Why the GCC chair-of-the-future will be 40% builder, 30% diplomat and zero percent caretaker.
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14 chair-level members weighing in
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If you've lived in Dubai, Riyadh or Singapore for any length of time, you already know this. The question is whether you're building your reputation on purpose — or hoping the dinners will happen by accident.
In DIFC, ADGM, KAFD, Marina Bay — the search is rarely the start. It's the formality. By the time the role lands with Egon Zehnder or Korn Ferry, the chair and the CEO already have two or three names in mind. Your CV is being checked against a decision that's almost made.
You've done ten years in London or New York. You moved out for the role. Your London network is now twelve flights away and slowly losing relevance. The people who'll hire you next live within a three-mile radius of you — and most of them don't know your name yet.
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