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Crotonville global leadership institute Saudi Women’s Leadership Summit in GE’s Crotonville global leadership institute was attended by women leaders from Saudi government and private sectors
- Crotonville is the world’s first major corporate university that creates transformative learning experiences
GE (NYSE: GE) underlined its commitment to nurturing the leadership and entrepreneurship skills of Saudi women by hosting a first-of-its-kind summit dedicated to women leaders from the government and private sectors in the Kingdom at Crotonville in the US.
The global leadership institute of GE, Crotonville is the world’s first major corporate university founded in 1956, which focuses on creating transformative learning experiences to inspire, connect and develop the business leaders of today and tomorrow.
The Saudi Women’s Leadership Summit was attended by more than 50 high-level women leaders from the Kingdom representing ministries, private sector businesses and civil society organizations. The six-day Summit included workshops, seminars and interactive sessions which served as a platform for highlighting GE’s role in promoting women talent across its different businesses globally, and was specifically created to define aspirational women role-models who will inspire future generations.
Hisham Albahkali, GE’s CEO & President for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Dr. Manar M. Al-Moneef, COO & Director of Government Affairs and Policy Middle East at GE, led the delegation, which met with Jeffrey Immelt, GE’s Chairman & CEO; John Rice, GE’s Vice Chairman & CEO of Global Growth Organization; and Beth Comstock, GE’s Chief Marketing Officer. They also attended a number of high-level lectures and workshops on various aspects relating to talent and leadership development.
His Excellency, the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Abdallah Yahya Al-Mouallimi, who distributed the certificates to the participants, observed: “The Summit is a strong example of how global organizations can share their learning and resources for further empowering Saudi women professionals. The Kingdom has made impressive strides in promoting education and creating career opportunities for women. The active participation of leading private sector entities such as GE will further enable Saudi women professionals to strengthen their skillsets and bring greater efficiency to the workplace.”
Hisham Albahkali said: “The Saudi Women’s Leadership Summit was a great opportunity for GE to engage in a global learning program with Saudi women professionals and further strengthen their leadership competencies. Through the Summit, GE underlined our commitment to serve as an ambassador for our partners in the Kingdom, and to highlight the tremendous growth opportunities and potential offered by Saudi Arabia for businesses and professionals. The Saudi women participants have demonstrated their professional excellence and are indeed an inspiration for future generations. We are privileged to interact and network with them, and share our learning and experiences.”
Dr. Al-Moneef said: “GE places the highest priority on promoting the leadership and entrepreneurial abilities of women. The Saudi Women’s Leadership Summit provided extensive insights on wide-ranging topics that complement the strong professional outlook of the participants. We are truly honored to learn with our partners in the Kingdom several new perspectives about business leadership, as well as build a trusted network of Saudi women professionals, who contribute to the ongoing developmental initiatives in the Kingdom.”
A dedicated session on GE & Diversity covered topics such as the impact of social media and diversity, and leadership development, led by GE’s leaders. A panel discussion on ‘Women’s Journey;’ a discussion on ‘The Way Women Work’ by author Rania Anderson; and workshops on leadership styles, change acceleration process, adaptive leadership, women & self-development, future workplace and entrepreneurship were also held.
Special sessions were held on breast cancer to promote Saudi Arabia’s focus on addressing the rising incidence of the disease while Saudi Initiative case studies discussed various businesses in the Kingdom and how women can further contribute to the operational efficiency as effective leaders. The delegates toured the New York Stock Exchange and also attended Saudi cultural events.
Highlighting GE’s focus on creating career opportunities for women in the Kingdom, the company has joined hands with Saudi Aramco and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to launch the first all-female business process services center in Riyadh. It serves as a building block to localize the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Kingdom.
Creating more than 3,000 jobs, the center brings a unique business model to Saudi Arabia, and is set to become a rich training ground for building new capabilities, skills and careers for Saudi females. It will employ skilled graduates in the areas of finance, accounting, human resources management and supply chain management services.
