The Middle East is on the radar of boards of international companies more than ever; at a recent conference for senior businesspeople in Dubai, representing some of the world’s leading multinational companies and hosted by The Economist, one key trend highlighted was the significant increase in the number of visits to Dubai from the senior board members of companies.

It is not really surprising as the region and the GCC in particular is currently one of the world’s major growth regions — and an opportunity that cannot be ignored in a world still struggling to find growth and opportunities. Dubai’s (and the UAE’s) success in winning the bid to host Expo 2020 certainly helped keep the region on the radar for many of the world’s leading multinationals and this global attention is paying dividends.

But with greater attention comes greater scrutiny, higher demands and expectations. As a global business school with an international network of centres, I can personally testify to the increasing levels of interest being shown in the region around the world. I see ambitious MBA students and graduates seeking to build careers through exciting opportunities, and the region looks very attractive.

But what will be at the top of these board members’ agendas as they look at the region? What are the challenges that will focus their minds in 2014 as the global business world becomes ever more complex and even faster moving?

A recent Deloitte report identifies a range of key boardroom topics for the year, including risk management, social and environmental concerns, big data and cyber security. It also covers board composition and succession planning — and this includes the board itself. Interestingly, board members may be looking at each other more closely — and at those senior executives close to board level who may be candidates to move into board roles.

Getting the right people onto the board is as much a challenge as anywhere else in an organisation — recruiting the right people into the right roles with the right qualifications and experience is fundamental to success. Succession planning is also vital to ensuring continuity and stability, while diversity is a perennial issue as the competition for the top female talent hots up at board level — with some regions legislating women into the boardroom.

How to develop effective senior c-suite executives is something that business educators can also help to address. Boards face particular challenges and members need to continually update their technical and personal skills to ensure they are aligned with best practices for board directors right across the corporate governance spectrum and enable them to oversee a company.

As Deloitte also points out, CEO and board level succession planning will be a critical factor in 2014 and they quote ‘The Conference Board CEO Succession Trends’ (2000-2012), which indicates a decline in the level of experience (with at least 20 years’ experience) of new CEOs being appointed to S & P500 companies and a decline in the number of internal promotions of senior executives to the CEO role.

This is perhaps a less encouraging picture of the trends at the top. However, in the Mena region, it is interesting to see a trend highlighted by recent research showing that senior expats are staying in their roles longer and choosing to make the region their home. Low rates of employee churn are encouraging and especially at senior levels, where stability is important.

The Conference Board CEO Challenge survey 2014 asked more than 1,000 CEOs, presidents and chairmen across the globe to identify their most critical challenges for the coming year — topping the list is ‘human capital’, which just reinforces the fact that for every board, talent and skills remain a constant priority.

The region looks to be set offer further career opportunities as indicated by hiring intentions and the latest Mena Job Index Survey reveals that seven out of 10 companies are looking to hire in the short term, hopefully creating longer term career opportunities.

So, board members with regional responsibilities are likely to be engaged in keeping their own skills sharpened, looking at their succession plans, while battling for local talent in the region or bringing in their own from other markets. The battle for talent in the boardroom as well as across the rest of the organisation is perhaps the hottest topic for boards in 2014.

 

 

— The writer is chief global officer at Manchester Business School.