The Interactive Link to GCF

The 4th Annual GCF ended yesterday. All involved agreed that the forum was a great success, creating a space for businessmen, academics, artists and thinkers from all corners of the globe to meet and exchange ideas.

The last day of the forum included keynotes from Professor Michael Porter, Professor Shih Choon Fong, CEO of Unilever Paul Polman, and CEO of GE Jeffrey Immelt. On panels, thinkers from around the world discussed the roles of communication and art and architecture in competitiveness.

On the “Transforming Space” panel, museum curators, real estate developers, and business people discussed the way art and creative use of space can affect a city’s competitiveness. Not only does culture attract visitors to cities like New York or Paris or Moscow, the panelists agreed, it also attracts talented people to go live and work in them. It is important not to neglect this reality when examining a city’s competitiveness, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum in Moscow, said. “Beautiful decisions usually turn out to be good one,” he said, “Ugly ones do not.”

While the “Transforming Space” panel discussed the development of cities and other municipalities, renowned professor Michael Porter focused his speech on the regional development. A country’s competitiveness is inhibited or enhanced by its immediate neighbors, Porter explained. Immediate neighbors are typically a country’s largest trading partners, even in the most globally competitive countries. As such policies and development plans must be coordinated and mutually supported.

For his part, Paul Polman singled out the East as the future driver of growth. At the same time he encouraged business-people in the audience to focus on creating long-term value for the broader community. The world can no longer make profits by using resources borrowed from future generations.

Thanks to all who visited www.gcftalk.com during GCF 2010. Thanks especially to those who shared their thoughts via comments. We’ll see you all next year.

Day Two’s participants held the audience’s attention through discussions of a wide variety of topics, from science and design, to education, healthcare and the environment.

It was a day chock-full of premier keynoters starting with John Chambers, to whom a Saudi woman commented, “that was a textbook example of how an executive should give a presentation.” Michael Dell warned the audience that risk was the only way to achieve entrepreneurship and innovation. Finally, the day concluded with Tony Blair, who blamed traffic for his tardiness. He gave his key note 24 hours later than had been scheduled.

Tony Blair dealt with growth and progress and technology in his keynote. “It is important we focus on training and educating the youth,” he said, because they will be able to use technology in ways that adults can’t.

Former Prime Minister Blair referenced his first experience using a personal cell-phone, which he didn’t have the opportunity to do until the day after he left office.

“I really wanted to try texting,” Blair explained, “so I texted an old friend.” Unaware, however, that a text message does not automatically include a signature, Blair was surprised when his friend responded by politely asking who it was that was sending him a text message.

“But…it’s only been twenty-four hours” Blair poutily recalled himself saying, lamenting the quick fall from fame after departing office.
If Blair’s star has fallen, however, it was not noticeable to the audience who were unanimously thrilled to see him.

Day One kicked off with a bang yesterday. Or, to be more accurate, with the calm, collected confidence required of a finance minister. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf began proceedings with a discussion of the strong state of the Saudi economy and its influence in world policies.

The theme of global interconnectedness recurred throughout the day yesterday. Dr. Angel Cabrera of Thunderbird Management School, advised nations against cutting themselves off from the world through protectionist policies, while Dr. Lou Simon, President of Michigan State University, told students, “You are a global citizen.” All the panels emphasized the extent to which changes in one part of the world affect us all, and in turn how we can affect change in different parts of the world.

The most engaging discussion of the day took place between Kevin Conrad, of the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, and Mohammad Al Sabban, an audience member who is also the head of the Saudi Delegation to the UN Climate Negotiations. The two had a lively debate over Saudi’s role in obstruction of climate reform at Copenhagen.

A testament to the adage, “money talks, nobody walks,” the audience filled the plenary hall during the “Road to Recovery” Panel, where noted bankers and financiers, including Stephen Schwarzman, Hassan Heikal, Maha Al-Ghunaim, Alessandro Profumo, Fares Noujaim and Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser held court, sharing their views on the future of the global economy. After the event, these masters of the universe rubbed shoulders with other notables from local and international organizations such as the BMG Foundation and global strategy consulting firm, The Monitor Group.

In another court, HM King Abdullah held important talks with Tony Blair yesterday afternoon. As a result, Tony Blair will not speak at GCF until later today.

