The company will make the move after four years of consolidating the roles, and after a recommendation from the nominating committee following a selection process coordinated with the Bellon family.

Delaporte has previous experience in CFO and CEO roles in Europe, Asia and the United States. He was a CEO at Wipro and currently sits as a board member at Saint-Gobain and Edenred.

After four years as both Chair and CEO, Sophie Bellon will transition to non-executive Chairwoman.

“We have implemented large-scale structural changes in recent years, and we are now ready to start a new chapter in the growth history of the Company,” she said.

“In preparation for this next phase, we engaged a while ago in a governance reflection and started working on a succession process for the CEO role. I, together with the Board and my family, have full confidence in Thierry Delaporte’s leadership,” Bellon added.

This appointment is viewed as a strong signal of Sodexo’s intent to increase innovation, profitability, and market share.

“This is the fruit of a collaborative and methodical process. Thierry Delaporte is the right leader to steer Sodexo into the next stages of growth. He has the skills to lead global and people-intensive businesses, a strong connection to the US market, a history of delivering solid and profitable growth and a good cultural fit,” Gilles Pelisson, Independent Director and Chair of the Nominating Committee said.

Meet Thierry Delaporte

Born in France, Thierry Delaporte is mainly known for his extensive international management experience and expertise in finance and operations. He holds Economics and Finance degrees. He completed his degrees from Sciences Po Paris and a Master of Law from Sorbonne University, respectively.

He started his career as a Senior Auditor at Arthur Andersen in Paris and London in 1992. During his career, he developed a strong foundation in business analysis, corporate finance, and governance. The early career years shaped his mindset and global perspective regarding corporate financing and governance.

He gave 25 years to Capgemini, one of the world’s largest consulting and technology services firms. He served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for many of its business units, as well as its “Global Outsourcing Division” and “Financial Services Global Business Unit,” before becoming Global COO and Deputy CEO in 2018.

Thierry Delaporte moved to Wipro Limited in 2020, where he was the CEO and Managing Director. During his time, the company modernised operations, increased profitability, and drove double-digit revenue growth.

His move from the IT sector to hospitality and services highlights his versatile leadership style and deep experience in managing large, diverse, and international organisations. Thierry Delaporte is also famous for his social commitment, as he co-founded Life Project 4 Youth (LP4Y), a federation of 16 organisations in 13 countries whose aim is the development of innovative solutions for the comprehensive inclusion (professional and social) of young adults (18-24 years old) living in extreme poverty and suffering from exclusion.

Image Credits: Sodexo

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In a similar vein, the CEO’s “positive” actions to eradicate “bad” business practices and their efforts to advance important issues like diversity, ethics, sustainability, and corporate governance will encourage everyone else in the organisation to view these issues similarly and act accordingly.

Research repeatedly demonstrates that CEOs and other C-suite members do not set the standard for others to follow. This is especially true when you look at the many corporate governance scandals that executives are ultimately held responsible for and their huge pay packages that have nothing to do with other employees’ salaries (about 200 times the average worker’s pay in the United States), the company’s performance, best practices, or even common sense.

Furthermore, CEOs’ actions don’t always align with the behaviour they are supposed to promote; rather, they frequently reveal attitudes that they believe are acceptable (at least to themselves) but that are at odds with the values of a progressive society.

According to Robert Ordever, European managing director of workplace culture and recognition specialist OC Tanner, “Every leader sets the tone, whether they intend to or not.” They establish standards for what is appropriate through their words and, more significantly, their deeds. The discrepancy between leadership behaviour and company rhetoric is the risk area.

The tower of ivory

Many recent instances show how some company leaders have a terrible moral compass and/or a ridiculous lack of self-awareness. For example, despite Starbucks’ claims to be a leader in sustainability, the recently appointed CEO, Brian Niccol, has come under fire after it was disclosed that he will travel nearly 1,000 miles via business aircraft from his house to the company’s headquarters in Seattle.

In August 2024, Chris Ellison, managing director of Mineral Resources, an Australian mining company, complained that workers who go out to buy coffee, instead of getting one at work, are costing the company too much money.

During a financial results presentation, Ellison expressed his desire to “keep staff captive all day long.”

