The document summarizes the 6th annual Global Competitiveness Forum held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in January 2012. The forum focused on "The Entrepreneurship Imperative" theme and brought together over 100 speakers across 35 panels and workshops to discuss challenges facing entrepreneurs and how entrepreneurship can drive economic growth. Over 2000 people attended the three-day event. Keynote speakers included leaders from business, government, and academia who shared their perspectives on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

2. Under the patronage of His Majesty
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Chairman of the Supreme Economic Council

3. GCF History 7
GCF 2012 Executive Summary 19
Table of Contents Session Highlights
Entrepreneurship Village and Portal
29
71
GCF 2012 Speakers 73
GCF 2012 Sponsors and Media 83
Partners
GCF 2012 Gallery 91

5. GCF History
Professor Michael Porter
Bishop William Lawrence University Professor,
Harvard Business School

6. 2007
Knowledge-Powered Economy
1st
GCF
Information and Communication As an industry at the forefront of
Technology (ICT) as an Enabler for change, Saudi leaders identified
Competitiveness” was the theme and implemented a bold program of
addressed at the first ever Global economic reforms and have encouraged
Competitiveness Forum held in 2006. the creation of a highly active,
The forum explored the impact ICT can innovative and competitive private
have on competitiveness and how to sector. The keynote speech – entitled
harness that impact to its full potential. “ICT as an Enabler of Competitiveness”
was presented by Bill Gates, Chairman
Participants concluded that ICT was
of the Microsoft Corporation and was
a critical tool from which to build a
followed by presentations, and panel
knowledge-based society with a highly
discussions based on the National
productive population and economy
Competitiveness Agenda and ICT as
driven by knowledge-based assets,
an enabler in achieving Saudi’s 10x10
skills and innovation, as opposed to one
program.
based on just natural resources or labor
advantages.

7. 2008
Global Growth Engine
2nd
GCF
The second annual Global benefit of competitiveness and to Speakers included Professor Michael
Competitiveness Forum was expanded position competitiveness as a key global Porter from Harvard University, John
in both scope and size to provide a challenge. Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco,
high-profile and global perspective and Professor Stephane Garelli, Director
The GCF attracted internationally
on competitiveness that would of the IMD World Competitiveness
recognized leaders to speak and
simultaneously increase the visibility Center.
participate and included subthemes
of the Kingdom’s efforts and further
ranging from education to
develop the GCF platform. The event was
entrepreneurship, infrastructure to
designed to be a premier gathering of
innovation and much more. Sessions
global thought leaders and innovators,
were designed around various aspects
who would then go on to participate at
of competitiveness to create the
the World Economic Forum in Davos.
appropriate platform for discussion
With the theme of “Competitiveness as by experts, corporate leaders, political
an Engine for Economic Growth”, it aimed leaders, NGOs, academics and other
to draw attention to the macroeconomic stakeholders.

8. 2009
Delivering World-Class Value
3rd
GCF
The third annual Global Competitiveness At a time when financial distress had contribution to shared prosperity.
Forum followed on from and improved erased trillions of dollars in asset value
To answer these questions, the world’s
upon the first and second forums, worldwide, the Global Competitiveness
premier gathering on competitiveness
and convened as the global economy Forum’s first speech by Carlos Ghosn,
challenges was joined by eminent leaders,
appeared to fall over a precipice in Nissan’s President and CEO, declared:
executives, intellectuals and Olympic
January 2009. “Value creation is what responsible
athletes with visionary perspectives on
competitiveness is all about”. For nations,
The conference’s theme, “Responsible how to link the competitiveness agenda
as for enterprises, competitiveness
Competitiveness”, provided in many with a far-reaching concern for social
is about delivering world-class value
ways a summary of and a productive responsibility. The insights that emerged
to customers, to employees and to
approach to the challenges ahead. were powerful, and proceedings of the
investors. Yet, as the economic crisis
2009 GCF informed an open letter to
How could irresponsible management unfolding in early 2009 made clear, to
the leaders of the G20 member nations
have led world markets in credit, in be meaningful, competition needed to
calling for an aggressive, coordinated
housing, in energy, in crops so badly proceed on a responsible footing.
response.
astray, and how could responsibility be
In areas ranging from carbon to credit,
restored? How could governments and
GCF panelists agreed that apparently
the private sector tackle multi-faceted
profitable global markets had often
economic problems without stalling
destroyed rather than created value
the drive for competitiveness and
and explored ways of restoring their
shared prosperity?

