Dear members,
We’re kicking off 2018 with a fantastic addition to the GCC BDI affiliate network – the Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group of Companies (YBA Kanoo). As a leading conglomerate in the region, Bahrain-headquartered YBA Kanoo has long been an advocate of good corporate governance. By joining hands with our organisation, YBA Kanoo aims to help evolve the wider regional ethical governance agenda.
This Spring, we have also grown our staff count as well as our affiliates. Please join me in welcoming Lucy Turner, who is our new Director of Corporate Services.
This year is also notable for the fact the GCC BDI has also welcomed Sami Ahmed Abdullah Aljamea, Operations head of National Bank of Bahrain, as its 1,000th member.
By John Crawley
Boards and CEOs often ask me about what their main risks are. I always start by reminding them of the definition of risk (ISO31000), which is “the effect of uncertainty on the achievement of their objectives”. This helps anchor the question back to their business objectives and therefore narrow the universe of risks that they are exposed to.
As of February 2018, we have updated our membership programme.
Majority of the corporates in UAE are in the oil & gas, trade and real estate sectors. AED being pegged to US Dollar, the relative valuation of USD is one of the major risks faced by corporates as it directly impacts demand for the key economic sectors in UAE. This also impacts the credit availability in the economy.
UAE has strong trading relationships with many countries, particularly economies in Asia and Europe, including China, India. To the extent that there is a significant slowdown in the economies of any of these countries or regions, this may have a negative impact on UAE corporates.
Reflecting the fact that the UAE’s currency is pegged at a fixed rate to the U.S. dollar, any significant appreciation in value of the U.S. dollar, whether driven by increasing U.S. interest rates or other factors, could result in UAE firms becoming less competitive.
Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group of Companies (YBA Kanoo), one of the largest independent family-owned multinational businesses in the Middle East, has recently joined the GCC Board Directors Institute (GCC BDI), the leading governance organisation in the Arabian Gulf, as a Corporate Affiliate.
Economies are in constant flux and now more than ever businesses are under pressure to perform. Company performance is being put under the microscope by shareholders and other stakeholders alike.
Environment, health and safety (EHS) management has become increasingly important in the past 10 years, especially within high risk and high reliability organizations. EHS is driven from the top of an organization, and whilst there has been much research about EHS leadership, there is very little on EHS governance and the director’s role in leading or influencing change in organizational safety/EHS performance.
A significant aspect of risk governance is informed decision making by senior persons within an organization. What is challenging is balancing between the details of the risks which are posed in an environment of ever-increasing complexity. That is why truly you need to develop directors and executives to better understand risks and the relationship of those risks with one another.
Reserve your seat today for our next workshop