Corporate Leaders Honored at Financial Summit

The Annual Financial Thought Leaders Summit marked its second day at the Grosvenor House hotel with a gala Visionary Leaders Corporate Awards function, which recognized the contributions of C-level executives who have demonstrated a positive impact not only on their organizations, but the GCC as a whole.

Organized by French business information group naseba, the event connected up to 100 senior-level delegates to collate industry data and discuss sustainable growth plans for the GCC. Last night saw the.

Faisal Al Bannai, CEO of Axiom Telecom, scooped the CEO of the Year award winner at the ceremony. Axiom Telecom serves around 95 per cent of the 1,500 small shops trading in the UAE. It offers phones, SIM cards and accessories on a makeshift, ‘micro-distribution’ basis to capture the lower end of the market.

One of the recurring themes of the opening day’s discussions was the need for diversity, not only in terms of product but in location, processes, and leadership. Al Bannai noted that micro-distribution was a “part of the business [that] was key to the company’s growth and had helped to double net profits last year.”

The corporate awards also considered key factors such as the need to create jobs for young people, and the Innovative Leader of the Year award winner achieved just that. Rashid Fahad Al Naimi, chairman of the board of directors, Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Development has contributed significantly to improving the job market for young people in Qatar.