UAE Business Awards 2021

44 MEA MARKETS / UAE Business Awards 2021 , Apr21404 Al Laith has been a trusted and reliable solutions provider tomultiple industries across the Middle East since 1995. Its agile team can support clients in large-scale sporting or concert events, developing a solution for a complex construction event or renting temporary equipment and facilities for amedia or event campaign. Most Reliable Project Solutions Provider - MENA Recognised as the leading one-stop provider for a diverse range of temporary project solutions in the Middle East, Al Laith supports multiple industries, including oil and gas, construction and real estate projects, advertising and signage, and events and entertainment. The company also provides training services through its fully accredited training school. Al Laith is led by CEO, Jason English who began his role in February 2020, just before the pandemic broke. He comes with a revitalised energy and innovative approach to business, having successfully built Prommac in South Africa from a small 200-man team which became over 2,500 people in six years. He is part of YPO and was selected as one of the 250 global entrepreneurs to be part of Peter Diamandis’ (founder of Singularity University) Innovation Community. The company forms part of CG Tech, an international technology investment group who deploy innovative solutions and provide strategic management oversight to their core underlying investments. Since then, Al Laith has been involved in just about every major event and construction project across the GCC and has expanded into serving the media and advertising, oil and gas, power and energy, and maritime and retail sectors, among others. When beginning a new project, Al Laith will initially review what success looks like for both parties involved and set goals and objectives. This is done via a kick-off meeting where all stakeholders are included. Once the project values and objectives are clearly defined, it’s about planning. At Al Laith, digital technologies are used to support planning and visual planning processes are utilised to ensure that the team understands the safety risks and methodology on how to execute efficiently. Training is another key aspect of success, ensuring all teams are highly skilled and supervisors are trained on managing teams and executing complex work. The project managers undergo comprehensive project management training directly from the CEO, and the shared services teams are aligned to the project outcomes. Success also comes from reflecting on the successes and failures of a job, and the company conducts post-mortem after major jobs to reflect on areas of improvement. These learnings allow improved performance on follow-up jobs. For 25 years, Al Laith has been the bedrock of the Middle East. From catastrophes to global iconic projects, it has been there. This gives clients a sense of certainty in delivery. In addition, the average age of its core management team is 30-something and it has an average years’ service of more than 10. This means its teams are experienced, understand and live the company values, and know how to deliver projects with a “whatever it takes” attitude. Its board is well-structured yet agile and its leadership has a track record in building great companies. Also, Al Laith has a focus on digital and product innovation and has access to The Virtulab, which is the group’s inhouse technology and software company. There is a huge focus placed on people and the company has shared group experience and systems which have developed across industries like oil and gas. The UAE and the entire Middle East region is facing similar challenges to the rest of the world. The events industry has been crippled by the pandemic, but it has also created an opportunity for an industry that was very traditional to enhance itself and become more digital and innovative. Of course, people have suffered along the way, with many companies offloading people and downsizing, and nobody wishes to see this. Payments remain a huge challenge as liquidity continues to be tough for many businesses and Al Laith is finding itself entering far more complex contracts than previously. During the pandemic, it has taken the opportunity to fast-track its internal systems, develop new products, invent new ways of contracting, and upskill its resources in preparation for a new industry going forward. COVID gave the industry the breathing space it needed to consolidate, regroup and reinvent. 2021 is proving to be an interesting year. People have been starved of entertainment for 18 months now, and Al Laith is firmly positioned and extremely excited to be responding to and supporting the reactivation of lifestyle events. Nobody is truly sure on what the future holds, but Al Laith is currently either involved in or bidding on some great flagship projects which it would be honoured to be engaged with. It has participated in the building of the Expo 2020 concert venues and stages and is now hoping to deliver some great golf events and concerts and entertainment events across the Middle East, and is actively targeting the Dubai Rugby Sevens contract. Company: Al Laith Group Contact: Jason English Website: www.allaith.com