Bill Michael, the UK chairman of Big Four firm KPMG, was forced to resign in February 2021 after his motivational speech to staff members during a virtual meeting went awry (and went public) after he referred to unconscious bias as “complete crap” and told them to “stop moaning” about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jes Staley, the CEO of Barclays Bank, resigned that same year after a UK financial regulator’s probe turned up a cache of emails indicating he had a closer association with paedophile and notorious businessman Jeffrey Epstein than he had disclosed.

A seldom applied discipline, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined him £1.8 million two years later and prohibited him from holding a senior management position in the financial services sector. When Staley attempted to expose a whistleblower who had concerns about his prior job history, the FCA had already slapped him across the knuckles.

Given these instances, it’s not surprising that some experts believe the concept has limitations.

Diane Newell, managing director of coaching consultancy OCM Discovery, states that “the tone from the top works in practice all the time, but whether the tone that is being set in practice is the one that we might choose is a different matter.”

She goes on to say that it is “never going to be an exact science” to control how people perceive and comprehend the actions of executives.

Higher standards

The idea of corporate and executive accountability, as well as the way that leadership is perceived, has evolved during the last ten years, which contributes to the issue.

According to Piers Rake, a partner at the legal services firm Astraea, “The board and C-suite of any organisation need to recognise that expectations around conduct and culture have changed and increased.”

He claims that whereas shareholders, consumers, and employees were the only major corporate stakeholders in the past, broader social forces “have resulted in heightened expectations from a wider cohort of interested parties.”

Activist organisations, “rights holders,” or individuals potentially harmed by the company’s operations could be among these parties. Rake cautions, “Businesses that engage in completely lawful operations that are viewed as inconsistent or at odds with broader societal trends are more likely to face adverse or negative press.”

Liz Sebag-Montefiore, the director of HR consulting firm 10Eighty, asserts that staff members actively seek and expect strong, moral leadership, prioritising actions over words.

“A company can talk about ethics, but if they are treating customers unfairly, gouging their suppliers, and exploiting employees, they won’t inspire a workforce committed to best practice,” she said.

Having said that, is it time to abandon the “tone from the top” mantra? And if so, what ought to take its place? And to whom should stakeholders and employees turn for improved leadership?

According to Melissa Hewitt, head of HR outsourcing at Morson Group, a recruiting firm, others can assist executives in carrying out their responsibilities as moral leaders. Because “company culture and values are part of their remit,” she thinks there is a compelling case for the HR director to be promoted to the board.

However, she also thinks regulators should do more to establish clear guidelines for industry leaders.

In the end, she acknowledges that commercial factors—rather than ethical ones—may be the most significant short-term influencer because Gen Z recruits, who are generally those born between 1996 and 2010, are more likely to depart if they believe the company is not meeting corporate best practice standards, leaving businesses with a skills gap that may be difficult to close.

Is there space at the summit?

There is already a move away from concentrating on a core group of CEOs to define expectations around ethical leadership, according to Sarah Miller, CEO of the ethics advice firm Principia.

She claims that, in part because it is such a dangerous strategy, “relying on a small group of executive leaders to shape, champion, and model the tone and tenor of a culture is increasingly the exception, not the norm.”

“It is better to share the responsibility with more, not fewer, people in the organisation, which means relying on middle management,” she adds, adding that increased scrutiny and higher expectations increase the likelihood of failure for a select few top executives.

“With an understanding that it is not only the executive team that needs to consistently reinforce and apply hallmark cultural attributes, many companies are also focusing on values activation and ethical decision-making skills for the top 100 people. This can still be considered the ‘top,’ but in a much broader, more diffused sense than the term has tended to apply to,” she said.

As per Miller, this tendency is “encouraging” since it will have a far greater and more profound effect on a larger group of employees to observe how middle and/or line managers handle moral quandaries and comprehend and follow the rules daily.

“Any day, especially in larger organisations, I would prefer to have a strong ‘tone in the middle,'” she said.

While some may recognise that the overall tone is inconsistent and requires reevaluation, it appears that most people are willing to keep using it, primarily because there doesn’t seem to be a better alternative available.

Kevin Gaskell, the chairman of the fibre broadband company ITS Technology Group and a former CEO of Porsche UK, asserts that while the “tone from the top” can be beneficial in practice, its effectiveness is heavily dependent on consistency, transparency, and authenticity.

He continues by saying that “it becomes difficult to imagine who else could effectively set the tone” if executives are not the greatest individuals to exhibit moral and appropriate leadership.

