GCC businesses work to increase public trust

Riyadh

Businesses across the GCC are increasingly adopting more rigorous corporate governance standards and becoming more transparent in their communications to win deeper public trust, according to the latest trend.

This shift towards an approach focusing on the public is being driven by chairmen and more professional boards.  

The issue of building more effective boards was debated by more than 60 chairmen and CEOs of regional leading organisations at the 3rd Chairman Summit hosted by the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI) in Riyadh in partnership with Investcorp.  

Mohammed Al Shroogi, Co-CEO of Investcorp and BDI chairman, said,  “In an uncertain world of globalisation, depressed oil prices, and unrest, the role of the chairman is increasingly under scrutiny to set the tone for stability and long term growth of the business.”

He stressed on building more effective, professional boards and adopting the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency in communications and said such a move would help all types of organisations – from family-owned businesses to publicly listed companies and state-owned enterprises  – to bring greater confidence to their shareholders and to win the trust of the public.

The Chairman Summit featured three panel discussions with each focusing on a specific aspect of the role of the chairman:  the value of reputation, the chairman’s role in enhancing board effectiveness, and the board’s role in leading companies through change.

Panelists included Saudi Electricity Co chairman Dr. Saleh Alawaji, Saudi Telecom Co chairman Dr. Abdullah Al AbdulGader, Petro Rabigh chairman Abdulaziz Al Judaimi, Shell’s Saudi Arabia country chairman Patrick van Daele, Dr Abdullah El Kuwaiz – chairman of the international advisory board of ACWA Power, and Northrop Grumman’s  Saudi Arabia CEO Walid Abukhaled.