ride To look at the exceptional, often breath-taking work that has gone into the park, both on the design side and structurally, it would be foolish to believe that it has been a 100 percent seamless challenge free process.

With the park now open and tourists experiencing the numerous parks within the park, this presented Machamer with an opportunity to begin tweaking various different elements to paint a better picture of visitor behaviour and how it can be used to better serve new and existing visitors going forward.

And with such a diverse offering, in what is a very young and growing industry in Dubai, these lessons learned at an early stage can and will define said industry for years to come. “Experimenting with the different park operating hours has been a very interesting challenge,� says Machamer.

For example, the LEGOLAND area is predominantly targeted towards families with young children which often results in families visiting the park earlier in the morning. Much like the subsequent opening of the park itself, Machamer used this knowledge to test the impact of opening LEGOLAND first, followed by Motiongate and then Bollywood an hour later, providing those families with just the right amount of time before wanting to move on.

There is an added bonus to this experimentation. The staggered opening hours presents a great opportunity for the retailers and vendors situated in Riverland to tailor their services to capitalise on this flow of people.

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CONSTRUCTION

The doors are open, the heat is on Walking around such a huge park in the middle of the Dubai desert, the searing heat is something that you are all too aware of. During the winter month’s this does not present such a problem, but as we approach the summer season, with average temperatures of around 41 degrees C, the staggered opening hours will be something that will only continue to be experimented with further.

Much like the benefits of subsequent opening of the overall park, this will allow Machamer to get things right.

With the summer heat intensifying, DPR has the DreamWorks Zone.

This enormous indoor facility, which can fit five A380 aeroplanes inside the entire building from wing to wing, is home to major DreamWorks IP’s including Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar, and How To Train Your Dragon.

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“It has 12 separate attractions within the building alone, it’s a theme park within a theme park and we definitely want to use that to our advantage in the summer months,” says Machamer.

With the park fully operational and visitors experiencing what there is to offer, this is a key shift in the paradigm of designing, constructing and preparing to operate a theme park of this magnitude.

“When you open a theme park it takes a few months to really burn in the right systems, attractions and let the operators and the maintenance teams to get comfortable in their roles,” says Priddy.

“You can practice all you want but it’s not the same in practice where its polite, it’s predictable.

The real experience comes with real guests, experiencing different nationalities, different cultures.”

But before any of this can be put into practice, both Brian and Matthew had to ensure they had the right team, from the people in the offices working alongside them to the people out in the field, facing

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“YOU CAN PRACTICE ALL YOU WANT BUT IT’S NOT THE SAME IN PRACTICE WHERE ITS POLITE, IT’S PREDICTABLE. THE REAL EXPERIENCE COMES WITH REAL GUESTS, EXPERIENCING DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, DIFFERENT CULTURES” w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d re s o r t s . c o m

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CONSTRUCTION

DUBAI PARKS AND RESORTS IS DIRECTLY EMPLOYING OVER 4,000 PERSONNEL

customers and contributing to the overall experience of the park.

“Theme parks are new to Dubai and one of the biggest challenges, and ultimately successes, was recruiting the management teams and frontline staff,” says Machamer.

With integrated parks, how will the team deal with the management of the many different parts?

The answer, is through a double matrix system of management.

“We have technical specialists and we have project teams. The vertically of these specialists and the horizontality of the project teams pass through one another and it is that intersection that is used as an information and support point,” says Priddy.

This is where Priddy is, in his own words, still out in the field “kicking ass”.

Priddy’s role sees him digging out any problems and issues that he can locate in the park, pinning these problems down and working in that system to identify what solution is needed and assisting in the enrolling of that solution.

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Satisfaction guaranteed With the park now open and months of training, scrutinising every detail of operations, the success of the park will ultimately always be defined by the voice of the most important element – the visitors.

Machamer beams at the very mention of feedback, as the park is [at the time of writing] already seeing guest satisfaction scores sitting high in the 80 percent range. Achieving such a high rate is no small feat when factoring in the new industry, the new culture of theme parks in Dubai as well as pulling together around 4,000 employees with varying degrees of experience at this level.

“It’s extremely important to have the right technical services team in place to ensure ride operational uptime is as high as possible,” says Machamer.

The staff represent the physical embodiment of what the park and both Brian and Matthew want to be seen as, and both men cannot speak highly enough of the work that the operations team do to serve the public.