According to him, leadership is inherently hierarchical, and the attitudes and actions of the top executives in an organisation have a ripple effect on the entire workforce.

“There is a leadership void where misunderstandings, inconsistent behaviour, or unethical practices can readily proliferate if executives do not exhibit the moral principles or appropriate behaviours expected of them,” Gaskell continued.

According to entrepreneur and executive business coach Mike Greene, even some people who think a re-examination of the “tone from the top” is required do so “not for the reasons you might think.”

As per him, leadership is about making difficult, frequently unpopular decisions for the good of the organisation, not about being popular. He goes on to say that the practice of giving moral leadership to inexperienced majorities or feel-good committees is “dangerously misguided.”

Greene said, “Executives are not just accountable, they are essential. They possess the knowledge and power to negotiate challenging moral situations. It would be detrimental and shortsighted to lessen this obligation. It is foolish to believe that employee-led initiatives or middle management can successfully establish ethical standards.”

Instead of confronting prejudices, it frequently produces echo chambers of inexperience.

Greene requires “leaders unafraid of unpopularity, who understand that real-world ethics are not always clean-cut or politically correct,” and feels that “tone from the top” is effective when applied “with backbone, not as a PR exercise.”

Greene asserts that businesses need “experienced executives who are not afraid to take charge” to maintain moral leadership under real-world pressure. Keep in mind that, despite their softness and cuddliness, sheep require a shepherd and guard dog to keep them safe from wolves. Sell ice cream if you want to be well-liked.

The idea that corporate leaders set the ethical standard for organisations has long been upheld, yet real-world evidence suggests otherwise. Many CEOs fail to embody the values they claim to champion, often prioritising financial gain over integrity.

A broader cultural shift is required, where ethical leadership is embedded at all levels, particularly in middle management.

Companies must integrate ethical decision-making into their organisational fabric rather than relying solely on CEOs to dictate corporate values. If executives fail to lead with integrity, their authority to set the tone crumbles.

Instead of abandoning the concept entirely, businesses should expand ethical leadership beyond the C-suite, ensuring that values are upheld not just in words but in action.

The post When leaders fail the tone test appeared first on International Finance.

The research reported that the median pay for a CEO of a FTSE-100 company increased 2.2% to 4.19 million pounds in 2023, though it added that CEO pay growth had slowed compared with the previous two years.

The study found that the median salary of a full-time British worker was 120 times lower than that of a FTSE-100 CEO. Among the British workers to go on strike in 2024 over wages or working conditions are train drivers and family physicians.

“The increase in average CEO pay reflects a small number of companies making really large pay awards rather than big increases across the board,” Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre said.

“A business culture that puts the interests of investors before workers, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders,” Hildyard continued.

In recent years, shareholder anger over executive compensation at Britain’s top companies has been particularly focused on the disparity between average worker earnings and CEO pay.

In order to prevent top talent from leaving for nations where pay is less of a contentious issue, some fund managers in the United Kingdom are supporting proposals to give boards more leeway when it comes to compensating them.

Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, was the highest-paid British CEO, taking home 16.85 million pounds, according to the High Pay Centre.

Using company financial disclosures, the research revealed that Erik Engstrom of information and analytics group RELX came in second with 13.64 million pounds. And the third highest-paying CEO is Albert Manifold of CRH with 11.68 million pounds.

The increase in average pay for CEOs was mainly influenced by a small group of companies who significantly raised rewards, rather than large increases from a range of companies, according to the High Pay Centre.

Of the 54 companies which paid their CEO more in 2023, the three largest percentage increases were at Rolls-Royce (an increase of 255%), Reckitt (192%) and Haleon (151%).

“While it’s much too early to describe this as a trend, it is interesting that a small number of large companies made very large CEO pay awards this year, given the recent debate about executive pay,” said the High Pay Centre.

In order to recruit and retain world-class talent, influential industrial voices have been arguing that British firms need to raise CEO pay. On the other hand, the Centre for Pay notes that “the number of United Kingdom-headquartered companies that could be considered globally significant is low”.

Barely a third of FTSE 100 companies would be large enough to qualify for the US’ S&P 500 index. Some even argue that pay levels should therefore reflect this disparity.

