Global CEOs heading for Dubai
Forbes, the publisher of leading business magazines Forbes and Forbes Asia, on Tuesday announced that it will hold its 12th annual Forbes Global CEO Conference in Dubai in 2012. This is the first time the event is being held in the Middle East.
Under an agreement signed by Ahmad Al Shaikh, Director General of the Dubai Government Media Office and Chairman of Falcon & Associates and William Adamopoulos, President and Publisher of Forbes Asia, the event will take place in October 2012.
The Forbes Global CEO Conference, launched in 2001, gathers under one roof some of the world’s most successful tycoons, entrepreneurs, multinational CEOs, emerging company CEOs, financiers, and thought leaders. Since its inception, the Forbes Global CEO Conference has traveled to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney.
Al Shaikh said: “Under the direction and encouragement of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, we are very happy to host the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Dubai in 2012. The emirate is increasingly at the forefront of global business leaders’ minds as a strategic hub as they recognise its pivotal role in the global economy. Dubai’s sophisticated infrastructure, built to foster international business and opportunities, has led to a steady rise in multinational companies establishing their regional headquarters here.”
Adamopoulos added: “We are delighted to bring our Conference to Dubai, a place full of energy and opportunity. We are confident that the Forbes community of captains of industry and world-leading entrepreneurs will take great pleasure in meeting in Dubai, one of world’s great cities.”
Recent speakers at the Forbes Global CEO Conference include the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, and other multi-billionaire tycoons such as Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of steelmaker ArcelorMittal, Rob Walton, Chairman of Wal-Mart, Li Ka-Shing, Chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, and Sheldon Adelson, Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Past speakers also include Wilbur Ross, Chairman and CEO of WL Ross and Invesco Private Capital, Mario Polegato, Chairman of GEOX Group, Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten, Liang Xinjun, Vice Chairman and CEO of Fosun Group, Nobel-prize winning economist Michael Spence, Zong Qinghou, Chairman of Wangzhou Wahaha Group, Malvinder Singh, Group Chairman of Fortis Healthcare, Andrew Forrest, Chief Executive of Fortescue, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and MD of Biocon, Michael Hintze, CEO of CQS, Henri Loyrette, President and Director of Louvre Museum, Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman of Alliance Boots, Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Shi Zhengrong, CEO of Suntech Power.
This year’s Forbes Global CEO Conference is being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from September 12-14, 2011.