Evonik and the GCC Board Directors Institute sign partnership agreement
United Arab Emirates, Dubai – 16 June 2016: Evonik, one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies, and the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI), the pre-eminent organisation for Boards and directors in the Gulf, have signed a three-year partnership agreement designed to help develop high-performance boards in the Gulf.
Headquartered in Germany, the conglomerate has maintained a strategic role in the MENA for more than four decades and in partnership with Tasnee have erected the region’s first superabsorbents production facility in Saudi Arabia.
“We are delighted to have Evonik join our network of partners and sponsors as a Corporate Affiliate,” said Jane Valls, Executive Director, GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI). “Now more than ever, sound board and governance practices are under the microscope of investors and most stakeholders. Working with a global leader like Evonik will support us in promoting the latest corporate governance trends and best practices, improving the effectiveness of boards, and as a result contributing positively to the development of GCC economies. We look forward to a fruitful cooperation and lasting relationship.”
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Klaus Engel, Group CEO of Evonik, said: “In the complex and ever-changing world we live in, a company needs strong guiding principles to take position as a credible and reliable partner. We at Evonik are aware of the responsibility that our company has and therefore consider the question of corporate governance a key element in our management philosophy; we believe that transparent corporate governance is the key to our good reputation and to sustainable value. For this purpose, Evonik has partnered with GCC Board Directors Institute to gain further insight into best practices in the Gulf.”
“As a leading speciality chemicals company we are always on the lookout for partnerships with organisations that hold the same values as us,” Mr. Michael Wring, President of Evonik Middle East, added. “We believe that by sharing our experiences with the GCC Board Directors Institute we can help promote best practice sharing at regional and international level, while also strengthening our business acumen needed to engage in successful economic activities.”
Since its inception in 2007, BDI has grown into a large advisory body for directors and senior executives of state-owned enterprises, family-owned businesses, listed companies, multinationals, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds across the GCC. Today, this not-for-profit organisation works with over 700 board directors representing over 1800 blue-chip companies, providing them with the tools to acquire the know-how to reach and sustain effective governance.
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About Evonik
Evonik is a multinational specialty chemical manufacturer serving the automotive, plastics, pharmaceutical, and other industries. It is also active in power generation. The central elements of its strategy for sustained value creation are profitable growth, efficiency and values. Around 80 percent of sales come from market-leading positions, which we are systematically expanding. Evonik concentrates on high-growth megatrends, especially health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization.
In 2015, Evonik’s more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around €13.5 billion and an operating result (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.47 billion. Around 82 percent of sales are generated outside Germany, providing convincing evidence that its business is global.
About the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI)
Launched in 2007, the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI) is a not-for-profit organization that guides board directors of organizations, from family-owned businesses to listed companies, to acquire the know-how and the tools to reach and sustain effective governance.
BDI is founded by four leading regional corporations - Investcorp, SABIC, Saudi Aramco and Emirates NBD – and it is supported by five advisory firms: Allen & Overy, Heidrick & Struggles, McKinsey & Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Hill+Knowlton Strategies, as well as regional regulatory authorities: the Emirates Security and Commodities Authority of the UAE, the Capital Market Authorities of both Saudi Arabia and Oman, the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority.
BDI now works with over 700 Alumni members who benefit from a network of business leaders and a variety of workshops designed for board directors and senior executives. Notably, the Institute hosts an annual Chairman Summit that brings together regional leaders and actors to explore the evolving role and value of Boards as well as appropriate corporate governance standards.
Today the Institute is globally recognized and the only Directors Institute from the region to be admitted to the Global Network of Directors Institute.
We encourage you to visit the Institute's website at www.gccbdi.org to learn more and get involved with the BDI. Or, write to us directly at: getinvolved@gccbdi.org
For media inquiries:
Mira Alrabi, Director, Marketing & Communications
GCC Board Directors Institute
Email: mira.alrabi@gccbdi.org