According to data released by the United States Labour Union Federation AFL-CIO earlier in August 2024, S&P 500 CEOs made USD 16.7 million (15.30 million euro) on average in 2022. The Centre for High Pay also outlined practical issues surrounding very high rewards for CEOs, notably that: “Excessive spending on top earners … makes it harder to fund pay increases for the wider UK workforce.”

Pascal Soriot’s salary, meanwhile, is 482 times the pay of the median British full-time worker. In order to manage these disparities, the Centre for High Pay has published a list of recommendations for the Keir Starmer government. One suggestion has been to improve pay transparency, ensuring that private and public companies publish the salaries of their highest earners.

“The think tank also noted that workers should have easily accessible information about their relative position on pay, meaning that they know how their salary relates to the earnings of colleagues performing similar roles,” reported EuroNews.

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The Qantas Domestic, Qantas International, and Jetstar Group operate passenger flights as well as expedited freight and airline cargo services. The Qantas Loyalty sector runs segments that reward customers for their loyalty. Its main business is the transportation of customers using two airline brands, which include Qantas and Jetstar. It runs businesses in the Middle East, South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand.

Qantas Airways is also called the “flying kangaroo” of Australia. Due to stronger travel demand, the company has increased its profit projection for the six months ending September 30, 2023.

For the first half of the 2023–24 fiscal year, the company now anticipates an underlying profit before tax of A$1.35–1.45 billion (USD 900–960 million), up from its previous guidance of A$1.2–1.3 billion provided in January 2023. The increased profitability is driven by firm travel demand, allowing Qantas to charge higher fares that offset higher fuel costs.

Despite the aviation giant’s international capacity being about 30% below pre-COVID levels, fuel costs are projected to be A$5 billion in 2023–2024, which would be a record high for Qantas.

The airline has now returned to profitability, following five consecutive fiscal half-years with a cumulative A$7 billion in financial losses due to the pandemic’s effects on air travel. Qantas anticipates its net debt to drop to between A$2.3 billion to A$2.5 billion by September 2023, as revenues accelerate due to strong travel demand.

The company recently named its 53-year-old finance chief Vanessa Hudson as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO), making her the first woman to lead the century-old airline.

Who is Vanessa Hudson?
• Born and brought up in Sydney (Australia), Vanessa Hudson completed her graduation from the University of Technology Sydney with a business degree in 1991
• The following year, she became an auditor with accounting giant Deloitte
• Vanessa Hudson joined Qantas in 1994 as an internal audit supervisor, before becoming a financial controller in the aviation giant’s commercial division
• In 1997 she was appointed the catering product manager, which kick-started her time within product services and saw her ascend to the role of executive manager of product and services in 2005
• In 2013 she moved to Los Angeles to become senior vice-president of the American airlines
• In 2016, she returned to Sydney as the executive manager of Qantas’ sales and distribution, where she was responsible to present the airline’s revenue through all sales channels
• In 2018, Vanessa Hudson was appointed Chief Customer Officer (CCO), overseeing all of Qantas’s customer service and strategy
• In 2019, she became the Qantas Group’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• During her tenure, Vanessa Hudson’s monthly salary was over A$1 million

‘A Mother Who Wanted To Lead’

In an interview given to ABC News, Vanessa Hudson said that she is ‘incredibly proud’ to be the airline’s first female CEO, while expressing hope that the number of females leading big organisations continues to grow.

“I have two young daughters. I have always been a mother who has wanted to lead by example and getting this chance of becoming a CEO is incredibly meaningful to me,” she said.

Qantas board chairman Richard Goyder said Olivia Wirth, the CEO of the company’s loyalty program, was also in contention for the top job.

“The two outstanding candidates were the two internal female candidates,” he said.

‘I Plan To Be Myself’

Soon after taking charge, in a press conference, responding to a question about handling the unions, Vanessa Hudson began her answer, “I plan to be myself”, before talking about mutual trust and transparency.

“The resilience it takes to be an executive at Qantas is pretty significant … the last three years if I think about decisions collectively we made, it wasn’t for the faint-hearted…coming through that experience is the best training I could have had,” Vanessa Hudson told journalists.

Simon Mordant, a Qantas adviser who assisted Vanessa Hudson with her initial capital raising during the downturn in the aviation industry, believes she will be a different kind of CEO than Alan Joyce, former CEO of Qantas Airways.

“She’s very team-oriented, some leaders are very individualistic…I don’t think she will be shy about being on the front line, but it will be less about Vanessa Hudson and more about the team,” he said, adding that she had very strong communication and analytical skills.

