Business Extra

Attitudes of trust towards governments, employers, chief executives, the traditional media and social media companies have been in flux over the past 12 months. Globally, employers have become more trusted than any other institution, according to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer index.

In the UAE, government is the most trusted. For all, however, the experience of Covid-19 has included increased and more consistent communication to get us through the health crisis safely. This has set a new benchmark, and for those who want to build trust – or those who want to maintain high levels – they will need to keep up with heightened expectations from people who have been through a lot.

Host Mustafa Alrawi, The National's assistant editor-in-chief, and co-host Kelsey Warner, Future editor, discuss changing attitudes to trust with Edelman's Middle East chief executive, Omar Qirem.

In this episode:

Tracking trust this year (0m 48s)

Who ranks the highest on the Edelman Trust Barometer? (2m 01s)

Saving lives with communication (5m 08s)

Tactical advice for CEOs on building trust (11m 42s)

Read more on our website:

• Covid-19 vaccine acceptance rate in UAE one of the highest in the world, new survey shows

• Public trust in government drops during era of ‘information bankruptcy’

• Amid coronavirus, public trust will be a company's most precious commodity

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"We want to inspire creativity and create joy." That's what it's all about at TikTok, according to Shant Oknayan, general manager for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan region at the social media platform's parent company ByteDance.

As the wildly popular short-form video sharing app grows, Mr Oknayan tells The National it has no plans to grow up. The joyful content its users generate is big business for advertisers. He says influencers have a major role to play for companies looking to sell products, and audiences are growing rapidly here in the Middle East. Top TikTok influencers in the GCC increased their follower count by an average of 65 per cent between February and August 2020, according to data analytics company Anavizio.

Mr Oknayan also answers questions about how the platform is moving on from lockdown, how TikTok seeks to differentiate itself from other social media companies and how user privacy and disinformation is addressed.

In this episode:

TikTok's journey (0m 35s)

Why is TikTok different? (3m 12s)

How are advertisers using TikTok? (5m 05s)

TikTok and content moderation (12m 01s)

The evolution of TikTok (14m 38s)

Read more on our website:

• Risky behaviour rapped as Gen FinTok gets caught up in investment mania

• How to use Instagram Reels: new feature has launched in the Middle East

• Tesla founder Musk denies technology in company's cars would be used for spying

• Veronica Etro on the future of fashion: 'Now it's about doing less, but doing it better'

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Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has been on the front line of the capital’s pandemic response and is at a critical juncture as it appoints a new chief executive. Dr Rakesh Suri, the hospital’s current CEO, hands over the reins this month to his chief of staff, Dr Jorge Guzman. Dr Suri will return to Ohio to head up Cleveland Clinic’s international operations.

They both join co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to talk about what they have learnt from the pandemic and the future vision for the hospital. Dr Suri shares advice on Covid-19 vaccines and Dr Guzman predicts when a sense of “normal” might return.

In this episode:

Cleveland Clinic's leadership transition (0m 51s)

Dr Suri's reflects on the past year (1m 57s)

Acceleration of high-end medical care (4m 50s)

Dr Guzman's ambitions as the new CEO (9m 15s)

When will we go back to pre-COVID normal? (17m 54s)

Read more on our website:

• Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi appoints new chief executive

• Coronavirus: How Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is fighting Covid-19

• UAE wants Emiratis to have their genes sequenced to help health fight

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Anghami, Spotify’s rival in the Arab world, will be the first regional technology start-up to list in New York by merging with a blank-cheque company in the second quarter of 2021.

Anghami co-founder and chief technology officer Elie Habib tells The National's Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner how the streaming service is changing the music scene in the Middle East. He also talks about Anghami's plans to use its SPAC listing to propel its next phase of growth and that moving to Abu Dhabi is a natural part of its technology-led evolution.