9. 2010
Sustainable Competitiveness
4th
GCF
The fourth annual Global Competitiveness concern with sustainability and social systems with which it is intertwined. In
Forum convened as the global economy responsibility. The insights that emerged addition to tackling issues of sustainable
appeared to be recovering from one of the were a testament to the growth and competitiveness, the fourth annual
greatest economic challenges of our time. global scale of the GCF 2010. GCF hosted a number of events that
The conference’s theme, “Sustainable The Forum featured speeches from created networking opportunities and
Competitiveness”, summarized the business leaders, including GE’s Jeffrey drove international media attention. On
outcomes of the recession and provided Immelt, Cisco’s John Chambers, Michael every evening during the Forum, SAGIA
a productive approach to the challenges Dell, and Paul Polman of Unilever. Saudi hosted a gala dinner that featured one
ahead. How could management prevent leaders H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf and H.E. of its initiatives. The initiatives at the
a future crisis? Did governments react Dr. Mohammad Al-Jasser brought the Forum were the second annual Saudi
appropriately? How could we move Saudi perspective on the global crisis. Fast Growth 100, the Michael Porter
forward by increasing regulation to Finally, the Forum was closed by Jeffrey Prize and the Saudi Arabian Responsible
prevent another crisis, while ensuring Immelt, who discussed a number of Competitiveness Index, as well as the
regulation did not stifle competitiveness? specific recommendations on remaining launch of the CEO 100. Additionally,
To answer these questions, the world’s sustainably competitive, both for there were daily book signings that
premier gathering on competitiveness companies and nations. featured many of the speakers at the
challenges was joined by global leaders, Forum, as well as an art exhibition that
The key takeaway from the Forum was
executives and intellectuals with put the spotlight on Saudi artists. Finally,
that to deliver sustainable prosperity,
visionary perspectives on how to link the there were special media sessions with
capitalism must be attentive to the social,
competitiveness agenda to a far-reaching Bloomberg and CNN filmed at the Forum.
environmental, political and financial

10. 2011
Innovation
5th
GCF
The fifth annual Global Competitiveness keynote speech by Bill Clinton, Founder iPads and harnessing the power of social
Forum heralded the celebration of both of the William J. Clinton Foundation and media outlets like Twitter and Facebook
the fifth year anniversary as well as 42nd President of the United States. for the latest GCF news and commentary.
the completion of the 10x10 program. More than any previous GCF, the world
The Forum’s opening ceremony was
With the theme of “Innovation as was introduced to the GCF through
presided over by H.R.H. Prince Nayef
a Means of Competitiveness”, the the almost 20 leading media partners
Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Second Deputy
conference dug into the key elements including CNN and Financial Times.
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, with
of the competitiveness agenda and
various ministers also in attendance In addition, the GCF celebrated the
the role innovation plays, drawing
including H.R.H. Minister of Municipal various initiatives and announced
upon the expertise and knowledge of
and Rural Affairs, Prince Mansour Bin winners for the RCI, SFG, FDI, Oxford and
some of the world’s brightest and most
Miteb, Minister of Justice, Mohammed the newest MCY, the Most Competitive
accomplished figures. Sessions focused
Al-Issa, Minister of Petroleum and Youth Initiative which focuses on
on sector-specific innovation as well as
Mineral Resources, Ali Al-Naimi, Minister developing the new leaders of tomorrow.
topics such as the world’s food supply,
of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah
UFOs, Cities of the Future and more.
Zainal Alireza and Minister of Labor, Adel
The 10x10 program was celebrated with Fakieh, amongst many more.
a dedicated panel discussion on the
third day with a distinguished panel of The Forum was the first e-forum of its
speakers. This was followed by a surprise kind, using the latest technology via

11. “
“
I wouldn’t have come here if I was not
optimistic.
GCF 2012 Executive Summary H.R.H. Prince Turki Al-Faisal
Chairman, Board of Directors,
King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies

12. 2012
6th
GCF
GCF 2012 now more important than ever and were Unilever’s Paul Polman, Gallup’s Jim Clifton, 3M’s George
how can it be financed? What is the Buckley, Aramex’s Fadi Ghandour; Michael Porter, the Bishop
For the past six years, the Global relationship between a competitive William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business
Competitiveness Forum has been society and an entrepreneurial School; Jean Chretien, former Prime Minister of Canada and
successfully probing different areas of one? What are the distinguishing Un-Chan Chung, former Prime Minister of South Korea.
the global competitiveness agenda. The characteristics of an entrepreneur and
sixth annual conference convened as In addition, many Saudi leaders and ministers attended the
how important is failure? How can we
the global economy has been struggling Forum. H.E. Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and
foster entrepreneurship in the public
to recover from the financial crises Industry, emphasized on the importance of improving the
sector?
and create more jobs. The conference’s quality of life and creating jobs in Saudi Arabia while H.R.H.
theme was “The Entrepreneurship The world’s premier gathering on Prince Turki Al Faisal, Chairman of the King Faisal Center for
Imperative” and it highlighted the power competitiveness challenges brought Research and Islamic Studies, focused in his keynote speech on
of entrepreneurship as an engine of job together more than 100 speakers the key regulatory challenges facing the financial sector and
including eminent leaders, executives governments. H.E. Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, outlined a
growth and economic growth in Saudi
and intellectuals in order to answer these reform agenda for the country’s labor force and H.R.H. Prince
Arabia and the broader global economy.
questions. Their thoughts and ideas Faisal bin Abdullah, Minister of Education, reviewed recent
The Forum touched upon all forms were presented and debated through initiatives to improve Saudi Arabia’s educational system.
of entrepreneurship and sought to more than 30 panels and speeches with
address the various challenges facing more than two thousand attending the
entrepreneurs. Why is entrepreneurship three-day Forum. Some of the speakers

13. Opening Ceremony
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 6th annual Global the importance of entrepreneurship and its
Competitiveness Forum (GCF) was launched relevance to competitiveness. In addition, he
with “The Entrepreneurship Imperative” as its noted that there will be more than 100 speakers,
theme with H.E. Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, Minister of with 35 panels and around 2000 attendees.
Commerce & Industry, delivering a message on
Throughout the presentation, videos were
behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
shown of the past five GCFs and the initiatives
emphasizing the importance of improving the
that were developed from those forums such
quality of life and creating jobs in Saudi Arabia
as the Responsible Competitiveness Index and
through sustainable economic development.
Saudi Fast Growth 100.
Saudi Arabia’s current position as a globally
recognized place to do business is illustrated by The ceremony concluded with awards given to
the World Bank Group’s Doing Business report the GCF Competitiveness Partners, Strategic
ranking of 13 globally and the World Economic Partners, Sponsors and Media Partners.
Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index ranking
of 17.
Mr. Fahd Hamidaddin, Head of Marketing and
Competitiveness Initiatives at SAGIA, explained
how Saudi Arabia has attracted large amounts
of foreign direct investment in recent years and
mentioned that the GCF has come to resemble
“the Davos of Middle East”. Mr. Abdulla Al-
Uzaib, the GCF’s Chief Executive, highlighted

14. Agenda
Day 1 Welcoming & Networking
Keynote Speech
George Buckley, CEO, 3M
Panel Session
Saudi Responsible Competitiveness Index
“
Panel Session
Entrepreneurs must have a dream January 22nd Panel Session
The Entrepreneurship Imperative Generation C - Click, Connect, Communicate, Collaborate
and must act on it to unleash creative
“
energy, overcome challenges and think
2012 Panel Session
The Coming Jobs War
Panel Session
The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
Panel Session
Artrepreneurs: Creating Businesses
Keynote Speech
H.R.H. Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of Education
outside the box. Panel Session
Fostering Entrepreneurship Babson College Workshop
Kevin Roberts Panel Session
The Art of Failure
CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi

15. Agenda Agenda
Day 2 Welcoming & Networking
Keynote Speech
H.R.H. Prince Turki Al Faisal, Chairman, King Faisal
Panel Session
Entrepreneurship in the Public Sector
Day 3 Welcoming & Networking
Keynote Speech
Michael Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University
Panel Session
Entrepreneurs Speak Out: Entrepreneurship
Center for Research and Islamic Studies Professor, Harvard Business School and Economic Growth
January 23rd Panel Session
Panel Session
Aerotropolis January 24th Panel Session Panel Session
2012 2012
CNN Roundtable-Global Risks 2012: Intrapreneurship - How conglomerates do it Hard Talk - Competitiveness
The Challenges Ahead Keynote Speech
Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Panel Session Panel Session
Panel Session Greenovation: Good for business too Disruptive Technologies – Life Extension and Other
An Apple a Day is No Longer Enough Panel Session Emerging Sciences
Show Me the Money Panel Session
Panel Session After the Storm: In the wake of natural disasters Panel Session
The Power of Entrepreneurial Thought and Act Keynote Speech The Innovation Generation
Babson College Workshop H.E. Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labour Panel Session
How to Grow an Entrepreneur - Babson College Workshop Keynote Speech
Panel Session Un-Chan Chung , Former Prime Minister, South Korea
Giving: From Funding to Empowering Keynote Speech
Marco Tempest, Techno-Illusionist
Panel Session
We Love Smart Brands Lunch Program
Most Competitive Youth Initiative (MCY) Lunch Celebration
Lunch Program
Saudi Fast Growth 100 Initiative (SFG) Celebration
27 www.gcf.org.sa