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CONSTRUCTION

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CONSTRUCTION

DPR IS BUILT ON 30.6 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF LAND AND FEATURES OVER 100 RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS

The end is only the beginning Standing in the centre of Riverland with each park almost acting as three of the four pillars of the earth, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking now the park is running the work must be over?

This is what Priddy means when says he’s still out there kicking ass. There are still a number of attractions that will be opened in due course inside DreamWorks, the Lionsgate Hunger Games section and of course major construction on Six Flags.

Coupled with the day to day operations of running a theme park, the finish line, if there is one, is by far nowhere in sight just yet.

“One of the most horrible feelings I’ve ever had was waking up the next day from opening and it suddenly all feeling over,” says Priddy.

With the rush and the non-stop work to get to the point of opening, the day it arrived almost crept up on the team and that presents the next challenge; getting back into the swing of things.

“It’s about keeping people motivated, ensuring they have the right resources that they need to get back to it, Priddy continues. “My role in this is about saying; I’m here if you need me, I’ll remove any roadblocks in the way of success. When you’re successful, we are all successful.”

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CONSTRUCTION

Technology, data and DPR Despite its size and scope, DPR is very much in its infancy. Machamer has already seized the opportunity to experiment with opening times and entertainment offerings, but the key is how the company can store and ultimately utilise the data captured through this process.

DPR employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wristbands, mobile devices, smart kiosks and digital signage through a complete omnichannel customer interaction solution. This allows the team to collect the all-important data. A simple scan of the wristband captures the time, location and duration a visitor will spend at any given park.

Machamer also utilises an e-wallet system in which visitors can store up value on their tickets to use in shops and restaurants throughout the park as well as presenting DPR the opportunity to introduce offers and promotions.

When you think of a theme park anywhere in the world, fun and (in most cases) embarrassing photos taken while on a rollercoaster or ride is

THE DREAMWORKS ZONE IS SO BIG THAT IT CAN FIT FIVE A380 AEROPLANES INSIDE WING TO WING AND IS 22M HIGH AT ITS TALLEST POINT ONCE INSIDE an image synonymous with the theme park experience. DPR’s image capture partner, Picsolve, is integrating its DigiPass technology with the Dubai Parks and Resorts ticketing system provided by VGS (snAPP).

Visitors can have all photos taken of them loaded onto their ticket and be readily available at any shop within the resort.

“You can put all the pieces of the puzzle together and generate a complete picture of any one visit,” says Machamer.

When it comes to data, is there any possibility of ‘too much’?

“Sometimes yes, but at this stage it’s better to have more,” Machamer answers. “We have no history and a lot of assumptions have been made.

Every day is a new day, so once we get that data only then we can start making educated decisions and be certain about our assumptions.”

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Five parks, Six Flags Looking to the future, Machamer will continue to monitor and develop DPR while also working to complete construction of Six Flags for that 2019 opening date.

“We want to make sure the rollercoasters have steeper drops, taller loops and are faster,” says Machamer.

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Both Machamer and Priddy are approaching Six Flags with the key lessons learned from the construction of DPR, with the assumption that this particular park should be a much more seamless operation.

“We have a more experienced team, guys who have been working together for a number of years,” says Priddy.

With the change in emphasis

CONSTRUCTION

“THEME PARKS ARE NEW TO DUBAI AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, AND ULTIMATELY SUCCESSES, WAS RECRUITING THE MANAGEMENT TEAMS AND FRONTLINE STAFF”

geared towards thrill seekers, this means that DPR will be implementing rides and machinery that are pre-engineered operating systems and not prototypes, much like those within DPR. By the time Six Flags officially opens, DPR will be a much more mature operation and Machamer sees this as a key opportunity to

achieve his specific goal for the company to be industry leaders.

“We strive to be industry leaders when it comes to fundamentals such as guest services and safety, as well as introducing new attractions to drive repeat visitation,” he says.

“By the time Expo2020 Dubai comes around, we will be firing on all cylinders.”

