The panellists for the Middle East forum included experts with the experience and understanding of the local market namely, Dr. Nairouz Bader, CEO of Vision Executive Search, Jonathan Holmes, Managing Director of Korn Ferry International, Mark Houghton, Managing Partner of Odgers Berndtson and Metin Mitchell and Managing Director of Metin Mitchell & Co. Peter Felix, President of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).
Managing Director of Metin Mitchell & Co. Metin Mitchell, said, “With the exception of certain key talented CEOs, I am of the firm belief that across all sectors now the age of the Western expatriate in the Middle East is over,"
He continued to say, "Western expatriates are no longer required. They don't provide any particular value that can't be found in other nationalities either locally or from other parts of the world. Western expatriates now need to be thinking about taking their careers elsewhere such as Sub-Saharan Africa where there is demand and where there are job opportunities. We now need to think about this region differently - it's growing up and it's mature”.
The discussions also looked into the growth of the Saudi Arabia and Qatar regions with mentions of Lebanon, as a country to be watched out for. There has been a transformation in leadership skills with efforts being made on their part to grow with the world. They also concluded that there has been a shift in the recruitment scene, with western skilled personnel being replaced by executives from other countries such as India, China, Brazil, and also from Eastern Europe and Latin America. This was the general tone of the discussion at the London Business School’s Middle East Management Forum.
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