16. “ Entrepreneurship can be taught through
a process of empirically looking at the
behavior of entrepreneurs, testing their
Session Highlights “
thought process through action and
building upon their mistakes.
Len Schlesinger
President, Babson College

17. Keynote Speech The Entrepreneurship Imperative
Day 1 George Buckley, CEO, 3M
What does it take to be an entrepreneur and can innovate. For smaller companies, this equates to
January 22nd “Remaining competitive this be taught to aspiring leaders? creating the regulatory and market conditions
that allow SMEs to grow, but also providing
2012
Panel speakers addressed the ability of
and succeeding in a entrepreneurs to see opportunities where most
financial resources to accountable teams and
economically viable projects.
dynamic economy requires other people don’t. As mentioned by Magatte
Wade, Founder and CEO of the Tiosanno Tribe, Creating the right entrepreneurship ecosystem
a relentless pursuit of “Entrepreneurship is about the freedom to make is a function of the local environment and
innovation and risk.” the world what you want it to be!”. economy, and leaders should avoid the pitfall of
replicating experiences elsewhere locally. “The
Whilst there is no clear formula for success, this
Silicon Valley cannot be replicated around the
panel recognized the significant contribution
“The best way to forecast the future is to create world!” said Len Schlesinger, President of Babson
of entrepreneurship to economic and social
it”, argued Buckley. To truly succeed, companies College.
impact. As such, panel speakers agreed on the
must pursue competitiveness across six
role that governments, societies and business Fadi Ghandour, Founder and CEO of Aramex,
platforms - cost, technology, customer service,
leaders need to play in creating an environment stressed the importance of celebrating local
brands and marketing, distribution and people,
that fosters entrepreneurship and innovation. success stories in the Arab world as a means to
he outlined, adding that innovation within these
encourage entrepreneurship in the Arab youth,
areas should be integrated into the DNA of a In large corporations, this means providing the
and help address the challenges and frustrations
company. adequate freedom and tools for employees to
faced by younger generations.
Buckley concluded his presentation, arguing that
Remaining competitive and succeeding in a Since the advent of globalization, competition companies must “adapt and change, innovate
dynamic economy requires a relentless pursuit in the global market is fiercer than ever, and in all senses of the world, faster than the
Panel Members
of innovation and risk within all areas of a innovations are disrupting established markets competition”, and challenge their competitors
company, said George Buckley, Chairman and and products in the blink of an eye, said Buckley. where they are strong, not only where they are Ana Dutra, Fadi Ghandour, Len Schlesinger John Quelch (Moderator)
CEO of 3M, a global manufacturing company. As Asian competitors who are more nimble, weak. In a rapidly changing business world, CEO, Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Founder & CEO, Aramex President, Babson College CBE, Dean, China Europe International
In his keynote speech opening the first day of energetic and harder working than many “There are no silver medals for second place”. Consulting Business School
the Global Competitiveness Forum, Buckley existing companies enter the market, companies George Buckley, Magatte Wade,
discussed competitiveness and innovation in must adapt to survive through the relentless Christian Klingler Chairman & CEO, 3M Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO, The
a constantly changing world, suggesting that pursuit of innovative incremental improvements Member of the Board of Management, Tiosanno Tribe
while the pursuit of innovation may be risky, it is and ‘great disruptors’.
an essential pursuit in a cutthroat economy.
Volkswagen AG
31 www.gcf.org.sa