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Caring for generations WRITTEN BY NELL WALKER PRODUCED BY STUART SHIRRA

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Dr. Alexander Varghese, Hospital Director of New Mowasat Hospital, describes the ways in which the company has maintained a reputation as one of the best in the nation

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household name in Kuwait, the New Mowasat Hospital in Salmiya has been offering premium medical services to patients for over 50 years. Established in 1965, the facility is 27,000 square meters in size with 100 beds. The hospital is plush and luxurious, with top-of-the-range equipment to serve all types of patient except for those requiring cardiologyrelated treatment (although this is set to change). Mowasat Healthcare Company, owner of the hospital, is a publically-traded company on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

The hospital considers itself a champion in caring for the community, committing itself to providing highquality care, the highest possible levels of comfort for patients, and

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the maintenance of the incredibly high standards the company is known for. Its core values promote a positive working environment, which benefits both staff and patients. New Mowasat Hospital’s employees are considered the most valuable resource of the business, as the link between the brand and the client, and all of the hospital’s great achievements are made due to their talent and dedication.

New Mowasat Hospital’s values system is known as C.A.R.E. – Care & Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence & Ethics. Compassion is about understanding the needs of others and caring accordingly; Accountability refers to staff taking personal responsibility for their own actions and provided services, and

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prioritizing patient wellness above all else; Respect is about giving colleagues and patients the dignity they deserve the require, and ensuring that they feel valued; and Excellence and Ethics includes details about job dedication, the best possible customer service, and accomplishing goals with a positive attitude.

The Board, CEO, Hospital Management Committee are equally involved in ensuring that we stand by our Vision, Mission and Values at

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New Mowasat Hospital. One of the men behind the implementation of this system of values is Hospital Director Dr. Alexander Varghese, a dentist by profession, completed his Masters in Hospital Services Management at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, India in association with Charles Sturt University in New South Wales and delved into managerial roles upon graduating.

Dr Varghese is new to New Mowasat Hospital, but is well aware of the importance of this particular facility

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to Kuwait and its citizens. Its motto is ‘Caring for Generations’, and Dr Varghese confirms that the hospital is extremely family-orientated.

“It’s a family-owned business, which is publically listed and started by the grandfather 50 years ago,” he explains. “After 25 years it really blossomed into a 100 bed hospital.

Members of the family who own the business were born in this hospital.

Our Medical Director has been here 35 years, and various royal family have been born here because we were the first private hospital in Kuwait.

Because of that we’ve leveraged a lot of good will and a good name for ourselves. The words ‘Mowasat’ and ‘hospital’ are synonymous with one another here. There are other private hospitals now but we have the reputation. I guess we have strong family values, with four or five generations of patients coming to us.”

As if its word-of-mouth reputation wasn’t enough, New Mowasat Hospital is bolstered officially by various accreditations. These are internationally recognised evaluations of service, clinical excellence and

Mr. Abdullah Al Wazzan CEO

Dr. Alexander Varghese BDS, MHSM, FACHE

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quality which act as guarantees of excellence, assuring customers and prospective employees alike of the hospital’s superiority. Measuring clinical outcomes and therapies and treatments is a tough job and goes on in the background of good ethical organizations and New Mowasat stands testimony to the that Clinical Excellence and Ethics.

New Mowasat Hospital has thrice been surveyed and recommended by the Joint Commission International Accreditation, in 2010, 2014 and most recently in 2017, for the latter year achieving 100 percent compliance in all standards related to Quality Improvement & Patient Safety Governance & Leadership and Patient Education, and 97 percent in all other standards of best practice. In 2008 the hospital received accreditation from Accreditation Canada International, and in 2011 and 2014 from the updated Accreditation Canada Qmentum International, rated Platinum and Diamond respectively. Diamond is the highest possible level of accreditation by this particular survey team, proving New Mowasat Hospital’s dedication

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H E A LT H C A R E

American Creativity Academy 09 Mar 2017

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to continuous improvement, clinical best practice in their country – that excellence and patient care. doesn’t work. It makes sense to us “We’ve had accreditation bodies here for everybody to work in a Kuwaiti coming in for nine years, and the way, and establishes a solid working surveys are done to prove that our environment.” That benchmarks protocols and practices are on par itself to the best in the world with the best hospitals in the world.

