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Governance drives sustainable growth

As an executive director of the Pearl Initiative, Carla Koffel has been building strategic partnerships with the region's private sector, government stakeholders and civil society organisations since taking charge last year.
The Pearl Initiative was established in 2010, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Partnership, as a non-profit organisation committed to raising the standards of governance in private sector companies across the Gulf region.
Today, governance is considered a vital tool that allows corporates and the economies they operate in to drive sustainable growth.
"With this goal of raising awareness among family businesses, SMEs, larger enterprises and listed companies, we aim to facilitate the governance dialogue in the Gulf region, bringing a focus on the value to business of continually improving corporate practices as well as addressing specific topics such as corporate integrity, diversity in leadership and improved reporting standards. Each of these areas of intervention individually fuels the overall improvement of the region's business output," explains Kofell.
"Another important facet of our operations include developing regional insights through case studies and research-based reports to assess industry challenges and trends associated within our specific areas. Moreover, we actively collaborate with universities to support the development of future business leaders by educating them on the benefits of corporate accountability and transparency," she continues.
Women empowerment
Koffel has always been an advocate for women empowerment and gender diversity in senior corporate positions.
"In today's world, diversity, including gender diversity in senior corporate positions and on boards is a critical factor that shapes competitive organisations," she says.
Today, governments across the Gulf have made significant strides to promote women in leadership roles and improvements have been seen within the private sector. "The leadership within an organisation and creating a culture that supports diversity and an environment that supports the promotion of women are essential. In our report 'Women's Careers in the GCC: Four Good Practice Case Studies,' we found that implementing supportive policies in the workplace is a key driver leading to more women in senior positions," says the executive director.
"While government policies form one part of the solution, individual companies can play an equally important role in building a supportive environment for women. These include practical steps such as flexible working hours and provisions for working mothers, such as nurseries at the workplace. According to an earlier survey that the Pearl Initiative conducted, women consider flexible working hours as the most important factor that allows them to meet the competing pressures of work and family," she notes.
She stresses it is also important to adopt these solutions within the context of specific social and cultural circumstances. Human resource departments, therefore, need to focus on understanding and addressing the challenges that pertain to each sector and market in the region, Koffel says.
Motivation and expansion
Disclosing her motivation towards the organisation, Koffel says the Pearl Initiative is dedicated to supporting the success of the private sector in a way that has a positive impact on the community, their employees and the people they impact through their operations.
"The private sector has a very important role in creating a healthy, prosperous community and the way in which businesses are operated. Their culture and resilience is a critical part of long-term success. The Pearl Initiative is a unique organisation as it is a network of Gulf-based businesses and thereby able to use their extensive experience and insight to apply international principles in a way that is practically applicable here. With this purpose and unique way of engaging businesses in mind, I am looking forward to continuing to expand our engagement with the private sector and network of companies across the region in the year ahead," she says.
Koffel claims that through its efforts in promoting greater standards of transparency and accountability in the business community, the Pearl Initiative aims to foster more sustainable businesses, not just in the UAE, but across the wider Gulf.
"Since our inception in 2010, we have brought business leaders together on governance topics through roundtables, workshops and focused discussion sessions across the UAE and Gulf. This not only serves to complement the policies and regulations being developed in this respect but also creates a platform for valuable debate and discussion. We are proud to say that today, we have signed on hundreds of companies to our business pledge that seeks to raise accountability for business leaders' action and their impact on future generations," she says.
"This is significant because it allows the region's businesses to reflect upon and improve their strategies for gains individually and collectively. As the UAE progresses towards its Vision 2021, we believe our engagement with the private sector will go a long way in contributing to efficiencies within the economy," Koffel adds.
Family firms
Family businesses constitute the backbone of the Gulf economies and account for around 75 per cent of the region's private sector.
"These organisations are facing the unique challenge of operating in a fast-evolving economic climate while managing internal leadership transitions across generations. Reports anticipate that over a trillion dollars in assets are set to pass from the first to the second and third generations across family businesses in the GCC within the next five to 10 years. In this environment, it is very important that family-run enterprises develop robust corporate governance systems that reflect the family's objectives, and at the same time adhere to global standards of business ethics and transparency that are key to ensuring the competitiveness of the private sector in this region," Koffel observes.
"In the family firms space, the Pearl Initiative focuses on developing long-term value creation through the adoption of best governance practices. In this respect, we have launched programmes that are designed to raise awareness and understanding of the business case for good governance practices," she says.
"We are also introducing a range of governance tools that the UAE's family firms, MSMEs and other private sector entities can easily access through our digital platforms," she concludes.
- riaz@khaleejtimes.com