Harvard professors welcomed this year 71 first-generation college students from Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia to the 2nd annual Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program held in Dubai. Crossroads is a collaboration between the Harvard Business School Club of the GCC (HBS) and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute. The other partners include Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Air Arabia, Dubai Future Accelerator and Expo 2020. The co-sponsors are Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, and the Harvard University Center for African Studies.
Speaking to the group of students at the CEO and Mentor panel at Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program 2018, Hala Matar Choufany – President of HVS, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and a board member of HBS Club of the GCC – stressed not only on the significance of education but the various other attributes that lead to success. During the discussion she highlighted qualities required in the workplace such as good attitude, creativity, flexibility, commitment and pushing oneself to improve and succeed.
Hala said, “There is a saying: ‘The only disability in life is a bad attitude’ and I strongly believe in that because everything else you can achieve. As an employer at HVS, and also as an individual, when we look at CVs it is great to know the academic qualifications, but we hire for attitude. So, have a positive attitude, stay focused and stay determined and you will definitely succeed.”
Elaborating on the approach one needs to have, Hala continued, “In current days looking at global economies and having worked with so many diverse audiences, cultures and markets, I will say one strategy does not fit all. You need to be adaptable and understand the contextual and cultural aspect. It is all about how we think differently and being creative. A lot of what we do in the real life and in our business is about passion – especially the hospitality sector.”
Crossroads is a unique, fully-funded career development opportunity for accomplished, ambitious young people who have already had to overcome significant barriers to higher education and gives them access to Harvard courses and training modules. Hala said, “This year we saw a larger and more diverse group of students including 30 women exposed to a greater variety of disciplines within Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics (STEAM), business and leadership. In the coming years we are looking to have a greater representation from the Middle East as well as higher number of women participating in it.”
The Crossroads program supports students who are the first in their families to attend college and may also be facing challenging financial and social circumstances that discourage them from applying to postgraduate schools. It covers the costs of the students’ international travel, boarding, lodging and class materials. This year 1732 students applied from 69 countries across the region. Out of these 500 students were shortlisted for the final stage of interviews from where 71 students were selected for the 2018 course.
The 3-year plan is to expand the program in Dubai and especially in local communities through electronic platforms to allow emerging leaders from the greater region to get access to Harvard courses and training modules.
During the 2018 edition students engaged with each other and faculty through the renowned Harvard Business School case-study method of teaching and learning, exposing them to real, contemporary business scenarios. Executives from leading private and publicly-owned multinational companies visited the classroom to interact with students and offer their invaluable wisdom and experience.
The Harvard faculty leading the Crossroads program include Tarun Khanna, SAI Director and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School; Karim R. Lakhani, Charles E. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, co-director of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, and the faculty co-founder of the HBS Digital Initiative.
About HBS Club of the GCC Founded in 2009, the HBS Club of the GCC is a non-profit organization representing 1,000+ Harvard Business School Alumni in the GCC from various industry sectors. It fosters collaboration among members and helps them to make a difference in their lives, businesses and broader community. The club organises throughout the year world-class events and unique conferences, bringing to the region the very best in business education while connecting students, executives and governments. The ‘Crossroads Emerging Leader Program’ and the ‘Crossroads Conference’ are its main flagship events.
For more information about HBS Club of the GCC visit www.hbsgcc.org
About HVS HVS is a leader in global hospitality financial consulting. Hotel owners, developers, investors, lenders, management companies, and public agencies around the world rely on HVS to make informed business decisions. HVS’s commitment to excellence and unrivalled hospitality intelligence is delivered by more than 300 people in over 50 offices throughout the world who specialize in a wide range of hospitality assets including hotels, restaurants, casinos, shared ownership lodging, mixed-use developments, spas, and golf courses, as well as conventions, sports, and entertainment facilities.