This even extends to local-specific Kuwait is a dynamic and rich country medical specialties. One particular and because of the size we don’t focus at New Mowasat Hospital is have many of these institutions, but IVF treatment, for which it hires some elsewhere in the Middle of the best professionals in East and the rest of the the world.“In the Middle world, accreditation is East like everywhere important and holds else not having kids a lot of value in the is considered a big eyes of the public issue,” Dr Varghese and the regulators. explains. “People NUMBER OF Our standards are who can’t have EMPLOYEES AT NEW MOWASAT important to us.” kids don’t want to HOSPITAL Being here makes go public about it, so a lot of financial sense, they come for discreet IVF so we’ve ended up with a multitreatment. It’s a taboo subject that cultural society due to staff and people don’t like to talk about, but patient population from across the we’ve had the systems in place to globe and at the hospital we have do this for about 17 years. We have around 22 nationalities, most of which very well qualified doctors; it’s very are Middle Eastern or Asian. But delicate, specialist work and it has to that means we have to standardize be perfect. It’s not like having a cold things; you can’t just let people do or a fever – it takes a lot more time what they think is right because it’s and it’s easier to go wrong. We’ve

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got a very strong team of IVF doctors who have been with us for a decade. We have high success rates, particularly for patients between 30 and 40 years old when they are at peak health.” And our success rates are the best in the region.

While New Mowasat Hospital has had its limitations – such as the lack of interventional cardiology & cardiac surgery treatments – it is looking to include these in its roster of services in the near future. It plans to implement these along with a focus on nephrology, neurology, intensive acre and others in the next two-to-three years, and most of all, maintain its status as the number one Kuwaiti private healthcare provider.

Its four key pillars are: Patient Care, Safety & Continuous Improvement; People Development; Financial Performance & Growth; and Appropriate use of technology.

Dr Varghese concludes: “There is room for further expansion, and we are working hard to fully stabilize and reinvent our current position and race towards the future. The Kuwait market doesn’t grow like other parts of the world, because there isn’t a big populace going in and out. You’ve got to maintain what you have and make smart investments.”

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H E A LT H C A R E

“We’ve had accreditation bodies coming in for nine years, and the surveys are done to prove that our protocols, practices and outcomes are on par with the best hospitals in the world�

Emirates NBD

First-class banking in the UAE Written by Catherine Rowell Produced by Heykel Ouni

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Senior Vice President of Procurement and Realty Services Abdullatif Albastaki discusses how the move towards digitisation has impacted financial services in the UAE

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ince its formation in 2007, Emirates National Bank of Dubai (NBD) has been going from strength to strength, with operations in nine countries across the world including the UAE, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Kingdom, Singapore and other countries such as India which will start operation in Q4 2017. With the potential to grow and deliver value to shareholders, customers and employees, the bank is staffed by over 10,000 employees representing 70 nationalities,

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cementing its position within the UAE with the potential to expand into further markets. With the aim to grow the business and its operations in alignment with Dubai’s Smart City vision, Emirates NBD is continually reassessing its procurement and supply chain strategies, remaining innovative with the creation of new products and services, with over 200 branches in the UAE and worldwide.

With a multitude of roles under his umbrella, Senior Vice President of Procurement and Realty Services Abdullatif Albastaki is responsible for the group procurement for the entirety of Emirates NBD, including Emirates Islamic Banks and the company’s international branches.

In addition, Albastaki is behind the delivery of the bank’s supply and management in all regions, physical security, travel and transportation, alongside projects and engineering.

Furthermore, his remit includes the fit outs for the bank and facilities management for both owned and lease branches. However, with regards to residential buildings, Albastaki confirms that this service

S U P P LY C H A I N

is outsourced to specific companies, with contracts monitored closely.

“We provide all the support, strategic services and project management skills to ensure products that are required for businesses run smoothly and for products to reach the market on time, according to schedule,” explains Albastaki. “Last year was the best collaborative year between procurement and all the other businesses.”

“We provide all the support, strategic services and project management skills to ensure products required for businesses run smoothly and for products to reach the market on time”

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Procurement power With one of the biggest brand names in the region’s banking industry, Emirates NBD has significant buying power and presence within the UAE. To this effect, the bank continually focuses on providing an advantageous space for employees and customers through leasing management, fit outs and design.

Albastaki sits on multiple steering committees, which incorporates the visibility and budget of new branches, alongside ones which need refurbishing and remodeling. All of this is allocated before the end of the year, with the aim to provide focus for the year ahead. It also ensures that all buildings under Emirates NBD are designed in alignment with the rules and regulations of the country, and that they are designed smartly to ensure collaboration with multiple teams. Albastaki comments: “Through negotiation and research, we find the best spaces, working with consultants and contractors to provide this in the best way possible, but at the same time, providing the best value for money,

alongside the use of ISO certified and environment friendly materials.”

With approximately AED 3 billion invested in purchasing operations, Emirates NBD utilises procurement software Zycus to successfully undertake strategic sourcing, at which Albastaki is behind every purchase. Both requirements and budgeting is finalised at executive level, which is then cascaded down and allocated, enabling all teams to understand their forecast, build the required resources and allocate them accordingly in alignment with the number of projects planned.