For the second year in a row, the GCF is including an art exhibition of contemporary Saudi Artists as part of the main programming for the Forum. SAGIA has partnered with Edge of Arabia, an innovative project that promotes and empowers Saudi Artists. Edge of Arabia will launch their World Tour for 2010 from the GCF this year.

Their participation will include a specially curated art exhibition, a press conference, and book signings with the artists and curators, in addition to a dedicated art workshop with local and international school children.

The World Tour builds on the success of exhibitions in London and Venice and will see the artists’ works, including pieces by Ali Al-Ruzaiza, Raja and Shadia Alem, Mohammed Farea, Manal Al-Dowayan, Ayman Yousri , Mahdi Al Jeraibi and Abdulnasser Gharem, travel to Dubai, Berlin, and Istanbul in 2010.

In line with SAGIA’s mandate to help develop creative industries in the Kingdom, our partnership with Edge of Arabia and our enthusiasm for encouraging Saudi artists is one of the first cultural initiatives we’ve supported. Through the “Arts at the GCF”, we aim to include cultural programming at every upcoming GCF.

Guests, speakers, and sponsors piled into the Plenary Hall last night for the fourth annual GCF’s opening ceremony.

Only a few hours after sound engineers had finished the last sound check, HE Amr Al-Dabbagh, the Governor of SAGIA, and other speakers stood on stage to welcome guests and speak to them about Saudi Arabia’s quest for competitiveness, as well as why competitiveness and sustainability go hand in hand.

Meanwhile, preparations were underway throughout the rest of the event space, as waiters straightened tables in preparation for tomorrow’s executive lunch and handlers straightened paintings, in anticipation of the opening of “Edge of Arabia,” the exhibition of Saudi Art that begins its world tour here at the GCF.

Today the forum really kicks off, with highlights like Minister of Finance Ibrahim al-Assaf, Moderator Margaret Brennan, and former Primer Minister Tony Blair, sure to provide a trove of discussion topics for this blog.

Look out for summaries later today. Comment. Speak your mind. This is your GCF.

The Middle East has long been a strategic focus for Cisco, and the Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh this week offers a unique opportunity to interact with the region’s business and government leaders.  We recognized the economic opportunity in the Middle East early in our company’s history and will continue to focus resources on helping increase the region’s competitiveness.

Public and private organizations across the Gulf now face an opportunity to embrace a new model of productivity based on collaboration that is clearly emerging.  We believe this may be the most profound opportunity for businesses in our 25 years as a company.

The next phase of the Internet experience will enable a profound level of collaboration that will change the way we think, the speed by which we invent, how we connect and share information, and the extent to which we can sustain our environment.  Now is the time to prepare for the upturn, to take the bold steps necessary to enable a new economy built on innovation, collaboration, operational excellence and sustainability.

Together we must embrace the next phase of the Internet to guide our global community into a more prosperous future.


John T. Chambers is the Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems. He will give a keynote speech Monday morning.



• Since joining the company in 1991, Mr. Chambers has helped grow the Cisco’s value from $ 70 million to $ 1.2 billion at the time of his appointment to CEO
• During his tenure as CEO, the company has been named to Fortune’s “America’s Most Admired Company” list seven times
• Mr. Chambers has received numerous awards for his leadership, including the first-ever Clinton Global Citizen Award from former US President Bill Clinton

I’m really looking forward to taking part in my panel at the Global Competitiveness Forum to discuss the major risks ahead for 2010.

John Quelch from Harvard Business School is moderating and the panelists cover a broad range of industries. So I expect we’ll hear quite different views on what the next twelve months hold, and I’m sure it’ll be a lively session.

One of the things I’m hoping to discuss is regulation. “Don’t waste the crisis” is a phrase that’s been used a lot lately. And I think all of us share the goal of ensuring we learn lessons from the past. Looking at how we can “re-regulate” to guard against risk is a key part of that. But getting the balance right is critical.

In difficult times it’s tempting to be heavy-handed, insular and focused on the short term in an attempt to minimize risk. But if we do so it could hurt economic growth and end up driving countries apart rather than bringing them together.

So what’s the solution? There are no easy answers but, broadly, I think getting regulation right means coming together to find global solutions to global problems. It means opening up our economies and supporting entrepreneurs. Over the past couple of years the world has come together to try to find solutions for the economic crisis. We should continue to build on that unity as we look to lessen the chances of the next one.

James will be speaking on the panel titled “Global Risks 2010″ on Monday morning.