For more information about HVS visit https://hvs.com
Middle East Office 2102 North, Emirates Financial Towers Dubai International Financial Centre PO Box: 482068, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 (4) 354-4771 Fax: +971 (4) 354-4772 Email: hchoufany@hvs.com https://hvs.com
Connect with HVS MEA on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hvsmea/ https://www.facebook.com/HVSMEA https://twitter.com/hvsmea https://www.instagram.com/hvsmea
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For media contact: Hina Bakht Managing Director EVOPS Marketing & PR Mob: 00971 50 6975146 Tel: 00971 4 566 7355 Hina.bakht@evops-pr.com www.evops-pr.com
Hiperdist is a leading technology distributor and solution provider spanning multiple markets and application segments. The company began operations in the UAE in 2014. Mr. Santosh Sansare, General Manager of Hiperdist, stated, “Since the beginning we have enjoyed exceptional success at Hiperdist UAE, registering an average growth of 25% per year. Our latest facility in Emaar Square gives us a definite competitive edge and will allow us to meet the demands of the new technologies while accelerating our planned expansion. Some of the major brands that we currently have in our portfolio include Synology, ZOTAC and G.Skill, CANON, LENOVO, AVAYA, VERTIV, ACER, ASUS, VIEWSONIC. In addition, at a group level we have been working with ORACLE, CISCO, VMWARE, NETAPP to name just a few.”
Hiperdist is at the forefront of the latest advancements and has made major inroads in the arena working with brands offering the most innovative products. Mr. Santosh Sansare stressed, “The market is changing and the opportunities for us going forward are huge. We are witnessing excellent growth driven by innovation across all our main markets. Looking ahead, there is going to be more rapid development of innovative solutions globally and more sophisticated end-users to drive superior results. Therefore, inventive technology is at the heart of our multi-faceted business approach. Our strategy is to focus on ‘new innovative brands’ or ‘innovative quarter’ from established brands. We want to enable them in the Middle East and Africa distributing more innovative products into more markets.”
Elaborating on the company’s core strengths, Dr. Kareh, said, “Our number one objective is to add value to our partners by finding ways to help them gain bigger market share and that’s how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors. There are very few specialists in the marketplace that have the ability to serve manufacturers in more than 30 countries across MEA. And by this we do not only mean large multinationals. There are far too many regional or smaller brands who want to grow but don’t have the means to do so and we enable them by providing an efficient and effective go to market strategy with an innovative and a feasible business framework. At Hiperdist we certainly know the market and have the success factors needed to grow including a great team, extensive experience and a suitable portfolio of products. In addition, we have the resources to respond quickly to new competitive threats, whether these come from existing competitors or from new entrants into the market.”
The bar has been set higher for distribution and cloud services are one of the fastest growing segments of the industry. Dr. Kareh, stated, “Cloud has surfaced as one of the biggest challenges for our industry and the complexity reaches an all-time high due to new business models, platform integrations and automation. At Hiperdist we are fully equipped to meet market requirements as new technologies evolve. Since its inception, Hiperdist has earned an outstanding reputation by delivering superior quality products and providing extensive value-added offerings and services to its channel partners and customers. Our success is built on credibility. We will continue to find ways to help our network of brands grow at the required pace”.
About CIS Group
With a footprint in over 30 countries, serving over 1000 corporate customers and 5000 resellers, CIS Group has proven to be a leading technology provider in the Middle East and Africa since its foundation in 1980. The group launched UNIDIST (the holding company that houses the group’s distribution business) in 1992 which quickly established itself as one of the top information technology distributor and supply chain solution provider across the region. With a market penetration supported by 23 local entities and 4 logistic hubs throughout EMEA, UNIDIST provides end-to-end supply chain solutions for all categories of IT products including: Computing, Printing & Imaging, Consumables, Energy, Software and Infrastructure Solutions. The local and regional entities in UNIDIST’s distribution channel include Hiperdist, Superdist, Levant Distribution, Interdist Alliances, Hiperdist Alliances, IT4Africa and Hiperdist Information Technology Trading.
For media contact:
Hina Bakht
Managing Director
EVOPS Marketing & PR
Mob: 00971 50 6975146
Tel: 00971 4 566 7355
