GUST Organizes Seminar by Dr. Saad Al-Barrak

• Leading Change Seminar linked what students learn in the classroom to real life situations

• Seminar showcased how successful change strategies can lead companies from local to international playing field

• GUST MBA Program Director promises more engaging seminars for students and community

Kuwait City, 16 November 2015: Gulf University for Science and Technology organized a seminar yesterday entitled “Leading Change”, presented by former CEO of Zain Telecom, and Chief Executive Officer of ILA Group, Dr. Saad Al-Barrak, on its campus. The seminar discussed various types of change within an organization, along with its benefits and possible pitfalls.

The aim of the seminar was to link the theories students learn in the classroom to real life situations. This would enable students to gain more insight into those theories, and have the ability to apply them into different situations in the workplace.

Dr. Saad Al-Barrak, Chief Executive Officer of ILA Group, said: “My participation in this seminar stems from my belief that it’s important for businessmen to interact with the community, and in particular, in the field of education. I chose this topic because I am convinced that leading change is one of the most crucial and most important tasks of any management position”.
He started the seminar by explaining a well-established change model called Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model. This model, developed by Harvard University Professor John Kotter, was applied by Zain Telecom to take it from the local to the international playing field. Dr. Al-Barrak went through the model in detail and also highlighted important elements for companies to apply in order to change successfully.

Dr. Antonis Simintiras, GUST MBA Director, said, “We are always delighted when we get the opportunity to share unique business experiences from world renowned figures such as Dr. Saad Al-Barrak. Our program has been developed to ensure direct relevance to today’s changing world of business and exposure to such forward thinking seminars helps us to cultivate tomorrow’s business leaders.”

Dr. Saad Al Barrak is a Kuwaiti business man and investor. He is best known for his role as the CEO of Zain Group, where he was instrumental for the growth of the company and its expansion into new markets. Following his tenure at Zain, Dr. Al-Barrak started ILA, an advisory firm in December 2010.

The MBA Program at GUST has been developed to ensure that it meets the highest international standards, and ensure the growth of its students to reach their full potential. The program also plans to organize more seminars and events with renowned speakers of vast experience, which will not only benefit students, but the community as a whole.