18. The Coming Jobs War The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
Taken from the title of a recent book by Gallup, customers and create competitive businesses Entrepreneurs are not born, but rather are ideas. Amy Rosen, President and CEO of the
“The Coming Jobs War” panel discussed the that can generate jobs. built through training, education and a proper Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship added,
growing challenge of meaningful job creation enabling environment that allows them to that while these traits are important, “You can’t
The MENA region suffers from the highest
to the global community and the increasing challenge the status quo, shape opportunities do it [entrepreneurship], if you do not have
regional unemployment rate in the world. A
importance of entrepreneurship as a source of and take risks, said several panelists of The the basic skills to read and do the basic things
key challenge that the region faces is a gross
jobs. According to Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup, the Anatomy of an Entrepreneur discussion on required”.
mismatch between the jobs offered and
number of people around the world who yearn the second day of the Global Competitiveness Audience members who joined the discussion
the skills trained. Lorraine Hariton, Special
for a “good job” is growing rapidly and today Forum. Addressing a crowd of businessmen and suggested that in their experience, the key
Representative at the U.S. Department of State,
exceeds 3 billion. A “good job” lies at the core of women, entrepreneurs and other professionals, characteristics of an entrepreneur were
suggests addressing this challenge by learning
human aspirations today and affects all aspects participants suggested that the genius for amongst other traits, adaptability, perseverance,
from “education for employment” initiatives
of human decisions. The formidable challenge enterprise does not materialize out of nowhere, drive and desire. Enabling these attributes and
that have been tried and tested globally. Hariton
of creating good jobs is exacerbated by the but comes through development. encouraging entrepreneurship in the Middle East
argues that ensuring that college graduates
current shortage of meaningful jobs globally have the skills that will enable them to make Participants declared that developing an will require overcoming a general fear of failure
and the stalling of organic job growth among meaningful contributions to organizations in entrepreneurial spirit and skills requires among people in the region that often prevents
big businesses. the private sector, or as entrepreneurs, will be directed training, mentoring and experience in them from embracing failure as a learning and
There is a growing recognition that crucial to the region’s success in ameliorating business operations. Shahid Ansari, Provost of growth opportunity, said Sean Rush, President
entrepreneurship can fill the jobs gap and unemployment. Babson College, argued that entrepreneurs are and CEO of JA Worldwide.
create the meaningful jobs that the world needs self-aware, action oriented, adept at shaping Addressing this challenge and furthering
desperately; countries must help entrepreneurs opportunities, eager to embrace surprises and entrepreneurship in the region will facilitate
grow by enabling the ecosystems that foster skillful at enrolling others in their vision and a new generation of entrepreneurs across
Panel Members their success. Countries create entrepreneurial
Panel Members
the GCC and the wider region. As expressed
ecosystems by identifying entrepreneurs, by David Sproul, Chief Executive of Deloitte
Jim Clifton, John Quelch (Moderator) training them, providing them with access to Amy Rosen, David Sproul, Sean C. Rush,
Touche Tohmatsu Regions, “The ability to
CEO, Gallup CBE, Dean, China Europe International capital and resources, enabling a competitive President & CEO, Network for Teaching Chief Executive, Deloitte Touche President & CEO, JA Worldwide dream the future, whether you get there or
Business School environment and celebrating their successes. Entrepreneurship Tohmatsu Regions not”, is the key to entrepreneurship. Developing
Lorraine Hariton A key challenge in this effort in the region is Shahid Ansari, entrepreneurship skills through education and
Special Representative, changing the cultural mindset that penalizes Bruno Lafont, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Provost, Babson College training will unleash these dreams and allow
Commercial and Business Affairs, US entrepreneurial failure. Innovation, while Chairman & CEO, Lafarge President & CEO, Schneider Electric entrepreneurship to flourish throughout the
important, should only be thought of as a tool region.
Department of State
that entrepreneurs can leverage to attract
33 www.gcf.org.sa

19. Fostering Entrepreneurship

20. Led by Saudi Arabian General Investment extensive research and consultation with some
Authority (SAGIA), the “Saudi Arabian of the world’s largest companies, management
Responsible Competitiveness Index” aims to scholars and investors.
help businesses in the Kingdom improve their Over the past 4 years, participation in the index
own competitive performance, improve the has shown that Responsible Competitiveness
Kingdom’s competitive performance, and it performance is increasing. There has been a
supports social, economic, and environmental steady increase in the overall performance of
development through the way companies companies since 2009. Participation in the Index
manage their environmental and social is growing. The number of companies has risen
footprints. The index’s framework is built on from 40 companies in the first year to 100 in this
past year.