“This is a job where you can’t turn the phone off at any time…she is so resilient, she will obviously be different to Alan,” Simon Mordant concluded.

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Strategic lists can assist you in concentrating on the content of your applications and interviews rather than becoming bogged down in pointless details, according to Cheryl Hyatt. The following eight lists will help you monitor your progress and locate your next position.

Employers

According to Jill Gugino Panté, director of the Lerner Career Resources Center at the University of Delaware, a list of 10 to 15 possible employers is an excellent place to start.

She explains that this list is crucial as it narrows down and organises one’s job searches. Once you have this list, you can start looking at the available jobs, your LinkedIn connections (or connections from colleges) who work there, the events they’ll be attending, and, most importantly, how you can share this information with your internal networks.

“When you say you’re looking for a job, say in finance, it’s hard to get others to help you, for example. Yet, when you state that you are seeking a career in finance at XYZ company, individuals can already connect you with those people in their networks. If you don’t know where to begin when creating your dream employer list,” Pante remarked, while interacting with the ‘Fast Company’.

Carisa Miklusak, CEO of Tile, an app that connects employers with job seekers, advises looking at organisations ranked as the “Best Companies to Work For” by regional publications. Then, make a list of the top employers you want to put extra effort into pursuing, she advises, and take the time to explore the kinds of businesses you want to work for.

Positions

According to Hyatt, there are numerous ways to find positions of interest.

“You need to capture the position to a central list so you can return to it later,” she advises.

“Whether you see a position on LinkedIn, hear about it from a friend, or are contacted by a search firm. Study positions on this list to see whether you’re a good fit for them, and learn as much as you can about the employer to use in your cover letter and resume,” Hyatt stated.

Connections

Debora Roland, vice president of human resources for CareerArc, a hiring and outplacement company, advises making a list of all the people you know and interact with personally and professionally.

“Give them an overview of what you do and the position you’re hoping to land,” she advises.

Create a list of the employees at the companies you are interested in on a priority basis, and ask any of your contacts whether they know any of them. By requesting an introduction, you can obtain some traction.

Events For Local Networking

Building relationships with people who can open doors to opportunities or provide guidance and information is one of the best methods to obtain a job, according to Carisa Miklusak.

She also advised choosing two or three networking events from a list of potential ones in your area to attend, as part of your job-hunting efforts. This task also helps to make a brief list of what you intend to accomplish beforehand.

Answers To interviews

Typical interview questions include “explain me about yourself” and “what can you add to our company?”

Make a list of your responses and practise them until you are confident, advises Miklusak.

These are some of the most common icebreakers during interviews, although the CEO of Tile added that they might be challenging to respond to on the spot.

Before participating in a game, athletes practise extensively. Before you swing, practise alone, with friends, and with family, treating yourself like a career athlete.

The post Searching for a job? Here is the strategic list for you appeared first on International Finance.

GPT-4, dubbed as bigger, faster, and more accurate than its predecessor ChatGPT, can use both images and texts to generate suitable results for activities like long-form content creation, document search and analysis, and extended conversations.

A Twitter user named Rowan Cheung reportedly asked GPT-4 to name 20 jobs where the chatbot will replace the human workforce and the designations listed by the artificial intelligence product are Data Entry Clerk, Customer service Representative, Proof-reader, Paralegal, Bookkeeper, Translator, Copywriter, Market Research Analyst, Social Media Manager, Appointment Scheduler, Telemarketer, Virtual Assistant, Transcriptionist, News Reporter, Travel Agent, Tutor, Technical Support Analyst, Email Marketer, Content Moderator, and Recruiter.

And if you think that artificial intelligence and robotics won’t come in handy at the leadership level, then you are wrong.

Meet Ms. Tang Yu

A Hong Kong-based gaming company, NetDragon Websoft, reportedly appointed an artificial intelligence bot, named Tang Yu, as its new CEO. The move resulted in the company outperforming the entire Hong Kong stock market.

Ms. Tang Yu (it’s a female artificial intelligence bot), has been reviewing high-level analytics, apart from making leadership decisions, assessing business risks, and fostering an efficient workplace, on a 24*7 basis without a salary.

