1. GCF 2011
“Innovation
as a Means to
Competitiveness”
22- 25 January 2011
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2. Under the patronage of His Majesty
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
Chairman of the Supreme Economic Council
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4. 3
The Global Competitiveness Forum
(GCF) was founded by the Saudi Arabian
General Investment Authority (SAGIA),
as part of its efforts to raise the overall
competitiveness of the nation, while
giving global leaders from all spheres of
economic, social and intellectual activity
a platform to debate and refine the topic
of competitiveness.
Let’s take competitiveness
to the next level...
GCF Vision:
An annual program of activities attended by top
private and public-sector leaders, International
political leaders, the heads of NGOs, and
selectedintellectualsandindividualswhoshare
a common interest in global competitiveness.
GCF Mission:
To formally raise awareness and enthusiasm
around competitiveness challenges, and to
critically evaluate competitiveness theory
and practice as related to such activities as
International Trade, Regional Development, FDI,
Environment, Innovation, Human Resources
Development, Sustainability, Globalization, and
the Micro- and Macroeconomic consequences
of becoming increasingly competitive.
H.E. Amr Al-Dabbagh
Governor and Chairman of the Board
Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
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6. 5
“Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) as an Enabler for
Competitiveness” was the main
theme addressed at the first Global
Competitiveness Forum. The focus was
to explore the impact ICT can have on
competitiveness and how to harness
that. Participants concluded that ICT
was a critical tool from which to build a
knowledge-based society, with a highly
productive society and economy driven
by knowledge-based assets, skills and
innovation, as opposed to one based
on just natural resources or labor
advantages.
1st
GCF
This sector is also at the forefront
of change. Saudi leaders have
implemented a bold program
of economic reforms and have
encouraged the creation of a highly
active, innovative and competitive
private sector. The keynote speech
– entitled “ICT as an Enabler of
Competitiveness” – was presented
by Mr. Bill Gates, Chairman of the
Microsoft Corporation and was
followed by presentations and panel
discussions based on the National
Competitiveness Agenda and ICT as
an enabler in achieving Saudi’s 10x10
ambition.
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8. 7
The goal of holding the 2nd Forum was
to provide a high-profile and global
perspective on competitiveness that
would simultaneously increase the
visibility of the Kingdom’s efforts and
further develop the Competitiveness
Forum series. The event was designed
to be a premier gathering of thought
leaders and innovators who would
then go on to participate in the World
Economic Forum. “Competitiveness
as an Engine for Economic Growth”
was the main theme, and aimed to
draw attention to the macroeconomic
benefit of competitiveness and to
position competitiveness as a key global
challenge.
The Forum attracted internationally
recognized leaders to speak and
participate. Subthemes from
education to entrepreneurship, from
infrastructure to innovation, were
designed around various aspects
of competitiveness to create the
appropriate platform for discussion
by experts, corporate leaders, political
leaders, NGOs, academics, and other
stakeholders. The Forum spread over
12 sessions addressing various topics
on competitiveness, with international
speakers such as Professor Michael
Porter from Harvard University; John
Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco;
and Professor Stephan Garelli, Director
of the IMD World Competitiveness
Center.
2nd
GCF
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10. 9
The third annual Global
Competitiveness Forum (GCF) followed
on from and improved upon the first
and second Forums, and convened
as the global economy appeared to
fall over a precipice in January 2009.
The conference’s theme, “Responsible
Competitiveness”, provided in many
ways a summary of and a productive
approach to the challenges ahead.
How could irresponsible management
have led world markets in credit, in
housing, in energy, in crops so badly
astray, and how could responsibility be
restored? How could governments and
the private sector tackle multi-faceted
economicproblemswithout stallingthe
drive for competitiveness and shared
prosperity? At a time when financial
distress had erased trillions of dollars
in asset value worldwide, the Global
Competitiveness Forum’s first speech
by Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s President
and CEO, declared: “Value creation is
what responsible competitiveness is all
about”. For nations, as for enterprises,
competitiveness is about delivering
world-class value to customers, to
employees, and to investors. Yet as
the economic crisis unfolding in early
2009 made clear, to be meaningful,
competition needed to proceed on a
responsible footing. In areas ranging
from carbon to credit, GCF panelists
agreed that apparently profitable
global markets had often destroyed
rather than created value, and explored
ways of restoring their contribution to
shared prosperity.
To answer these questions, the
world’s premier gathering on
competitiveness challenges was
joined by eminent leaders, executives,
intellectuals and Olympic athletes
with visionary perspectives on how
to link the competitiveness agenda
with a far-reaching concern for
social responsibility. The insights
that emerged were powerful, and
proceedings of the 2009 GCF informed
an open letter to the leaders of the
G20 member nations calling for an
aggressive, coordinated response.
3rd
GCF
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12. 11
4th
GCF
ThefourthannualGlobalCompetitiveness
Forum convened as the global economy
appeared to be recovering from one of the
greatest economic challenges of our time.
The conference’s theme, “Sustainable
Competitiveness”, summarized the
outcomes of the recession and provided
a productive approach to the challenges
ahead. How could management prevent
a future crisis? Did governments react
appropriately? How could we move
forwardbyincreasingregulationtoprevent
another crisis, while ensuring regulation
did not stifle competitiveness?
To answer these questions, the world’s
premier gathering on competitiveness
challenges was joined by global leaders,
executives, and intellectuals with
visionary perspectives on how to link the
competitiveness agenda to a far-reaching
concern with sustainability and social
responsibility. The insights that emerged
were a testament to the growth and
global scale of the GCF 2010.