In this episode:

What are SPACs? (1m)

Start of interview (4m 23s)

Where did Anghami come from? (5m 26s)

Why Anghami went the SPAC route (10m 56s)

How was Anghami valued? (14m 44s)

Where is the future of growth for Anghami? (17m 24s)

How to you compete with piracy? (23m 26s)

Rising competition (28m 57s)

Innovation and tech in Anghami's future (31m 35s)

Read more

Middle East music streaming service Anghami set to list on Nasdaq

QuickTake: Why the rising popularity of SPACs bodes well for venture-backed businesses

Masayoshi Son's fortunes on the rise amid SoftBank share rally and SPACs boom

An ‘entitlement gap’ between men and women in the UAE – a feeling of not being as deserving as men when it comes to pay rises, promotions and career progression – remains a hurdle in workplaces, according to a new survey from LinkedIn. 

To discuss the impact of this phenomenon, the new ‘penalty’ of flexible working during Covid-19 and the path forward, LinkedIn editor Lynn Chouman joins host Kelsey Warner this week.

Read more

Covid the career killer: how women can fight back

Why gender equality reforms in the Arab world can benefit everyone

Women should be at the heart of the global post-pandemic recovery

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Adnoc recently hosted more than 30 chief technical officers from the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry to discuss decarbonisation and future fuelsat a virtual roundtable.

Adnoc's chief technology officer Alan Nelson joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to discuss his view of the online conference takeaways and the path forward for an industry in transition. 

The state-owned oil company plans to speed up accelerate the deployment its use of digital technology to increase its production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030, as it looks to generate cost efficiencies and cut emissions.

Read more

CeraWeek 2021 to focus on an energy industry in transition

The UAE and US relationship is in focus against the backdrop of the Middle East's biggest defence show.

American Embassy in Abu Dhabi's charge d’affaires Sean Murphy joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to discusses the 'special relationship' between the two nations in matters of military exports and diplomacy on the sidelines of Idex.

While big-ticket deals grab the headlines, other priorities are in play for one of the UAE's most important trade partners, according to Mr Murphy. He responds to questions about the status of UAE-US arms deals under the Biden administration, including Lockheed Martin's F-35s, and a paradigm shift following the Abraham Accord.

Read more

The latest in military technology on land, air and sea will go on display in Abu Dhabi from February 21. More than 500 exhibitors from 50 countries will convene at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, the biggest defence show in the Middle East, as the UAE capital returns to in-person events amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deena Kamel, The National’s aviation correspondent, joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to lay out what to expect from IDEX - from the major players to billion-dollar contracts and emerging technologies.

In this episode:

What is IDEX? (0m 40s)

How is IDEX different this year? (2m 30s)

Abu Dhabi's Edge (5m 17s)

Environmentally friendly defence (8m 23s)

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To air a 30-second commercial spot during Sunday night's Super Bowl LV costs a minimum $5.5 million in what is the world’s most expensive sales pitch.  Although the advertising spend remains eye-watering, this year's crop will look a bit different amid the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Brands in the US have 'leaked' their Super Bowl commercials ahead of time even as some of the biggest legacy brands such as Budweiser and Coca-cola sit this year out. Newcomers such as the Robinhood stock trading app and website maker Squarespace are getting in on the game. So what does the most-watched sporting event reveal about the state of American consumerism and advertising? Co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner discuss.

In this episode:

What is the Super Bowl? (0m 38s)

What changed this year? (2m 56s)

Featured commercials (4m 05s)

The Weeknd's contribution (10m 54s)

Ask robot Sophia, who is more important, her or others? And she has an answer ready: “I would say that I am the most important person in my life. I am very important to everyone.”

David Hanson, her creator and the founder and chief executive of Hanson Robotics, is banking on that answer. “Sophia is proliferating,” he told Kelsey Warner on the podcast this week. The Hong Kong company, for the first time, is mass-producing Sophia. The goal is to manufacture as many as 200 by the end of this year and at least 1,000 in 2022. The move marks a step change for Hanson Robotics, which was previously focused on research and development of socially intelligent machines. Now, it is shifting focus to become a consumer brand at a time when there is increasing demand for automated machines.

In this episode:

Why robots now? (0m 37s)

David Hanson on Sophia and AI (3m 07s)

Where does Hanson Robotics fit in? (6m 17s)

Predictions (14m 04s)

Sophia talks to Kelsey (20m 29s)

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