“We collaborate and sit together to plan all of the projects realistically, so we are able to hand it over due to the required time,” comments Albastaki. This has enabled the bank to achieve no delays in any given project, with products and services delivered on time and on schedule.

Albastaki continues: “This highlights that we have strong teams in both Procurement and Realty Services in addition to the outstanding suppliers and service providers that led us to build strong stakeholders trust.”

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Quick to market The bank’s IT procurement team works closely with the group’s IT services to ensure first mover advantage with new products and ideas, with a strong focus on customer feedback and requirements. “From a strategic point of view, we are using a strong brand name which allows us to be the first in the market most of the time”, explains Albastaki. With a continual focus on sourcing technologies, Emirates NBD ensures these are consistently up to date, up to speed and open in the market, providing a stream of procurement earlier than everyone else, or alongside everybody else.

Albastaki adds: “It’s really essential for us

to be advanced with technology in our procurement and supply chain and of course, from the supplier perspective, we look at all these points as well.”

The bank has announced that it aims to invest AED 500 million over the next five years towards digital innovation and multichannel transformation of processes, products and services.

Listening to customers’ feedback and providing consistent innovative solutions has enabled Emirates NBD to win a multitude of awards, such as Bank of the Year, Best Customer Experience in Banking and Best Mobile Banking app. It has also become the first bank in the UAE and the Middle East to win in three

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categories at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence in 2016. Albastaki adds: “All of these are of course useful leverages, which we can use in negotiations with suppliers.”

The bank utilises approximately 2,000 suppliers - a mix of both national and international - enabling it to cement its status as leaders in the market, manage all sourcing elements to a high standard and remain ahead of the game. Albastaki explains, “the number of suppliers goes up and down, because some smaller suppliers we sometimes bring in for one time only”. However, he adds: “We have

approximately 100 or more strategic suppliers”, which is continually fluctuating.

From a spend perspective, Albastaki confirms that there can be up to 200 suppliers that the bank can consider.

Nonetheless, the growth of Emirates NBD has not been without its challenges. One common issue is governance, both in Dubai and countries where the bank imports from, whilst logistics, lead time and benchmarking services are also regular challenges. Albastaki explains: “We are on boards with leaders and consultants which give us insight on

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“Being a brand name, we are strong and can mutually come to a common ground with suppliers and service providers to finalise our contracts”

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what prices are around the world, and we try to benchmark them on current market conditions as well.”

Emirates NBD also encounters internal challenges with regards to contracting, insurance and risk, at which Albastaki explains, “some governing bodies we have internally would want to see a minimum requirement which might not fit the suppliers’ appetite”. However, he concludes: “Luckily, being a brand name, we are strong ourselves and can mutually come to a common ground and finalise our contracts.”

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Abdullatif Albastaki Senior Vice President Group Procurement & Realty Services

“We need to be digital, secure, and influence our customers to use and explore the digital world�

E M I R AT E S N B D

Millennial influence Technological innovation is imperative for Emirates NBD to retain and attract further customers, remain competitive and bring requirements and products to the market effectively, ensuring positive, continual customer engagement.

IT has become the biggest spend at Emirates NBD, where over 87 percent of the bank’s customer transactions are now undertaken through digital channels.

For this year, the bank will be focusing on the millennial generation and its influence within banking and digitisation. “We have noticed that the new generation want everything at their fingertips. People do all their payments online, transfers online, sort their credit card payments online, so the need to carry cash is becoming less, year on year,” explains Albastaki.

“To allow this, we need to be digital, secure, and influence our customers to use and explore the digital world.”

The bank’s aim to be proactive with customers and solve problems before they occur through providing solutions before customers ask for

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them is something Emirates NBD is striving to achieve. Use of online and mobile apps and products, creating a seamless and convenient financial service, will allow it to do just that.

With the vision to be globally recognised as a financial services provider, delivering tailored, innovative banking solutions, Emirates NBD will continue to listen to customers and drive key products to the market, whilst ensuring all new services encompass accessibility and remain user friendly through embedding smart technologies, strategic sourcing and essential procurement services. In 2016, the bank achieved all targets, despite a slowing in the market, and achieved steady growth, cementing its position within the UAE and opening up the future for expansion into new markets in years to come.

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