James S. Turley

• Over the past 31 years, he has held a series of leadership positions throughout Ernst & Young
• Named Metropolitan New York Area Managing Partner of Ernst & Young LLP in 1998 and was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2000
• Co-chairs the Russia Foreign Investment Advisory Council

“KAUST, through S&T, invests in people and projects
and connects them to build global competitiveness
for sustainable prosperity.”

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has a three part mission:
1. Advance science and technology through education and research
2. Help diversify the Saudi Arabian economy through innovation and enterprise
3. Be a catalyst for improving lives and bridging peoples and cultures


To achieve this three-part mission, KAUST, through science and technology, invests in people and projects. By doing so, KAUST can help build global competitiveness for Saudi Arabia, which in turn can create sustainable prosperity for the Kingdom.

Investing in talented people is key to creating a globally competitive society open to technological innovation and a constantly expanding knowledge base. KAUST is working to attract the best talent to Saudi Arabia, which is critical for creating long-term competitiveness and economic success for the Kingdom, and is allowing them to move freely across the region and world to try to create a dynamic ecosystem of innovation and enterprise. We believe that scientists and engineers are the key human resource for growing Saudi Arabia as a knowledge economy with sustained long-term growth. KAUST is also creating a globally competitive environment that supports talent (through funding, resources, access, academic freedom, etc.), which is another critical component of building a knowledge economy.

Investing in strategic projects is also key to creating a globally competitive economy with potential for sustainable long-term growth. KAUST sees science and technology as critical drivers for the Kingdom’s economic development and long term economic success. KAUST’s plan for the next ten years is based on a future-centric view of actively and strategically investing in projects that can diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy from the industries of today (e.g. oil) to the industries of tomorrow (e.g. clean energy, food, water, etc.). KAUST is also investing in projects it sees as leveraging on Saudi Arabia’s comparative advantage (sunlight, silica, energy production infrastructure, salt water, vast amounts of empty land). KAUST sees these advances of the future being driven by projects in science and technology. KAUST is also in the unique position to connect these strategic projects with the most talented people, and in doing so can help diversify the Saudi Arabian economy and advance science and technology to take on grand challenges.


Professor Shih will be a keynote speaker on Tuesday morning.

Professor Choon Fong Shih

• Professor Choon Fong Shih was named Founding President of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in January 2008
• Prior to KAUST, Professor Shih served nine years as President and Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore (NUS)
• He is chairman emeritus of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), a consortium of 37 leading research universities modeled after the premier Association of American Universities
• Professor Shih was the inaugural recipient from Asia Pacific for the 2007 Chief Executive Leadership Award presented by the Council for Advancement and Support for Education

As we begin a new decade and explore new ways to make businesses profitable in both financial and social terms, the Global Competitiveness Forum’s focus on sustainable competitiveness is very timely.

Shaklee has been in business for more than fifty years in part because we have had a vision of sustainable competitiveness from the outset.  As the number one natural nutrition company in the United States, we were founded on the principle of living in harmony with nature. For over half a century, Shaklee has worked to provide a healthier life for everyone and a better life for anyone.

At Shaklee, we know that we have continued to grow and remain strong by aligning our products and practices with our values, working toward sustainability in all that we do.

We became the first certified climate neutral company in the world in 2000 simply because it seemed the right thing to do. Time and time again we have made strategic decisions to do business in keeping with our values; each time it has turned out to be good for business.  We know that customers seek out and reward companies whose values align with their own. We also believe that companies have a responsibility to improve, rather than degrade, our communities. Our numbers prove the notion that attending to sustainability is good for business; we attribute a significant portion of our sales to our remarkably high customer retention.

In an increasingly transparent transactional environment, brands must ensure that they practice what they preach. This is good for business – it causes us to be innovative, responsive, and proactive in finding solutions to our shared challenges.

I am looking forward at GCF to exchanging information and ideas about how our companies embed sustainability in all that we do in order not only to remain competitive, but also to lead the way in proving that we can and must do well by doing good.

Roger will be speaking on the panel titled “Green to Gold” on Monday afternoon.

Roger Barnett

• Chairman and CEO of Shaklee
• Founded in 1956, Shaklee is the number one natural nutrition company in the US
• Prior to Shaklee, Roger organized an investment group to acquire control of Arcade, Inc., and became its President and CEO
• Founder and Chairman and CEO of Beauty.com, which continues to be one of the leading internet retailers in the cosmetics industry
• Selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum