B20 Saudi Arabia, the voice of the business community to G20, has recently announced the launch of an initiative to confront the public health crisis triggered by COVID-19 around the world. The initiative aims to identify how global businesses – from micro, small and medium size enterprises to large multinational corporations – can best manage the current crisis to allow commercial enterprises and the global markets to operate as efficiently as possible. A set of recommendations will be submitted to the G20 for review and inclusion in its official communique.
April 29, 2020
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EST | 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm KSA
Registration is Free.
The event aims to broaden awareness of this initiative and give the U.S. and Saudi private sector companies a platform to share relevant experiences to help develop practical recommendations to G20. The U.S.-Saudi Business Council is a member of B20 Saudi Arabia’s Trade & Investment Taskforce.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Sherpa, B20 Saudi Arabia
Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun has been Secretary General of the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) since 2009, following a career of more than two and a half decades in the GCC region’s petrochemicals and energy sectors.
In his current role he covers the GPCA’s operational and strategic functions, reporting to a Board comprised of 15 CEOs from leading GCC Chemical Companies.
Amongst his achievements with the GPCA, he contributed to successfully defending the industry’s position on several trade remedies cases filed in Taiwan, Egypt and the EU, in addition to developing content and bilingual publications to share thought leadership and industry insights with regional peers. Dr. Al-Sadoun played a pivotal role in expanding the GPCA’s events portfolio by 261%, from one event in 2008 attended by 928 delegates, to six events in 2014 attended by 3,350 delegates. His direction has also seen the Association’s member base increase by 109% over the past 5 years, as a result of structured marketing campaigns.
His career began in 1990, as a Senior Researcher at SABIC Research and Development Center in Saudi Arabia. He has since worked for several of the most prominent agencies in the region, including Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), Al-Sharq Plastic Industries Co., and PetroBaas for Industrial Investment Co.
Dr. Al-Sadoun is member of the Steering Committee of the International Council of Chemical Associations and the Board of Trustees of the Riyadh Economic Forum and the Arabian Society for Human Resources Management.
He holds a PhD in the field of Industrial Chemistry granted by King’s College, University of London, United Kingdom, in addition to being a graduate of the General Management Program (GMP3), Harvard Business School (HBS), Harvard University, USA, and a graduate of several Executive Management & Technical training programs at leading international institutions in Japan, USA and Europe.
Opening Remarks
Abdallah S. Jum’ah
Saudi Co-Chairman, U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council and Chairman, Saudi Investment Bank
Steven Demetriou
U.S. Co-Chairman, U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council and Chair and CEO, Jacobs
About B20 Saudi Arabia
B20 Saudi Arabia represents the voice of the business community to G20 which is hosted by Saudi Arabia this year. It is one of the eight engagement initiatives launched alongside G20 with the purpose of developing policy recommendations on a wide range of issues to the G20.
B20 Saudi Arabia consists of 520 members of six taskforces, namely Digitalization; Energy, Sustainability and Climate; Finance and Infrastructure; Future of Work and Education; Integrity and Compliance; Trade and Investment, and a Women in Business, an Action Council that represents B20 Saudi Arabia’s signature topic. SMEs and Entrepreneurship, as well as Sustainable Development Goals, are cross-cutting themes of B20. Multinational corporations, business associations, small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), and startups represented the majority of participants, followed by state-owned enterprises, research institutions, and universities.
- Digitalization Taskforce addresses the most pressing issues related to the digital economy and develops recommendations to successfully drive the digital transformation for businesses and society
- Energy, Sustainability & Climate Taskforce addresses key questions related to energy efficiency, clean energy, the sustainable use of natural resources and climate action
- Finance & Infrastructure Taskforce focuses on key challenges of the financial industry and the financing aspects of quality infrastructure.
- The Future of Work & Education Taskforce develops recommendations to improve the parameters for more and better employment, to provide adequate work conditions and to prepare the labor force for the challenges ahead
- Trade & Investment Taskforce focuses on changes needed to ensure the rules-based, multilateral system is fit for purpose and supports a fair and open trade environment
- The Integrity & Compliance Taskforce aims to advance the global anti-corruption agenda, touching upon key topics such as regulatory compliance, consumer protection, transparency and high standards of ethics and integrity.
- Action Council on Women in Business addresses issues such as women’s participation in the workforce and their representation in leadership positions, reflecting gender diversity as a key priority for B20 Saudi Arabia.