“Tang Yu’s appointment highlights the Company’s “artificial intelligence + management” strategy and represents a major milestone of the Company towards being a “Metaverse organization”. Tang Yu will streamline process flow, enhance the quality of work tasks, and improve the speed of execution. Tang Yu will also serve as a real-time data hub and analytical tool to support rational decision-making in daily operations, as well as to enable a more effective risk management system,” NetDragon Websoft remarked.

NetDragon’s shares have not only increased by 10%, but also compared to their net worth around September 2022. Its current market capitalization stands at approximately HKUSD 9 billion or USD 1.1 billion.

Similar moves may make sense in near future

Talking about business CEOs, these chief executives earn an average yearly salary of around USD 16 million, nearly over 400 times the packages earned by average employees, said a data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

As per reports from The Hustle, Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy’s 2021 salary capped out at a massive USD 213 million, which amounted to the collective earnings of 6,474 average Amazon employees. Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav earned a yearly package of USD 247 million in 2021, only to be named the “worst CEO of 2022”.

Artificial intelligence and robotics have so far challenged professionals in the blue-collar field and now more sophisticated job descriptions. However, Ms. Tang Yu’s success now shifts the focus point to the business leadership level.

Since the late 1970s, the average CEO pay scale has gone up by 1,460%, compared to the workers (only 18%).

A study from corporate-governance research firm MSCI, covering the CEO performances of some 400 businesses between 2006 and 2015, found “a significant misalignment between CEO pay and stock-price performances”.

You have examples of Hilton Worldwide CEO Chris Nassetta earning a salary of USD 55.9 million amid reported losses of USD 720 million and record-high vacancy rates at the company.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun recently hit the headlines for receiving a pay package of USD 21.1 million despite plans to lay off 30,000 workers, issues with the 737 Max jet, and last but not the least, a loss of USD 12 billion. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg and his Google counterpart Sundar Pichai have earned wrath for laying off some of their hard-working and performance-oriented employees en masse, in order to compensate for the companies’ revenue slowdowns (resulted partly due to bad business moves) in the market.

In 2022, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) came up with a report analysing the likelihood of automation affecting jobs, and the CEOs were seen last in that priority order.

A 2017 study from McKinsey has estimated that 25% of a CEO’s time is spent on tasks which could be potentially replicated by artificial intelligence and robotics, functions like reviewing a company’s financial performances, sending emails and forecasting market trends.

Another study from the same company cited some 72% of CEOs admitting to making bad decisions as frequently as taking correct business calls. At the average S&P 500 company, such poor decision-making leads to average yearly losses of USD 250 million.

Conclusion

While the job of a CEO is a taxing one, companies don’t prefer taking too many bad business calls at once, because a loss, even if it is that of USD 1, is still a loss. The success of Ms. Tang Yu, in future, may give the companies an option to outsource the CEO duties to a cost-effective tech solution, in order to save money and ensure a steady profit flow.

However, to reach this scenario, the only pre-requisite will be artificial intelligence and robotics achieving a never-seen-before perfection level, in terms of matching human intelligence (or even outpacing it, just like the ‘Skynet’ from the ‘Terminator’ franchise).

The post IF Insights: Can artificial intelligence challenge CEO-level jobs as well? appeared first on International Finance.

Keep the cash flow
Money is essential for the operation of your organisation. Your business will prosper if its cash flow is steady and dependable. Consider arranging your payback terms to match your financial flow. Such a strategy can give you the money you require to upgrade your equipment, purchase supplies, and pay your employees’ salaries.

Create budget
Create short- and long-term budgets to manage your money, particularly in a recession. A well-planned budget prevents you from spending more than you can afford. A budget can also assist in setting objectives for your company, such as aiming for higher sales. For your company to achieve those objectives, you must include action plans in your budget.

Have an emergency fund
Even when things are going well, it is always a good idea to have a little extra cash on hand for unforeseen costs. An emergency fund will serve as your safety net during trying times and assist you by taking care of unplanned bills.

Reduce overhead cost
You can save a lot of money by dramatically reducing overhead costs, but it can also be quite disruptive. Consolidating real estate and firing employees are just two examples of drastic savings. Finding strategies that will help you save money is the aim of overhead reduction, regardless of the status of the economy.

Cut down on inventory
Maintaining an inventory can be expensive and requires a lot of attention to detail. When there is economic uncertainty and product turnover is low, inventory might become more expensive. A business must strike a balance between selling its inventory for cash and keeping enough inventory on hand to meet client orders, even while inventory managers want to lower inventory to lower these costs.

