18 Mar 2018
Bahrain, 18 March 2018 – Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments, held its inaugural CEO Conference for the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region, including Turkey, in Bahrain today. The event, which marks the Firm’s first CEO Conference in the Gulf, gathered over 20 CEOs and c-suite executives from the Firm’s portfolio companies to discuss the macro trends impacting the global marketplace.
In his welcoming remarks, Mohammed Alardhi, the Executive Chairman of Investcorp, spoke about the importance of identifying growth opportunities to drive successful businesses. He said: “In today’s business environment, companies cannot settle for incremental improvement; they must periodically undergo performance transformations to grow and stay on top. This means that CEOs are tasked with staying relevant and up-to-date with technologies that are disrupting existing business models, while still hitting targets and expanding profitability”.
He added: “Since Investcorp’s inception, we have made 15 investments to date in the GCC and the wider MENA region, including Turkey, deploying close to $1.6 billion. With the economic transformation plans that we are seeing, we believe this region will continue to be an attractive investment destination for local – and increasingly foreign – investors.”
Through its CEO Conferences, Investcorp aims to provide a regular platform for the leaders of its portfolio companies to come together and share best practices on how to tackle the challenges facing global businesses today. This year, the conference featured inspiring discussions on the impact of global trends on regional businesses, the increasing need to cope with digital transformation, and the potential challenges that might face the next generation of CEOs in the region. During the event, Co-CEO, Rishi Kapoor, also gave an update on Investcorp’s latest activities and future plans.
This year’s delegates included the CEOs of several leading companies across the GCC including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey. From Saudi Arabia, CEO representatives attended from Bindawood Holding, a supermarket and hypermarket chain; Leejam, an operator of a fitness chain branded “Fitness Time”; Theeb, a vehicle rental business; Al Yusr Industrial Contracting Company (AYTB), a provider of industrial services outsourcing solutions; and L’azurde, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of gold jewelry which was successfully listed on Tadawul Stock Exchange in June 2016. From Kuwait, the attendees represented Automak, an independent vehicle leasing and rental company, and from Turkey, Namet, a food producer; Arvento, a telematics company; Orka Group, a menswear retailers; and Tiryaki Agro, a trader and supply chain manager of agro commodities.