GPCA Members Dialogue Series

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the world in a completely new context which requires leaders to swiftly adapt in order to “Lead in the New Reality”. With volatility here to stay, the chemical ecosystem will have to face an entirely new context with both its opportunities and threats. For the first time, business leaders will need to address the challenges confronting them today, so they can adequately plan and prepare for the future. This unchartered territory is demanding a need to explore new ways of working and engaging in a collaborative setting.

To enable knowledge sharing among members, GPCA has partnered with global consulting firm BCG to launch a series of dialogues with members of the GPCA community designed to build insight and understanding into how to lead in the new reality ‘post COVID’.

These exclusive members-only sessions will:

Bring forward relevant and timely topics and materials in the context of post COVID environment
Focus on tangible recommendations and next steps that leaders and CEOs can bring to their business
Delivered through interactive facilitated panel discussions to members of GPCA
Supplemented by relevant materials and key takeaways post sessions

Past sessions

Leveraging technology post-crisis: The compass to guide new growth

3 March 2021 | 10:00 – 11:00 UAE time

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation, making the chemical industry realize the value that technology can offer to nurture, grow, and sustain businesses. Evolving digital technologies such AI, blockchain, 3D printing and many others are transforming business models, optimizing performance, and encouraging the industry to become agile, responsive, and resilient.

The session provided an opportunity to:

Share your experiences implementing ground-breaking projects and technologies at your firm
Discuss with the group how technology has reinvigorated growth, influenced your business model innovation, maximized value, and helped you navigate through the difficult market landscape

Murhaf Al Madani

VP, Corporate Digitalization program (CDO)

SABIC

(Speaker)

Mirko Rubeis

MD and Partner

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

(Facilitator)

Hasan Alkabeer

Principal

BCG

(Moderator)

Recovery profiles shaping the future landscape

20 January 2021 | 13:00 – 14:00 UAE time

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on supply chains across the world and is setting a new reality for 2021 and beyond. In any crisis the first move is to secure supplies. However, the companies that will emerge stronger are those that will move to deploy multiple levers to drive value.

The session provided an opportunity to:

Discuss the implications of different types of recovery scenarios in 2021 on the supply chain and logistics sector
Share experiences from the group on how they managed these disruptions in 2020 and going into 2021

Mathieu Friedberg

CEO

CEVA Logistics

Camille Egloff

EManaging Director and
Senior Partner

BCG

Hasan Alkabeer

Principal

BCG

(Moderator)

People priorities for the new reality

4 November 2020 | 14:00 – 15:00 UAE time

At GPCA we understand that COVID-19 is a fundamentally people-based crisis and are particularly proud of how our members and the chemical community in the region have managed the workforce and business repercussions from the pandemic, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their employees. As leaders in the region and the world respond to ongoing challenges, people priorities will continue to be front and center to their future strategy.

With this, we focused on ‘7 key priorities’ that have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss key questions:

How are HR functions dealing with the challenges of the pandemic?
Which approaches for leading teams and keeping organizational structures and operations running have been particularly successful?
What conclusions can be drawn from those experiences?

Jens Baier

Managing Director and Senior Partner

BCG

Nabil Al Dabal

Executive Director, Human Resources

Saudi Aramco

Hasan Alkabeer

Principal

BCG

(Moderator)

COVID-19 impact: How to lead in a crisis

28 September 2020 | 2PM UAE time

This session facilitated by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) discussed how to thrive amidst COVID and the current economic environment by capitalizing on short and long-term challenges and opportunities. The facilitators shared facts, scenarios, and actions for leaders. They identified key opportunities and challenges facing petrochemical firms currently and provided insight into how petrochemical leaders are reacting to current obstacles. Participants had the opportunity to gather opportunistic and strategic ideas to capitalize on during a crisis.