Category: Press

The first stream of a fully immersive experience, taking place on 29, 30 & 31 March 2021 will address the ways retail will re-ignite sustained and inclusive growth following the global pandemic.

The groundbreaking, globally recognised, certified training program is now offered online. Learn more at innoverto.com/staging/register/acea

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While flashy or exotic applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and other related automation approaches, there are a lot of simple AI approaches that operationalize everyday processes making the work easier and more reliable as well as more productive. The best part is it does not take a staff of data scientists to figure out what to use and how to apply the AI solution.

Keeping it simple – pick one technique for now

One of the stumbling blocks in structuring work in an organization is comparing and analyzing processes to see where improvement opportunites are located. Most of the time when consulting firms are called in, they either document the processes or validate existing process documentation and then go through a labor-intensive and expensive effort of manual analysis. Some analysts may use process mining and focus on quantitative factors for the opportunity. However, if you are looking at overlaps, consolidations, or shared work, then AI semantic analytic techiques will help you gain insight in indentifying what to change.

To read more please fill the form below to download the Process Improvement Using AI Whitepaper and our Business Use of Artificial Intelligence Brochure.

Learn more about The Business Use of Artificial Intelligence

We believe that together we are stronger. We are offering our expertise to companies aiming to safeguard the long-term health and viability of their business while doing the right thing for their employees, during a complimentary online consultation.

Many leaders we talk to are concerned about how to manage their cashflow to keep their business afloat and are now, with payroll as the single biggest expense, looking at managing employment cost. With no clarity on how long this crisis might last and how severe the outcomes may be, many are unsure about what actions to take to manage the situation in a swift, yet balanced and humane way. Many are concerned about how to balance cashflow challenges with legal compliance and impact on employees.

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11 February 2020, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): The sixth edition of the Retail Leaders Circle (RLC) MENA Summit, the prestigious international organisation that unites powerful industry leaders, innovators and decision-makers who share global insights and best practice, has been hosted for the first time ever in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The first day of the two day summit launched with an inspiring keynote from His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce and Investment, who called upon the global, regional and local sector leaders to collaborate and drive the industry forward. Opening the event with a welcome address was Panos Linardos, Founder and Chairman of Retail Leaders Circle and Executive Director of New York Institute of Management, and Nisreen Shocair, Co–Chair of RLC MENA and Group CEO Middle East of Yoox Net-A-Porter.

The prestigious summit, which was previously held in Dubai, will see more than 50 speakers take the stage, as inspiring thought leaders came together in this innovative and dynamic framework to introduce bold new ways to shape the future of the retail industry. The first presentation was delivered by Chris Baker, Senior VP, and Head of Retail North America, Visa who highlighted industry innovations, e-commerce and the AI revolution. He also discussed pioneering omni-channel strategies aimed at delivering improved customer experience. Other key session highlights included insights from Anita Balchandani, Partner, Apparel Fashion & Luxury UK and Colin Henry, Senior Adviser, Apparel Fashion & Luxury UK from McKinsey & Company who launched The State of Fashion 2020 report, followed by a dynamic e-commerce outlook highlighting what’s next for the industry which was led by H.E Ahmed Al-Hakbani, Governor, Saudi Customs; Ziad Al Yousef, Managing Director, Saudi Payments; Edward Sabbagh, Managing Director – MENA, Farfetch; and Majed M. Al Tahan, Founder & CEO, AYM Commerce.

Also discussed on the opening morning of the summit was The State of MENA Retail by Cyrille Fabre, Partner, Bain & Company; Retail as a Job Creation Engine with Ibrahim Al-Suwail, Deputy Governor, SAGIA, Faisal Alshaya, General Manager, KSA Alshaya Group, and Faraz Khalid, CEO, noon.

The afternoon session included discussion on Leadership in the Age of Disruption, with speakers including Patrick Chalhoub, CEO Chalhoub Group, and Ahmad AR. BinDawood, CEO, Danube &BinDawood, BinDawood Holding. As part of her commitment to serving the vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Fashion Council, Her Highness Princess Noura Al Saud, Advisor, Fashion Sector, Ministry of Culture, took a deep dive into Saudi Arabia’s fashion and design landscape during her engaging session. The final session looked at the future and what’s next for the industry, led by Omar Almohammady, Group CEO, Fawaz Alhokair Group and Nilesh Ved, Chairman & CEO, Apparel Group.

