Continuum 2012

Family Business Conference 2012

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Word from the Managing Director of the

Tharawat Family Business Forum Dear Friends, It is a great pleasure for me to introduce this year’s report on the outcome of the Continuum Family Business Conference, held on August 29th-31st 2012 in London.

After a very successful Continuum 2011, the Tharawat Family Business Forum held the second annual Continuum Conference with more guests from many regions of the world, and a varied, interactive program with challenging sessions.

Continuum gathered family businesses for three days of knowledge exchange, business talks and networking activities. Once again, Continuum has proven that its mission – to facilitate an intercultural business dialogue between families- to be an important goal in today’s world.

Continuum’s success is given thanks to the excellent content presented by our speakers and the fantastic input and participation given by our guests from all regions and all generations. The conference’s diversity, open atmosphere for an honest dialogue allows the strengthening of existing ties and the forging of new ones.

Dr. Hischam El Agamy www.tharawat.org

Vision Continuum facilitates an international and inter-generational dialogue between family businesses from all regions.

About Continuum Organized by the Tharawat Family Business Forum, the Continuum Family Business Conference is an annual conference, bringing together leading business families from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Continuum is a unique opportunity for families to meet, exchange experiences and share visions. Since the first conference in 2011, Continuum’s sole purpose has always been to create an exclusive atmosphere where family businesses from all regions can gather to discuss about where family businesses stand in the global arena today.

London as one of the global meeting places has been an ideal host for our conference, and so Continuum continues to strive to become a meeting point and fixed date on the agenda of business leaders.

2012 Program Highlights included: - Exclusive Backstage tour of the Royal Opera House - Young Generation Workshop - Seminar on writing a Family Constitution - Interactive session on Leadership with the Drama School of the University of London - Live sessions with family business leaders - Business talks on the state of the economy and global business opportunities

CONTINUUM›S DIVERSITY

Switzerland • India • Kuwait • Qatar • U.A.E Oman • K.S.A • Sudan • Venezuela • France • U.K

Continuum‘s Diversity At this year’s Continuum conference we brought together family businesses from the MENA, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

With every participant came a different story and culture, richly filled with experiences, ideas and emotions. With the state of the economy on everyone’s mind, business was discussed on a global scale, and Continuum participants shared their challenges with their peers, but also pointed to the opportunities that lie behind it all.

CONTINUUM TALKS

What did Continuum talk about ?

The focus of Continuum 2012 was “Leadership” and all its facets. The conference explored how leadership steers companies through turbulent economic times, how it keeps a family together and how the young generation can learn to be the future leaders.

The sessions and debates that took place addressed issues such as: - Young Generation integration into the family business - Effective and successful communication skills for leaders - Corporate governance as a leadership tool - Developing family governance systems - Success stories and challenges of family businesses - Corporate social responsibility in fast growth economies - Challenges in today’s global economy - Trade balance and the shift of power - International business opportunities

CONTINUUM›S DIVERSITY

NextGen Session “Your children are not you, there is a gap and you must accept it.”

– Abdallah Obeikan, CEO of Obeikan Investment Group, Saudi Arabia The young generation session has become an integral part of Continuum. Holding a special session for tomorrow’s leaders, giving them the opportunity to learn from each other and to network is at the very core of Continuum’s mission. In the 2012 NextGen Session, the audience learned about effective communication from the Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, explored case studies and participated in practical exercises. The participants also had the opportunity to discuss how families can better support the development of the next generation of leaders and were able to share their thoughts with family business leaders through presentations. The resulting dialogues amongst the NextGen participants and between generations, greatly helped understand the challenges on the road ahead, but mainly highlighted the great potential that lies in this upcoming group of young leaders.

CONTINUUM SPOTLIGHT TALKS ON

THE YOUNG GENERATION So, how can family businesses support NextGen leadership?

The participants suggested the following points in response: - More mentoring of young family members - Young generation committees to address challenges but also to practice decision making - Give young family members more responsibility but also test them with more accountability - The opportunity to shadow leaders would be helpful for young family members to understand the responsibilities of leadership

Speakers in this session Abdullah Al Zamil from Zamil Industries, Saudi Arabia Abdullah shared with us his thoughts on “What makes a successful leader.”

Veronica Maldonado from the GEM Family Office, Venezuela, “Acknowledge and accept that very strong emotions and family dynamics play an important role in the family business, and you will have to deal with it constructively”

Dania Besher from Mac Investments, Egypt Dania took the stage to pass on her experiences with regards to “Managing an Intra-Generational Change Process in a family business”.

CONTINUUM›S SPOTLIGHT DIVERSITY ON

THE FAMILY BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

First Impressions & their power…

On the second day of the conference, the attendees explored various aspects of family business leadership. How have family business leaders faced uncertain and challenging times? What were the lessons learnt? How can families improve the communication between their generations and integrate all available talent?

Speakers in this session Sharing the lessons learnt by his family Hertford King, CEO of International Group Limited, UK stressed on the importance of sharing and developing talent within the family. Innovative and focused leadership, as well as a clear understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses help overcome crisis and to take advantage of opportunities that others might not see.

Following this session, Veronica Maldonado from the GEM Family Office in Venezuela, shared her experiences with her family in Venezuela and highlighted the challenges to develop a functioning and efficient family governance system. She also discussed that her family is dedicated to develop “good owners”, in order to ensure longevity and sustainability. “Dealing responsibly with a crisis is one of the greatest tasks to handle for family business owners” she said.

Anees Sultan, GM Group Financial Analysis and Head of Supplies Division of WJ Towell from Oman then took the floor to address how to capture entrepreneurship in the family business. Explaining that innovation can come from outside as well as inside the family, he said “Most importantly, you need to give family members tests in order to understand entrepreneurship properly.” However, capturing entrepreneurship in a family business is no easy task and it takes a trained eye to do so.

Peter Alink GM and CEO of BFIM, KSA, as a non-family executive in a leading Saudi family business highlighted key reasons why entrepreneurship is not for everyone and how important supporting entrepreneurial process in family businesses is. He stated “Not everyone is an entrepreneur. Personal traits, recognition, selection, and fitting roles to personalities… they are all factors that contribute to identifying who is the entrepreneur”.

Dr. Denise Kenyon, Family Business Expert and Founder of Gen10, Switzerland then took the floor with a workshop on writing a family constitution. The workshop revolved around the story of a fictional Kuwaiti-Egyptian family business – the Al Mamnoon Family. The session challenged the audience to address the Al Mamnoon family’s problems and solve them through developing a strong family constitution.

CONTINUUM SPOTLIGHT TALKS ON

THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND TALKING BUSINESS

Business Talks The “Business Talks” are a series of events hosted by the Tharawat Family Business Forum several times a year in various capitals in our region. During these events, business leaders address their challenges, share best practices and explore business opportunities. The “Business Talks” have become an exclusive space for networking and for a focused debate amongst peers.

Speakers in this session The Continuum Business Talks were held on the last day of the conference and addressed crucial issues in two panel sessions. The panelists of the first session spoke about “mapping opportunities in fast growth economies”.

Abdulgalil Besher, Chairman of the Coca Cola bottling Company, Abdallah Obeikan, CEO of Obeikan Investment Group, and Essa Al Ghurair Vice Chairman of Al Ghurair Investments and Chairman of Al Ghurair Foods addressed the obstacles facing families entering in new markets, the shift of economic powers and how businesses can take advantage of them.

Veronica Maldonado, from GEM Family Office, Fredric Guinot CEO, of Farinia and Salah Al Wazzan, Managing Director at Nafais Holding, took the stage in the second panel to debate “leadership in the current economic landscape”. The panelists addressed the challenge coming from the emerging new structure in the global economic and socio-economic systems. They emphasized the importance of efficient decision making to ensure sustainable leadership and to be able to take advantage of opportunities.

The Langham Hotel

The Langham, London has been delighting guests with enchanting hospitality since opening as Europe’s first ‘Grand Hotel’ in 1865.

Following an £80m refurbishment, guests are once more captivated from the moment they step into the dazzling lobby. The Langham has a fine range of rooms and suites, Chuan Spa, a fine dining restaurant, Roux at The Landau, and the Palm Court, home of afternoon tea. Located in the heart of the West End on Regent Street and close to Bond Street, Oxford Street, London’s theatre-land and just 10 minutes from the city, The Langham has one of London’s most enviable addresses.

As the location of choice for Continuum 2012, the Langham welcomes the conference in its beautiful conference facilities.

The Central School of London The Central School of London’s presence at Continuum, focused on the theme of effective communication skills for leaders.

In a practical and interactive session, they gave all participants an insight to understanding different leadership behaviors and how to use them most effectively to achieve clear goals. By sharing practical examples and exercises, the audience was empowered to apply their new knowledge and use it in everyday situations.

OUR PARTNERS

The Royal Opera House The Cultural Excursion.

The Royal Opera, under the direction of Antonio Pappano, is one of the world’s leading opera companies. It is renowned and known world­wide for its outstanding performances of both traditional opera as well as commissioning new works by today’s leading opera composers.

The Royal Ballet based at the Royal Opera House, is led by Director Dame Monica Mason, and is Britain’s largest ballet company.

For attendees of Continuum 2012 the Royal Opera House opened its doors and allowed a rare look behind the scenes of one of the world’s leading cultural institutions.

The backstage tour gave the attendees first hand experience on being behind the curtains, in the dressing rooms, below stage were the orchestra is set. All the magnificent parts of putting a production together, came to life before them whilst talking to the people who worked there and seeing it in plain sight.

COMPANIES REPRESENTED

Companies Represented by the Attendees • Al Ghurair Investments & Al Ghurair Foods, UAE • Kadi Group Holding, KSA • Obeikan Investment Group, KSA • Al Nahla Group, KSA • Nafais Holding, Kuwait • Burhan International Construction Co.,Qatar • Zamil Group Holding, KSA • The Zubair Corporation, Oman • BFIM, KSA • Gen10, Switzerland • GEM Family Office, Venzuela • RP&C International Limited, UK • SAMACO Automotive, KSA • Nasser Bin Abdullatif Alserkal Est., UAE • The Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Egypt, Egypt • Shade Corporation, KSA • Mac Investments, Egypt • Beit Binzagr, KSA • Elnefeidi Group Holding Company Ltd., Sudan • Farinia, France • Crescent Petroleum, UAE • W. J. Towell & Co. LLC, Oman • International Group Limited, UK • Venus Capital Management, UK

Continuum 2013 Next year the Continuum Family Business Conference will celebrate its 3rd anniversary!

True to its vision to facilitate an international and inter-generational dialogue between family businesses from all regions, Continuum continues to innovate and to offer innovative input for a constructive debate.

With every year that Continuum grows, relationships get stronger, new ties are forged and ideas are born.

Join Continuum 2013 and get to know a community of family businesses that shares a common purpose of building a better future for the generations to come!

Upcoming Events Arabian NextGen Dubai 23rd May 2013 Continuum Family Business Conference London 21st August 2013 Istanbul Business Talks october 2013 Beirut Business Talks December 2013

‫منتدى ثروات للشركات العائلية‬ ‫من شركة عائلية إلى شركة عائلية‬

Tharawat Family Business forum from family businesses for family businesses Learn more about us: www.tharawat.org www.tharawatconfrerences.org www.facebook.com/tharawat www.arabian-nextgen.org