21. Generation C –
Click, Connect, Communicate, Collaborate
Generation C is the name given to Internet users
who were born after 1990 and who readily use
telecommunications tools to connect with
the global community. Gen C’s exponential
growth, sense of individual empowerment, and
expectations of high-quality, undisrupted service
are fundamentally altering the landscape for
organizations online and offline. The rise of Gen
C has created an interconnected global village of
consumers who have high expectations when
Workshop Leader
Michael Fertik (Moderator) Eric Tsai
Founder & CEO, Reputation.com Chief Executive Officer, eriQoo.com
Carlos Moreira Habib Haddad
Founder, Chairman & CEO, WISeKey CEO, Wamda

22. Keynote Speech
H.R.H. Prince Faisal bin Abdullah,
Minister of Education
These projects include: encouraging early
“Education is the radical childhood education, improving the education
curriculum in order to reflect the latest changes
solution that provides in technology and sciences, providing advanced
students with knowledge training to teachers, working on creating an
independent body in order to evaluate the
and talents needed to current state of public education and improve
transform the economy the administrative quality in the ministry and
decentralizing it.
to a knowledge-based
economy.”
H.R.H. Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of
Education, started the keynote speech by stating
that education is the radical solution that
provides students with knowledge and talents
needed to transform the economy to a knowledge
based economy. The path of educating Saudi
citizens, H.R.H Prince Faisal bin Abdullah said,
started with the late King Abdulaziz and then
expanded for a period of dozens of years until
it reached five million students, five hundred
thousand teachers and more than thirty three
thousand schools. He considered the budget
given to the education sector, one hundred
seventy billion riyals, to be generous and
stressed that the ministry is currently working
on executing many strategic projects that
respond to the needs of a knowledge economy.
41 www.gcf.org.sa

23. H.R.H. Prince Turki Al Faisal CNN Roundtable – Global Risk 2012:
Day 2 Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies The Challenges Ahead
What are the key risks to watch out for in 2012?
January 23rd The CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, mentioned
in his opening remarks that the three areas
2012
of risks businesses could be facing in 2012
are the “growing power vacuum at national
government levels to respond to the global
economic crisis”, “the vacuum being filled by
dissatisfied consumers and citizens” and “the
growing implications of a resource scarce world”,
which Polman said should concern Saudi Arabia
as it is the country with the third highest water
consumption in the world. Robin N02 02gin tiN4gl
GwA702697h x
“The new emerging markets will not
provide this assistance without a greater
voice”, argued H.R.H. Prince Turki Al Faisal,
Chairman of the King Faisal Center for
Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh. The
former ambassador to the US and UK was
discussing the rapidly changing dynamics in
the global financial regulatory architecture,
in which much wider participation will be
required to prevent future financial crises.

