The 7th Grand Edition of ABLF Awards 2016 was held at a well attended event at the Palazzo Versace Dubai on 12 November, 2016. Some of the UAE’s biggest leaders joined a distinguished audience of Asian leaders from countries around the world including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, China, UK, and the US to celebrate sustainable leadership and enduring excellence at the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) Awards 2016. The ABLF Awards, held in association with the UAE Ministry of Economy, recognised 14 global leaders for their exceptional leadership in Asia. They were felicitated by UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and the Royal Patron of the Awards Ceremony since 2007 HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.
The opening address by HE Kamal Nath, Former Union Cabinet Minister, Government of India, introduced the theme for the ABLF 2016, “Heroes of the Innovation Economy” and spoke about how the real heroes are the disruptors. “Disruptors constantly create new economic realities. A start-up with a supporting venture capitalist and a great idea can potentially bring a giant corporation to its knees, to make its business model obsolete in a matter of weeks,” he said.
HE Sheikh Nahyan said in his Keynote Address that the theme of the 7th Edition of the ABLF was a sign of the changing perspectives on gender equality, a subject that is greatly promoted in the UAE where women hold over 66% of jobs in the UAE’s government sector. “The use of the word heroes signals that the ABLF operates in the twenty-first century. Not long ago, a female hero would have been called a heroine, a word that too often implies something somewhat different from and less than the male hero. Today, however, enlightened, realistic, and fair-minded people recognise heroes for their actions, not their gender. Our global economy needs and, as the ABLF knows, has heroes - both women and men — who share exactly the same heroic attributes.”
His Excellency added, “Heroes by definition exhibit extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude, and greatness of soul in their pursuits, their work, and their enterprises… The global economy of the twenty-first century demands innovation. An ever-changing environment challenges business to respond. All of you heroes assembled here tonight have responded successfully to that demand.”
Award winners at the ABLF 2016 included dignitaries from different schools of thought, regions and industries, across the spectrum of business, government, banking, finance, media, infrastructure and society:
• THE ABLF SOCIAL INFLUENCER AWARD
HE Dr Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, UAE
Irene Natividad, President, Global Summit of Women, US
• THE ABLF GLOBAL ASIAN AWARD
HE Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Group CEO and Managing Director, Mubadala
• THE ABLF RISING STAR AWARD
HE Eng. Mohamed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Economy, UAE
• THE ABLF TRAILBLAZER AWARD
HE Mona Al Marri, Director General, Government of Dubai Media Office, UAE
• THE ABLF BUSINESS INNOVATOR AWARD
Dr Amina Al Rustamani, Group Chief Executive Officer, TECOM Group, UAE
• THE ABLF BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARD
Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Emirates NBD, UAE
• THE ABLF AMBASSADOR OF COMMERCE AWARD
Fahad Al Gergawi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), UAE
• THE ABLF STATESMAN AWARD
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Former Prime Minister, Malaysia
• THE ABLF BUSINESS ECONOMIST AWARD
Lord Meghnad Desai, Emeritus Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
• THE ABLF OUTSTANDING BUSINESS ACHIEVER AWARD
Yu Tao, Chief Executive Officer and President, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East) (L.L.C.), UAE
• THE ABLF BUSINESS COURAGE AWARD
Yogesh Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Petrochem Middle East FZE, UAE
• THE ABLF OUTSTANDING BUSINESS CITIZEN AWARD
Prakash P. Hinduja, Chairman, Hinduja Group (Europe), Switzerland
• THE ABLF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Sri Prakash Lohia, Group Chairman, Indorama Corporation, Singapore
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