The Forum featured speeches from
business leaders, including GE’s Jeffrey
Immelt, Cisco’s John Chambers, Michael
Dell, and Paul Polman of Unilever. Saudi
leaders HE Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf and HE
Dr. Mohammad Al-Jasser brought the
Saudi perspective on the global crisis.
Finally, the Forum was closed by Jeffrey
Immelt, who discussed a number of
specific recommendations on remaining
sustainably competitive, both for
companies and nations.
The key takeaway from the Forum was
that to deliver sustainable prosperity,
capitalism must be attentive to the social,
environmental, political, and financial
systems with which it is intertwined. In
addition to tackling issues of Sustainable
Competitiveness, the fourth annual
GCF hosted a number of events that
created networking opportunities and
drove international media attention. On
every evening during the Forum, SAGIA
hosted a gala dinner that featured one
of its initiatives. The initiatives at the
Forum were the second annual Saudi
Fast Growth 100, the Michael Porter
Prize, and the Saudi Arabian Responsible
Competitiveness Index, as well as the
launch of the CEO 100. Additionally, there
were daily book signings that featured
manyofthespeakersattheForum,aswell
as an art exhibition that put the spotlight
on Saudi artists. Finally, there were special
media sessions with Bloomberg and CNN
filmed at the Forum.
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14. 13
GCFhasinitiatedanunprecedented,comprehensivediscussion
of competitiveness issues encompassing the corporate sector,
governments, and civil society. Creating prosperous societies
requires the engagement of all these elements across a broad
array of challenges: not just unleashing competition, but
also sustaining human development, good governance, and
the environment. For global observers, the proceedings of
the Global Competitiveness Forum chart a path forward to
economic transformation and prosperity.
SAGIA Initiatives
For Saudi Arabia, the Global Competitiveness Forum has been
a crucial pillar of the 10x10 program: the drive to transform
the Kingdom into one of the world’s Top 10 most competitive
economiesbytheendof2010.Whereothergatheringsproduce
recommendations, the GCF is taking a more ambitious role:
launching direct initiatives to foster competitiveness.
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15. Corporate
Initiatives
SFG100
Saudi Fast Growth
Target: Small / medium companies
Partner: Michael Porter
Ranks the fastest-growing emerging companies
Target: Small / medium companies
Partner: Michael Porter
Given to best strategically competitive company
Target: Private-sector companies
Partner: Accountability
Ranks RC best practices
The Porter Prize
Private-Sector
Competitiveness
RCI
Responsible
Competitiveness Index
14 www.gcf.org.sa
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16. Leadership
Initiatives
Oxford Program
Target: Saudi potential leaders from private and government sectors
Partner: Said Business School, University of Oxford
Raises competitiveness on individual level
Target: Globally most competitive CEOs
Partner: NASDAQ
Promotes efficient leadership and makes ‘heroes’of business leaders
Target: Most innovative young Saudis
Partner: TBC
Promotes exemplary future leaders in the Kingdom
100 CEOs
Individual
Competitiveness
100 Youths
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18. The Forum will be held from 22 – 25
January2011,andanumberofspeakers
have already been confirmed, including:
HE Ali Al-Naimi, Klaus Kleinfeld, Marco
Tronchett-Provera, Jean Pascale-Tricoire,
Janine Benyus, Ulf Henriksson, James
Wolfensohn, Andy Bird, Professor
Michael Porter, Linda Rottenberg, Paul
Hawken, Jean Chrétien, Andy Meyers,
Amy Zhou, James Carpenter, Atul Punj,
John C. Warner, and many more.
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Next
GCF
GCF 2011
While the 4th Global Competitiveness
Forum focused on finding the right
balance of economic growth and
sustainability through competitiveness,
the 5th GCF will dig into one of the
key elements of competitiveness
– “Innovation as a Means to
Competitiveness”.
Over the last 4 years of the Global
Competitiveness Forum, innovation
was discussed as a means of
developing competitiveness - to build
sustainability, promote responsible
development, and drive economic
growth. For the Global Competitiveness
Forum’s 5th anniversary, the world’s
premier gathering on competitiveness
challenges will not only look at what
challenges to competitiveness exist,
but how to use innovation to solve
those challenges.
Five years ago, the Global
Competitiveness Forum started as
a gathering of ICT experts, which
included Bill Gates, discussing how ICT
enables competitiveness. For the next
three years, the GCF grew through the
financial crisis to tackle the world’s
mostimportantcompetitivenessissues.
The 5th Global Competitiveness Forum
will continue building on the success
of previous years, with the goal of
being one of the year’s most important
conferences.
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20. Local media coverage:
• Asharq Alawsat – Alriyadh –
Al-Jazeerah – Okaz – Al-Watan –
Al-Eqtisadiah – Arabnews.
Communication / branding at the forum:
• Visibility-branding through 3 huge
screens (150m2
).
• 5 document centers in 5 different
locations distributed more than 7,000
copies of documents.
• Fullyequippedmediacenterformedia
representatives.
Year after year, GCF has proven to be the
biggest event in the Kingdom and the
region.
The media hype was showcased with
the heavy media coverage by local and
international agencies as well as the
diversity of communication channels.
Facts and figures speak for themselves on
the great success for GCF media coverage,
as the following summary for 2010
shows.
Media success in numbers:
• 50 full pages of ads in local-
international media.
• 500 published coverage and articles.
• 15,000 direct invitations to VIPs and
attendees.
• 270 outdoor placements in key
locations in Riyadh.
• More than 7,000 copies of documents
distributed from the document center
at GCF.
• 150 media representatives covered
the Forum from top media agencies.
International media coverage:
• CNN – Bloomberg – BBC – Business
Week – Fortune – Time – Finance Asia
– Alarabyia.
Achievements
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