More than 400 VIPs, partners, media and delegates, attended the inaugural event in Riyadh. The summit offers an unparalleled networking opportunity for the retail community to engage with business leaders and public figures and fosters strategic collaborations through the unique open format. The latest innovations in the retail industry were also showcased at the Innovation Zone, which featured short presentations from participating companies, offering them a platform to highlight their latest innovations that aim to shape the future of the industry. Additionally, the Summit hosted closed-door interactive roundtables to deep dive into key challenges facing retailers and discuss solutions.

Learn more:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a-PUnOsAF8&feature=youtu.be
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjaEulJN8Lc&feature=youtu.be
• http://www.al-jazirah.com/2020/20200210/ec2.htm
• http://www.alriyadh.com/1803644
• https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=ar&newsid=2032649
• https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/rlcmena2020

On the eve of the Retail Leaders Circle MENA, the industry is looking at how best to embrace technology to remain relevant.

The retail industry in the Middle East today is facing the threat of disruption due to a plethora of technological innovations. With the rise of e-commerce and omnichannels, the introduction of Aramex’s Shop&Ship, and the increased focus on personalised customer experiences that meet the changing consumer expectations and behaviour, retailers must now compete at every touchpoint.

Globally, the retail market in the GCC is in a unique position as it continues to grow as new state-of-the-art malls and destinations open. While the US has around 1,100 malls operating today, a quarter of them are at risk of closing over the next few years, according to analysis from Credit Suisse. In comparison, the UAE alone is expected to welcome around 1,184,000 sqm of new retail space by the end of 2018. Recent announcements have been made about Nakheel’s $1.2bn mall on the Palm Jumeriah being 85 percent complete, while the world’s first nature-inspired mall, Cityland Mall, has confirmed its launch date for next year. Consequently, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce has predicted that the UAE retail sector is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.9 percent and reach $71bn by 2021.

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Tell us about your time in the Middle East?

I arrived in Dubai in 2010 from New York and the US where I had lived for 8 years following the completion of my Masters degree in political science from Uppsala University in my home country of Sweden.

I moved to Dubai as part of a company transfer that was supposed to last for 2 years. After only one year in Dubai but about 10 years of work experience in international business out of about half were in conference production and executive professional training I co-founded Innoverto in 2011 in order to provide the region with better access to international best practices and executive training through certified programs led by international experts.

For instance, Innoverto is the official provider of training for internationally revered and recognized institutes and training programs such as the New York Institute of Management and BMTG in the UK. As such Innoverto acts as the local representative and provides a long list of public and in house certified training programs but also industry events such as the Retail Leaders Circles – a CEO Forum now in its 4th year.

The topic areas we are known for are Leadership & Management, Procurement, Contracts, Bid & Tender Management and Supply Chain, Operations, Process & Procedure and Data Management & Analytics.

As our trainings are being requested globally we deliver several executive programs such as the Advanced Certificate for Executive Assistants in Toronto, Washington DC and Singapore and will continue to launch other public courses in new locations in 2018.  Most rewarding is to receive such positive feedback from participants which create a natural catalyst for us to grow and to do so on a wider and more global scale with each passing year.

How would you describe the culture of your business?

We are a small, young, energetic and flexible team able to produce and facilitate tailor-made programs on a broad range of topics. As a result, we have been able to establish long term partnerships with trainers and clients in the region and internationally.

What are some of the common requests for training from the L&D industry

We are seeing a lot of requests for Experiential Workshops and Business Simulation programs.  To meet this demand, we are offering among other trainings something we call Business Games which we develop as either a ½ or full day workshop. The games represent a simulation of the real business world and when teams are conveyed to an attractive business world that serves as a metaphor for your own business context, you create a ‘safe’ distance from the working environment for your employees, but you can still easily translate the ‘outcome’.

The workshop is a perfect balance of traditional team building on topics ranging from Management, Ownership, Communication, Strategy and Leadership combined with the unique objectives of the client involved. We find them to be an excellent way to round out the year and prepare corporate teams for specific skillset challenges for the upcoming year.

What are your biggest challenges in the next 5 years?

As a dynamic region in constant flux, organizations continue to adapt to this change so we focus on growth and constant customization. For instance, online learning is increasingly prevalent, so we are currently exploring how to best offer this service while complementing our current model. We don’t believe that executive training will be replaced by online learning but can see that it can be very effective when technology and in person programs are combined.  We predict that more innovative methods of training will come online in the next few years and we will continue to strategize how best to incorporate them with our successful program to best suit our clients’ needs.

On the topic of technology and in line with the newly launched UAE Artificial Intelligence strategy, we anticipate an enhanced demand for training in Artificial Intelligence tools. Companies and the public sector are just starting to implement AI technologies and the sector is constantly evolving but ultimately will change both the government and private companies’ way of working and we aim to assist in this change by providing timely and practical trainings.