IOD SPECIAL TALKS - Building Future - Proof Organisations

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning and a warm welcome to the 2023 annual IOD global convention. The theme for this year's convention is 'Building Future Ready Organisations'.

Talking about the future is a topic that fascinates us all. It's a subject that is always on our minds whether we are thinking about personal goals and aspirations or broader social trends that will shape. Our world in the years to come, thinking about the future can also be a source of anxiety and uncertainty as we cannot predict with any degree of certainty what the future will hold but perhaps we can reflect on the past to chart the future.

th To give you some perspective let me take you back to the 12 century and to an Italian rebel preacher named Francis. This was a man who was born extremely rich but who chose to live with the poor and spent his lifetime fighting the problems that plagued the world. He was one of the first critics of capitalism, one of the earliest environmentalists of Europe and one of the most conscientious objectors to war. It is providential that today, 800 years later, whatever he did still holds relevance including his successful visit to war ravaged Syria to make peace and why the current pope chose to be named after Saint Francis. Start by doing what is necessary, Francis said, then do what is possible and suddenly you will be doing the impossible.

Fast forward to Dubai nearly 8 centuries years later;

In the mid 1980's Dubai made the decision to launch an airline and build it as dnata, the ground handling Services Company at Dubai international airport. A ten person team was tasked with this incredible plan of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid to launch an airline in a mere 5 months on a budget of us 10 million. He gave the team two aircrafts procured on wet lease from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and told the team to build an airline out of it; His instructions were that it has to look good, be good and make money.

On October 25, 1985, emirates maiden flight took off from Dubai to Karachi. Ticket sales for that flight were almost nonexistent so 80 dnata staff were sent home to change out of their uniforms and were put on the flight. As residents, we hear of success stories born in Dubai on an almost daily basis. Men arrived on steamboats and steamrolled their way into business success. Women saw windows of opportunities, but turned a blind eye to the glass ceiling right above them. People who carried products from home in their suitcases and went on to set up retail chains. Expatriates who saved their small salaries and now provide salaries to many thousands. Tiny marketplace vendors now run truly global enterprises. Mind you, many of us did not see the place you see today. For those who landed in the 1960s or 1970s, this was not even the UAE. It was the Trucial States Council. There was no fresh water, electricity or roads, and there definitely was no air-conditioning. For a long period, the currency was the gulf rupee or red rupee. It was identical to the Indian Rupee, but the colours differed, and the serial numbers started with Z. That is the first group – the early starters with far-sighted vision.

There are serial entrepreneurs who tried their hand at several things and turned extremely successful in some. Diligent careerists suddenly gave up everything they had worked with and started something different. There is a younger generation, born and raised here, who set up their first companies in their mid-20s. And we now have millennials and Gen Z entrepreneurs leading multimillion dollar start-ups.

What they all have in common is what they saw and felt and experienced here: The need to be the fastest, and to be the first; to drive to be bigger; and to be the best. I believe the fabric of the UAE is made up of three things: Ambition, Gumption, and Innovation. From a small sleepy desert settlement to one of the world's most popular cities, Dubai is one of the best living examples of what we can do today to prepare for tomorrow – and how best it can be done.

I believe the fabric of the UAE is made up of three things: Ambition, Gumption, and Innovation. From a small sleepy desert settlement to one of the world's most popular cities, Dubai is one of the best living examples of what we can do today to prepare for tomorrow – and how best it can be done.

Last year, Tristar partnered with FICCI to be a corporate sponsor of the Indian Pavilion at world expo 2020. We also hosted the third edition of our annual safety at sea event on the expogrounds. During the 6 months of the event, i met many young entrepreneurs from India under the 'elevate' program. Almost without exception, they said they looked upon the UAE, upon Dubai in particular, as the golden land of opportunity. I was impressed with some of them and actually made an investment in a small startup impressed with the individual's passion and his courage to pursue a project in unchartered territory.

The UAE may seem an unusual choice of destination for them – it is neither a large market nor home to millions of consumers. What it is though is a hub, a nucleus, and a connector. Some 10 years ago, when Zomato entered the UAE, it was just a 4-yearold company on its first international expansion, but Dubai served well as a launch-pad for the entire gulf region, and later Europe and South America. Other Indian start-ups like (produce delivery company) fresh to home, (insurance aggregator) policy bazaar and (home services provider) urban company quickly became household names here, and a gateway to growth markets.

The UAE has established its credentials as one of the world's best places to do business – companies can be established in mere days, and a recent announcement says property can be purchased in minutes. There are new laws on long-term visas, foreign company ownership, and remote working, all of which are whetting global appetite. Dubai is also home to the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem – angel and institutional investors, business incubators and accelerators, specialised free zones, state-owned investment funds, and venture capital financiers. Alongside this, great infrastructure, good governance, digital transformation, gender parity, safety, digital transformation, and focus on sustainability makes its appeal almost magnetic – and makes Tristar another success story born in the UAE.

Dubai is also home to the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem – angel and institutional investors, business incubators and accelerators, specialised free zones, state-owned investment funds, and venture capital financiers. Alongside this, great infrastructure, good governance, digital transformation, gender parity, safety, digital transformation, and focus on sustainability makes its appeal almost magnetic – and makes Tristar another success story born in the UAE.

While emirates had two leased planes in 1985, Tristar was established with three used trucks in 1998. Today the company operates in 29 countries spread across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Three fundamental principles of safety, honesty and integrity have served the company well for over 25 years in business and combined with a long term vision, ambition and innovation and planning will ensure the company's survival and prosperity well into the foreseeable future. Astonishing collection of success stories: I said earlier there is a formula for success that the UAE stands for: Ambition, Gumption, and Innovation. It is this exact same formula that can help us, help anyone of us, and prepare for the future. From a boardroom perspective, this means the readiness to look beyond immediate measures of time, the resourcefulness to bridge all gaps, and revolutionary ways to approach it.

The onus and the obligations may seem too much. There are the universal challenges of geopolitical turmoil and the price of oil, energy transition, inflation, digitisation, decarbonisation, etc. On the social front, there is the pressure to increase the levels of gender parity, diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement. It seems CSR, ESG and DEI is now a part of every discussion and every decision on the workplace of the future. And of course, towering above it all is the sustainability umbrella.

The founding fathers of this land learnt to live without luxuries but planned prudently so that many generations could prosper. We who aspire to build future proof organisations need to walk in these footsteps.

To balance these challenges, there are untold opportunities. None are as significant or important as the India - UAE CEPA of recent months. Individuals from India are responsible for some of the most successful UAE-based enterprises in operation today, and we can see these numbers multiplying rapidly. Likewise, we can expect keener focus on training, technology transfers, knowledge exchange, and joint ventures and partnerships that augur growth for both sides. Dubai is home to the entire entrepreneurial system- angel and institutional investors, business incubators and accelerators, specialised free zones, state owned investment funds, and venture capital financiers. Alongside this great infrastructure, good governance, digital, transformation and focus on sustainability makes its appeal almost magnetic and makes for an astonishing collection of success stories.

The founding fathers of this land believed that whatever they had could be taken away at any time. They were hungry for success, but they remained humble. They learnt to live without luxuries but planned prudently so that many generations could prosper. They looked upon the world as one large, connected village.

We who aspire to build future proof organisations need to walk in these footsteps.

Thank you

*Excerpts from the 'Keynote Address' delivered by Mr. Eugene Mayne, Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Tristar Group, UAE at the Opening Session of (Tristar) Dubai Global Convention 2023, held from March 14 – 17, 2023, in Dubai.