24. An Apple a Day is No Longer Enough The Power of Entrepreneurial
Thought and Act - Babson College Workshop
An exciting panel, bringing together various between premature mortality and inadequate Led by Len Schlesinger, President of Babson The future cannot be linearly extrapolated
experts in the healthcare and pharmaceutical patient behavior and stressed the need for better College, and Shahid Ansari, Provost of from the past; business leaders need to
industries was held yesterday morning, on the patient education as a key factor for reducing Babson College, the workshop “Finding and embrace uncertainty and find entrepreneurial
third day of the Global Competitiveness Forum. premature mortality. Making Opportunities“ engaged a packed opportunities in it. Humans have a bias towards
The panel addressed some of the key challenges On the topic of entrepreneurship in the auditorium in a comprehensive discussion on sophisticated thinking and analysis over simple
and opportunities facing these industries. healthcare space, Mr. Stephen Kennedy Smith, the entrepreneurial thought process and its experience; this bias is wasteful and dangerous
Dr. Marijn Dekkers, Chairman of the Board at Board Member of Rapid Pharmaceutical and importance to business leaders of all kinds. in an increasingly unpredictable world. Business
Bayer AG, kicked off the panel by giving an Owl Biomedical, shared his view on some of the Entrepreneurship can be taught by empirically schools and economists are currently engaged
insightful presentation on the improvements interesting opportunities ahead in the Kingdom, looking at the behavior of entrepreneurs, in unproductive stupidity due to their fear of
in life expectancy, contrasting that with the rise in particular in supporting the development testing their thought process through action unpredictability and “unknowability” and need
in non-communicable diseases, and shedding of the healthcare infrastructure and growing and building upon their mistakes. Serial to change.
some light on the significant increases in the the generic drugs’ market. Mr. Nakagawa, CEO entrepreneurs think about the world differently While it has been a topic of debate in the GCF,
costs of drug development. of Mobile Healthcare Inc., advised aspiring and it is important to eschew assumptions and the entrepreneurial thought process can be
entrepreneurs to surround themselves with a empirically study their behaviors. Successful taught at business schools and can benefit
Dr. Delos Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic entrepreneurs usually do not have grand visions
knowledgeable team, from whom they can learn business leaders of all kinds in Saudi Arabia. This
Foundation, shared some of the experiences of what they want to do, for example; they
and grow. “Become an information junky and workshop showed clearly the mechanisms that
and successes of the foundation in changing have only a vague idea and test it with action.
remain curious!” said Mr. Nakagawa. need to be put in place to teach entrepreneurship
patient behaviors towards health and wellness Business schools should join Babson’s mission
management. Dr. Cosgrove highlighted the link Dr. Cosgrove summarized the global situation and increase its accessibility to people in all
of initiating a broad scale democratization of fields.
of the healthcare industry with an insightful entrepreneurship as a method on a global scale.
Panel Members observation, saying “These are the most exciting Workshop Leaders
times for healthcare and for innovation in this
industry, with significant challenges ahead for
Bright B. Simons (Moderator) James Nakagawa Stephen Kennedy Smith Len Schlesinger
payers, providers, and patients!”.
Director of Development Research at CEO & Chief Care Architect, Mobile Member of the Board, Rapid President, Babson College
IMANI; President of mPedigree Network Healthcare Inc. Pharmaceutical and Owl Biomedical
Shahid Ansari
Delos Cosgrove Dr. Marijn Dekkers Provost, Babson College
CEO, President & Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Board of Management,
Cleveland Clinic Foundation Bayer AG
45 www.gcf.org.sa

25. Giving: From Funding to Empowering We Love Smart Brands
Entrepreneurship and education are key entrepreneurs “help empower the poor, but In today’s marketplace, overwhelmed consumers concept of “disintermediation”, which refers to
elements of empowering individuals around resources are limited”, added Jack Sim, CEO of are sophisticated and skeptical, largely due to the increasing transparency of the marketplace,
the world to extricate themselves from poverty the World Toilet Organization. the rise of social media, agreed the members where consumers have unprecedented access to
and develop sustainable business, argued As such, a combination of training and of yesterday’s panel “We Love Smart Brands”. information about the brand, the experiences of
participants on the panel, “Giving: From Funding mentorship are key elements of philanthropy; Although the stakes are now higher, panel other consumers and product pricing.
to Empowering” on the third day of the Global however, social entrepreneurs and NGOs must members Jack Martin, Paul Hembrey and Magid The session concluded with Mr. Hembrey’s
Competitiveness Forum. Participants from break free of the constraints of fundraising and Abraham remained confident about the ability fascinating account of the transformation of
diverse entrepreneurial backgrounds elaborated unsustainable funding cycles, suggested Julian of smart brands to win over “the public” with the Pirelli brand from being considered a boring
on the relationship between economic progress Gore-Booth, CEO of the STARS Foundation. lots of communication and attentive listening to “distress purchase” to becoming the focal point
and social transformation and the key role feedback. of a glamorous sporting event, the Formula
entrepreneurs play in addressing some of the Women are a vital part of this process, added
Basmah Al Omair, CEO of the Khadija bint The talk was kick-started by Mr. Abraham, who One, with an innovative strategy and relentless
world’s foremost challenges. gave a compelling account of how the Internet communication with the public.
Khuwailid Center for Businesswomen, and
A holistic combination of skills training, must be empowered to succeed. Sim confirmed, has been a game-changer for brands. While
funding and mentoring are required to help “When we come together, we do things faster, in the past branding was merely one element
individuals develop the capacity to bring about cheaper, better and easier”. of sales, it now represents an ongoing and
social transformation and economic progress, over-arching dialogue across the company and
argued Andrew Devenport, CEO of The Prince’s consumers.
Youth Business International. These social Mr. Martin then introduced the audience to the
Panel Members Panel Members
Andrew Devenport Jack Sim, Michael Strong (Moderator) Jack Martin Paul Hembery
CEO, The Prince’s Youth Business CEO, World Toilet Organization (WTO) Author, CEO and Chief Visionary Officer, Global Executive Chairman & CEO, Hill & Motorsport Director, Pirelli
International (YBI) FLOW Knowlton
Mohammed Rezwan Magid Abraham (Moderator)
Basmah Al Omair Executive Director, Shidhulai Swanirvar Julian Gore-Booth Rory Sutherland CEO & Co-founder, ComScore Inc.
CEO, Khadija Bint Khuwailid Center for Sangstha CEO, STARS Foundation Vice Chairman, Ogilvy Group UK
Businesswomen
47 www.gcf.org.sa

