The Global Competitiveness Forum (“GCF”) is an annual meeting of top business executives, international political leaders, selected intellectuals, and academics who share an interest in global competitiveness. For the 2008 GCF, Saudi Arabia celebrated its new ranking in terms of “ease to do business” –rated as 23rd country worldwide and 1st in the Middle East and in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia has also greatly improved rankings by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.

In 2007, more than 500 of these key leaders participated in the first annual GCF which included a keynote address by Bill Gates of Microsoft.

The event is held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia right before the Davos Economic Forum.

In 2008 and under the patronage of H.M. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, the forum gathered 1,000 internationally recognized leaders. The program is designed to create a discussion platform for experts, corporate leaders, political leaders, NGOs, academics and other stakeholders.

GCF Speakers included the following people:

Prof. Laura Tyson
Professor, Haas Business and Public Policy Group at the University of California Berkeley

Mohamed Ali Alabbar
Chairman of Emaar Properties PJSC

James (Jim) F. Albaugh
Executive Vice President, The Boeing Company
President and Chief Executive Officer
Integrated Defense Systems

H.E. Amr Al-Dabbagh
Governor & Chairman, SAGIA

Khalid Al Gosaibi
Minister of Economy and Planning, Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
HE Eng. Khalid Abdullah Almolhem
Director General, Saudi Airlines

HE Dr. Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel
President, King Abdullaziz City for Science and Technology

Henry Azzam
CEO Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) – Deutsche Bank

Mr. Alan L. Boeckmann
Chairman of the Board & CEO, Fluor Corporation

Dr. Werner Brandt
Member of the Executive Board & Chief Financial Officer, SAP AG

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland
former Prime Minister of Norway & former Director General of the World Health Organization. Special Envoy on Climate Change for the United Nations

Prof. Herwig Brunner
Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Professor at the University of Stuttgart

Mr. John T. Chambers
Chairman & CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Mr Victor Chu
Chairman, First Eastern Investment Group

Mr. Dick Evans
President & CEO, Alcan Inc.

Mr. Bruce Fenton
Founder & Managing Director, Atlantic Financial Inc
Mr. Mark B. Fuller
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Monitor Group

Gail D. Fosler
President and Chief Economist The Conference Board

Prof. Stéphane Garelli
Professor at IMD and at the University of Lausanne, Director World Competitiveness Center

Mr. German Gref
RF Minister of Economic Development and Trade
Anant Gupta
Founding Partner and CEO, HCL
Mr. Jean-Michel Halfon
Area President Canada / Latin America / Africa / Middle-Est

Dr. Axel Claus Heitmann
Chairman of the Board of Management, LANXESS AG

HE Eng. Mohamed Jamil Ahmed Mulla
Minister of Information and Communication Technology

Mr. Tapani Järvinen
President & CEO, Outotec

Mr Lee Yi Shyan
Minister of State for Trade and Industry
Republic of SingaporeMr. Franklin Pitcher Johnson, JR.
Founding Partner Asset Management Company

Prof. Michio Kaku
Theoretical physicist, best-selling author & popularizer of science

Mr. Younghoon David Kim

Chairman, Daesung Group

Mr. Nemir A. Kirdar
President & CEO, Investcorp.

Mr. Mikael Mäkinen
President & CEO, Cargotec

Sir Terence Matthews
Chairman, Wesley Clover

Mr. Hartmut Mehdorn
Chairman of the Management Board & CEO, DB AG

Mr. Yasuyuki Nambu
Group CEO of Pasona Group is from Japan and its official site is original Japanese site http://www.pasona.co.jp
English site is also available http://www.pasona.co.jp/english

Mr. Aref Naqvi
Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Abraaj Capital

Prof. Jane Nelson
Senior Fellow & Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University

Dr. Michael E. Porter
Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School

Azim Premji
Chairman, Wipro

Dr. John Quelch
Senior Associate Dean, Harvard Business School.

Dr. Hector de J. Ruiz
Chairman & CEO, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Mr. Frank John Sixt
Executive Director & Group Finance Director, Hutchison Whampoa Limited

Mr. Don Thornhill
Chairman, National Competitiveness Council of Ireland

Mr. Nigel Turner
CEO, BMI

Dr. Daniel Vasella, M.D.
Chairman & CEO, Novartis AG.

H.E. Dr. Hashim Yamani
Minister of Commerce and Industry

Philip Yeo
Special Advisor for Economic Development

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