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HR summit kicks off in Dubai

Dubai, October 7, 2013

More than 40 regional and international HR heads from some of the biggest regional and multinational organisations in the world are taking part in the HR Summit and Expo which opened today in Dubai.

The event was officially opened by Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, UAE Minister of Labour at the Dubai International and Exhibition Centre.

Three-day event puts spotlight on regional HR best practice, according to the organisers. The highlight of the opening day is a lecture by world’s most prominent management and leadership guru Tom Peters.

He is also the co-author of the best-selling book, In Search of Excellence.

Having authored more than 16 business and leadership books spanning nearly thirty years, Peters single-handedly invented the ‘management guru industry,’ said the organisers.

He will be discussing at the HR Summit the ‘people first’ concept that formed the basis of highly evolved dynamic organisations.

Celebrating 10 years in 2013, the HR Summit and Expo has attracted a speaker line-up of top experts. The third day of the summit will feature Chester Elton, the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book, All In, who will address more than 2,000 delegates throughout the region about how positive leadership and fostering an organisational culture of belief can triple a company’s productivity.

Elton said: "In All In, we built a seven step road map from researching 300,000 people in 25 countries, which shows managers how to build a positive organisational culture in any type of company."

“Organisations such as those in the Middle East with diverse workforces might not follow the same cultural path as one of the USA’s iconic organisational cultures such as Apple, but by following the seven steps, they can build a culture that is uniquely theirs, one that its people will buy into and believe in,” he noted.

The expo features 45 free-to-attend HR seminars, while an exhibition floor will provide a dedicated platform for more than 50 companies to share their latest HR solutions.

One of the highlights on the second day (Tuesday 8 October) will be a case study panel discussion about how top regional organisations are preparing their leaders for the future.

Mark Bechtold, the senior HR and organisational development advisor at Saudi oil & gas giant, Saudi Aramco, and one of the speakers on the panel said: "Every effective leader must be highly proficient in the technical aspects of business management, but the real key in this day and age is the connection with people."

“A leader is only as good as his or her people, so getting the most out of employees in an organisation is a much an art as it is a science. I look for quick learners who think systematically and who demonstrate virtuous values and a willingness to take risk – those who consider employees and colleagues as primary customers,” he remarked.

Ricarda Ruecker, the VP of Leadership & Organisation Development at Middle East Communications Network (MCN), and another panellist, added: “When assessing leadership potential, behavioural attributes and the ability of managing people are key. The willingness to learn and the level of self awareness also play an essential role. Many leaders fail because they are lacking these skills, not because they are not functionally or technically savvy.”

Other speakers include Saleh Al-Harthi, the general manager of Leadership Development at STC Group; Ashwani Dahiya, the VP of Global HR Analytics at American Express; Paula McManus, senior VP of Talent Development at the NBAD and Henrik Hansen, the global head of HR Information Technology at Medtronic.

Celebrating a night to remember for a year of hard work, the Middle East HR Excellence Awards and gala dinner will also take place tomorrow where the achievements of individuals, departments, teams and organisations would be recognised.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Dubai | expo | Summit | HR |

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