Over the past few years, the world has experienced an unprecedented series of events that have fundamentally changed communities and organizations, and which in many countries have changed the fundamental contract between organizations and the communities within which they do business. Leaders of the United Arab Emirates set a vision to enable their country to seek prosperity in a sustainable way and make the best of today’s knowledge, technology, and resources. This sets the path to make the UAE a bedrock for innovative industries and talent development, which, in turn, should support local companies growing into world leaders in their domains.

In the context of national and international change, more is expected from the boards of UAE-based companies than ever before. One consequence is an unprecedented focus on corporate governance, from board composition to effectiveness and resilience. Internationally, boards are also expected to lead their organizations in driving a purpose-led culture and own the conversation with employees about how strategy, purpose, and culture need to blend to enable sustainable growth. 

So, how far have UAE boards moved the dial when it comes to changing their composition to tackle these new expectations and mitigate the risk of losing their license to operate?

 

We see more and more boards looking for independent directors or individuals with international experience to help with this newer direction. While there has been progress in broadening the spectrum of experience around boardroom tables in ADX/DFM companies, each company needs to make sure it is not only prepared for today’s challenges, but able to anticipate what type of directors they need to appoint to future-proof their organizations. 

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the following Heidrick & Struggles’ colleagues for their contributions to this report: Maliha Jilani and Richard Guest.