26. Saudi Fast Growth 100
The Saudi Fast Growth list (SFG) is an annual ranking of the fastest
growing companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Founded by
SAGIA, Al Watan and NCB. The list highlights the next generation of
companies that are creating jobs, spurring innovation and growing
consistently.
The initiative was first launched in 2008 by the
Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
(SAGIA), the National Commercial Bank (NCB)
and ALWATAN newspaper as the Founding
Partners. Later on, other entities joined such as
SAP as a Competitiveness Partner, and PwC as a
Knowledge partner.
This year, celebration is unique as the list
received more than 250 applications to compete
on the top 100 companies. The SFG100 list
measures the fastest-growing Saudi companies
that are over five years old or start-ups. The
importance of such recognition is to encourage
companies with high rates of entrepreneurship
that are able to deliver and sustain high rates
of growth. Those companies are the foundation
of a vibrant, competitive, knowledge-based
economy. The Saudi Fast Growth was launched
5 years ago to help find and highlight those
fastest growing Saudi companies in order to
show the underlying health of the economy and
its emergent trends.
By their entrepreneurship, these companies
represent the leading edge of a new approach
to Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness.

27. Entrepreneurship in the Public Sector Aerotropolis
The main topic of this panel was “how to Richard Boucher, Deputy Secretary-General of the Yesterday’s afternoon panel on “The challenges and constraints to its future growth.
foster Entrepreneurship in the Public Sector”. OECD, said that in order to “get entrepreneurship Aerotropolis” provided attendants of the Global He went on to highlight some of the key success
Robert Hisrich, Director of the Walker Center into government”, governments should Competitiveness Forum with an interesting factors underpinning the development of the
for Global Entrepreneurship at Thuderbird, was introduce innovation and technology in the opportunity to learn more about some of the Aerotropolis model across the globe, namely,
moderating this panel and started by discussing delivery of public services and bring the public notable changes taking place in the air transport the abundance of affordable land and the
the challenges that must be overcome in order and private sector together through public- industry, and in particular, the development of commitment of governments and policy makers
for the entrepreneurial process to take hold. private partnerships. air transport hubs. towards supporting the air transport industry.
Some of these challenges were government Chad Evans, Senior Vice President of the Over the last decades, airports have evolved Mr. Wim Elfrink, Executive Vice President
policies, bureaucracy and personnel restrictions. Council on Competitiveness, mentioned some from simple transport terminals into major at Cisco, emphasized the importance of
Michael Andrew, global Chairman of KPMG, of the challenges to the “innovation and business hubs, catering services to neighboring technology in helping generate new services
attributed the increase in entrepreneurship in entrepreneurship ecosystem” such as strict communities, generating hundreds of in the Aerotropolis. He also observed the need
the public sector to two factors, the first being immigration policies and regulatory burdens thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly, for airport authorities to better segment and
the “economic necessity” happening in the West and explained that they might be the reason and thus transforming their environment into understand their customers in order to resist the
where governments are facing budget strains why some companies are moving offshore in real economic clusters. emerging competition in the GCC and in Asia.
and high debt levels while the second driver was order to “scaleup”. Mr. Keith Williams, CEO of British Airways,
the “population growth” in the East where there shed some light on the development of
is a rapid rise in the middle class and a strain on Heathrow from a simple hub to one of the early
natural resources. Aerotropolis’, which now faces some major
Panel Members Panel Members
Chad Evans Robert Hisrich (Moderator) Jeff Nugent Wim Elfrink
Senior Vice President Director, Walker Center for Global Professor, Economics and Business, Executive Vice President, Cisco Systems Inc.
Council on Competitiveness Entrepreneurship, Thunderbird University of Southern California Chief Globalisation Officer
Richard Boucher Michael Andrew Keith Williams John Quelch (Moderator)
Deputy Secretary-General, OECD Global Chairman, KPMG CEO, British Airways CBE, Dean, China Europe International
Business School
51 www.gcf.org.sa