Sunday, May 29, 2011

GCC C-Suite Confidence Is Undaunted by Wider Turmoil, Oliver Wyman/IBOPE Zogby Survey Finds


Youth Job Creation and Education Reforms Remain Challenges at Home

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, May 29th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Unrest elsewhere in the Middle East hasn’t shaken the confidence of C-suite executives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, or Qatar, according to the 4th Oliver Wyman / IBOPE Zogby International survey of 160 top executives. The new survey found that business confidence levels, which have improved steadily since 2009, have continued to rise, especially in the UAE.

Top issues for the GCC C-suite: finding ways to educate and create jobs for the large number of young people entering the workforce and the continued threat of outside macro-economic shocks. When asked directly about the impact of the "Arab Spring" on economic development in their countries, executives were almost equally divided in their responses.

Other findings include:

Government efforts to create jobs for young nationals are seen as more effective than those undertaken by the private sector.
When asked “which is the greater challenge?”, three times more executives said creating jobs for young nationals than said fostering greater political participation.
Hiring choices vary by nationality: local respondents prefer to employ a young national with skills, while expats to the UAE, KSA and Qatar would hire an expat with similar skills at a lower salary

According to John Turner, who leads Oliver Wyman’s public sector consulting practice in the region, “C-suite executives are definitely aware of the turmoil elsewhere, but are focused on tackling the big issues at home. Data like ours will help inform business-government discussions on what to do next.”

For more information about this and previous C-suite surveys go to: http://www.oliverwyman.com/ow/ow_gcc_survey_4.htm

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a leading global management consulting firm with more than 40 years experience serving Global 1000 clients. The firm's staff of 3,000 professionals operates from offices in more than 50 cities around the globe. Oliver Wyman's Middle Eastern offices are located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh, and we serve clients in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. The firm's industry focus in the region includes financial services, aviation, telecommunications, transportation, and energy, and Oliver Wyman consultants support clients in a broad range of assignments, including growth, reorganization, and turnaround strategies; new business planning and startup support; post-merger integration of global acquisitions; and design of new corporate governance structures. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com.

About IBOPE Zogby International

IBOPE Zogby International is a leading market/opinion research and consulting firm, considered preeminent in the field. Founded by President and CEO John Zogby in 1984, ZI has empowered clients with critical intelligence necessary for making informed strategic decisions. ZI conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions, cultural organizations, colleges and universities, government agencies, and a variety of public and private groups. ZI’s dedication and commitment to excellence and accuracy are reflected in the firm's state of the art opinion research capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.

Contacts

Dubai

Oliver Wyman

Monika Debowski

971 4 425 7000

Monika.Debowski@Oliverwyman.com

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