Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | HE Saeed Al Tayer inaugurates Enterprise Agility Week 2024 with strong participation from leading local and global organisations

• The event is being organised by DEWA for a second consecutive year

• HE Saeed Al Tayer: Enterprise Agility is essential for enhancing future readiness, enabling organisations to manage risks proactively and respond swiftly to changes

• Mohamed Alabbar: We need to stay agile and be prepared for economic ups and downs, whether globally or locally

• Helmut von Struve: In close collaboration with DEWA, we drive sustainable growth and foster a culture of innovation and creativity

• Naim Yazbeck: By leveraging advanced technologies, organisations can swiftly adapt to market changes, enhance operational efficiency and foster innovation

• Firas Al Msaddi: I was truly honoured to be invited as a keynote speaker by DEWA, a leading institution in driving Dubai's remarkable urban growth

• Shant Oknayan: The innovations and businesses that succeed are the ones centred on solving people's needs.

• Yi-Wei Ang: I'm very excited to be part of DEWA’s Enterprise Agility Week, where I'll be sharing Talabat's 20-year journey of tech innovations

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has inaugurated the 2024 edition of Enterprise Agility Week, organised by DEWA for a second consecutive year. The event aims to consolidate enterprise agility among employees and enhance their readiness to keep pace with the rapid changes across all strategic sectors.

Enterprise Agility Week features several events, including the Business Agility Forum, organised today with the participation of HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, and speakers from local and international organisations including Mohamed Alabbar, Founder and Managing Director of Emaar Properties; Helmut von Struve, CEO of Siemens Middle East; Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE; Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties Yi-Wei Ang, Chief Product Officer at Talabat; and Shant Oknayan, Vice President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok. The forum was attended by a large number of DEWA employees from all divisions.

In his opening speech, Al Tayer noted that the Business Agility Forum reflects DEWA’s commitment to the vision of the wise leadership, which aims to make the UAE government the fastest, most resilient and most adaptable to future changes.

“We align with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has said, ‘The future is not something we wait for, but something we make. We look ahead into the future and predict and shape it by being proactive in innovating and employing future technologies to bring about development and growth, and build a knowledge-based economy.’ The Business Agility Forum underscores our dedication to excellence and leadership in all aspects of our work. It consolidates the concept of Enterprise Agility, which we consider essential for enhancing future readiness, enabling organisations to manage risks proactively, respond swiftly to changes and transform challenges into promising opportunities. It also aims to improve operational efficiency, increase competitiveness, enhance customer happiness and support creativity and innovation, contributing to sustainable growth,” said Al Tayer.

Al Tayer explained that Enterprise Agility refers to an organisation's capacity to swiftly adapt to changes in a productive and cost-effective manner. It also involves responding promptly to shifts in market dynamics, technological disruptions and unforeseen external challenges while achieving sustainable outcomes and optimising resource utilisation. This approach is rooted in a comprehensive strategy where operations are aligned to foster rapid decision-making, continuous learning and adaptability, especially as Fourth Industrial Revolution tools, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and Big Data analytics, reshape the utility sector.

“Embracing best international practices in agility and resilience and integrating them in our operations have been critical to our success and excellence. Our pioneering practices have become benchmarks for numerous local, regional, and international organisations. Last year, DEWA hosted over 100 benchmarking visits from local and international companies, keen to learn from our innovative approaches. We have established unprecedented global standards in the energy and water sectors, securing top positions globally. DEWA achieved the highest rated energy utility globally in agility according to a thorough assessment conducted by the international Business Agility Institute (BAI). The assessment praised DEWA’s ability to turn challenges into opportunities, especially during difficult turbulent times experienced by companies globally. DEWA has also received the Agile Business Consortium award in the Overall Business Agility category, the highest level of the award. A technical committee of international experts in business agility conducted a thorough evaluation in 10 different categories related to all aspects of business agility and related practices. Thanks to our successful implementation of enterprise agility principles, DEWA  ranked first among the strongest brands in the UAE in terms of commitment to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles, according to the Brand Finance report issued in April 2024, and second in the region in the utilities sector, and second in brand value in the utilities sector in the region, with a 3% increase in brand value, reaching USD 1.1 billion. In our efforts to instil a culture of agility among DEWA’s employees and build a team capable of implementing agility strategies efficiently and effectively, we have trained over 300 employees in the principles of agility. They have earned international certifications in this field,” added Al Tayer.

In conclusion, Al Tayer thanked the speakers, emphasising that the Agility Week programme would significantly contribute to our ongoing efforts to stay ahead of the rapid changes in the business environment and enhance the competitiveness of Dubai and the UAE.

"Our job isn’t done by cutting costs alone. Stakeholders demand that we add value while continuously reviewing how we do business. Efficiency has become critical. We need to stay agile and be prepared for economic ups and downs, whether globally or locally," said Mohamed Alabbar, Founder & Managing Director of Emaar Properties.

“The Enterprise Agility Week exemplifies DEWA’s unwavering commitment to the UAE’s visionary leadership to make our infrastructure agile, efficient and ready for the future. We, as Siemens, are proud to be part of this initiative and show our dedication to excellence and technology leadership, supporting our partners to transform today’s challenges into future opportunities. In close collaboration with DEWA, we drive sustainable growth and foster a culture of innovation and creativity,” said Helmut von Struve, CEO of Siemens in the UAE and the Middle East

"AI is shaping up to be one of the most impactful technologies of our time. At Microsoft, we believe that the emergence of AI technologies such as Microsoft Copilot is pivotal in driving enterprise agility in the future. By leveraging these advanced technologies, organisations can swiftly adapt to market changes, enhance operational efficiency and foster innovation. AI empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, streamline processes and unlock new opportunities for growth. This not only enhances competitiveness but also ensures sustainable success in an ever-evolving business landscape," said Naim Yazbeck, General Manager, Microsoft UAE.

“I was truly honoured to be invited as a keynote speaker by DEWA, a leading institution in driving Dubai's remarkable urban growth. This event not only showcased the strong collaboration between the public and private sectors, but also reflected HE Saeed Al Tayer’s dedication to promoting leadership agility in line with the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The experience was further enriched by the valuable insights shared by the other distinguished speakers," said Firas Al Msaddi, Founder & CEO of fäm Properties.

"I'm very excited to be part of DEWA’s Enterprise Agility Week, where I'll be sharing Talabat's 20-year journey of tech innovations. We aim to use technology to serve all players in our ecosystem, and we invite you to join us on this exciting journey. Together, we can collaborate to bring the vision of Dubai’s future to life today," said Yi-Wei Ang, Chief Product Officer at Talabat.

“The innovations and businesses that succeed are the ones centred on solving people's needs,” said Shant Oknayan, Vice President, Global Business at TikTok.

Enterprise Agility Week includes various workshops, lectures and panel discussions in different DEWA branches, as well as an exhibition highlighting the utility’s initiatives and projects related to enterprise agility.