Retail Leaders Circle, a global platform for expert-led debate between policymakers, industry CEOs, and key opinion leaders, will assemble some of the region’s most prominent decision-makers over three consecutive days to address the current retail industry during Stream One of the 7th Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit. The event is scheduled to take place virtually on March 29, 30 and 31.
Under the theme “The Great Retail Reset: Disruption, Resilience, and the Power of Collaboration,” the virtual summit aims to be a collaborative effort to rebuild and renew an industry in transformation and highlight the areas in which retail and retail-related industries most urgently need it.
The meeting will digitally connect more than 60 influential speakers and audiences from around the region and the world to share their insights, define today’s most pressing challenges in the industry, and build a strategic agenda as the industry navigates the new realities following the pandemic.
“The retail industry is currently being reviewed, reimagined, and reinvented in the midst of this pandemic,” said Panos Linardos, chairman of Retail Leaders Circle. “By expanding the program of the 7th Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit, the virtual stream will provide a more accessible platform for the industry and will even actually broaden the industry participation and bring more of them closer to RLC MENA. This will allow for new ways of inspiration, deal-making and getting business done.”
Some of the featured speakers include: John Hadden, CEO, Alshaya Group; Patrick Chalhoub, group president and CEO, Chalhoub Group; Alain Bejjani CEO, Majid Al-Futtaim Group; Anna Germanos, head of CPG, retail and e-commerce MENA, Facebook; Waleed Al-Saud, founder and CEO, Mukatafa; Hosam Alqurashi, senior adviser, Royal Commission for Riyadh City; Ahmad A.R. BinDawood, CEO, BinDawood Holding; Aref Yehia, client partner for omnichannel retail, TikTok; Timothy Earnest, group director, Al-Futtaim Malls; Faraz Khalid, CEO, Noon; Nisreen Shocair, CEO Middle East, Yoox Net-a-Porter; Omar El-Hamamsy, group CEO, Orascom Development Holding; Marwan Mukarzel, CEO, Fawaz Al-Hokair Retail; Barbara Kahn, Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School; Chris Baker, SVP and head of retail North America, Visa Inc.; Pierre-Yves Roussel, CEO, Tory Burch, US; Matt Shay, president and CEO, National Retail Federation, US; Marigay McKee, managing partner, Fernbrook Capital Management, US; and Steve Sadove, former chairman and CEO, Saks Fifth Avenue.
The Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit has consistently focused on addressing the regional retail agenda with exclusive research reports, in-depth and often intimate conversations, one-on-one interviews, and taskforce roundtables. This year the virtual summit will deliver critical insights from prominent international speakers and key industry partners, namely McKinsey & Company and PwC among others.
“Retail CEOs, board members, investors, and key stakeholders face issues in the industry that grow more urgent and complex everyday,” said Panos Linardos, chairman of Retail Leaders Circle. “This year’s virtual summit will bring together prominent speakers and valuable partners that will address these challenges, inspire change, and promote collaboration in the region and beyond.”