Generating income from multiple sources
This approach is fairly difficult because you have to figure out how to create new revenue streams while utilizing the existing infrastructure. The idea is to get substantial profits on a small investment. Here are some suggestions you can use. Start selling to businesses or consumers directly. Redesign your manufacturing process to accommodate a new service or product. Sell your products online to expand your reach to new customers in different locations.

Focus on marketing
Investments in marketing and advertising are crucial in any economy. Advertising keeps your brand in front of potential clients, but marketing can be challenging during tough economic times when consumers are seeking to save money by reducing their spending. If your financial situation permits, consider providing customers with payment arrangements or discounts.

The post CEOs take note: 7 ways to manage budget during economic instability appeared first on International Finance.

The bank, which has incurred financial losses did not specify how long the position of the interim chief position will be there, or when they expect to hire a permanent replacement. The bank also mentioned that they will update once the time is right.

The bank reported $169.3 million in total losses for the first nine months of 2021, representing 30 percent of its capital. The Shahraj-based lender had blamed its exposure to NMC and the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for the losses.

In other news, Qatar National Bank has appointed Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari as its new chairman. The bank announced this news in a statement to the Qatar Stock Exchange. During the third quarter of 2021, the bank reported a profit of $961 million.

In 2021, the bank’s entire profit rose to $3.6 billion, which is up from $12 billion last year. The bank’s profit for the quarter ended on December 31, according to Reuters calculation. The results were slightly lower than what analysts estimated, which was around $12.7 billion.

Another rating agency Fitch, in October, indicated that it could cut the ratings of all banks in Qatar, saying it was concerned over the sector’s increasing reliance on external funding and recent rapid growth in assets. Additionally, foreign funding was $193 billion at the end of August, representing, 48 percent of the Qataru bank sector liabilities compared to $121 billion and 38 percent at the end of 2018.

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Al Hassawi has been holding the role of acting CEO since September 2020. His formal tenure starts at the same time when the company is going through a major restructuring of operations. EITC recently announced that the numbers from their first quarter have provided quite a lift, with overall revenues reaching Dh2.88 billion, which is 5.2 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2020. It was also reported that mobile-driven revenues amounted to Dh1.31 billion with a subscriber base of 6.8 million.

Mohammad Hadi Al Hussaini, Chairman, du, told the media, “The EITC board has envisaged an ambitious transformational mandate from the inside-out, directed at driving a purpose and performance-driven culture, a faster go-to-market approach, and a deeper and more personalized customer experience.

“To realise these ambitions, Al Hassawi has been appointed to lead EITC into the next phase of growth and expansion. I’m confident that he will build on the momentum that EITC has embarked on and usher in a new accelerated phase of transformation.”

Last year, the EITC also appointed telecom industry veteran and board member Ahmad Julfar as its managing director.
Founded in 2005, EITC is 50.12 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 10.06 percent by Mubadala Investment Company, and 19.7 percent by Emirates International Telecommunication.

Image credits- Zawya.com

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The study, conducted by Tawhid Chtioui, Professor & Dean at emlyon business school Africa, alongside colleagues Prof. Mehdi Nekhili and Prof. Héla Chakroune*, evaluated the impact of appointing a female CEO or Chair on a firm’s performance, for both family and non-family firms. The researchers sampled 394 French firms over the period of 2001-2010, and reviewed the appointments made to CEO and Chair positions, and the subsequent impact on performance.

Though the researchers found that appointing a female CEO produced a positive reaction for non-family firms, family firms experienced a negative impact to both performance indicators.

Professor Tawhid Chtioui says, “The difference in impact of appointing a female CEO between non-family and family firms is likely due to two distinct reasons. The first being that family businesses have a smaller management recruitment pool, therefore female CEOs may be appointed due to family ties and not experience or talent, therefore negatively effecting performance.

Secondly, it is due to the glass ceiling for women in management. Females in non-family firms have to demonstrate an extra level of competence to reach the highest positions in organisations, and are therefore extremely talented and devoted, thus having a positive effect on their firm’s performance.”

However, the researchers found that hiring a female Chair had the complete opposite effect, proving valuable for family firms but not for non-family firms.

Professor Tawhid Chtioui says, “This is likely due to women typically bringing a collaborative leadership style to the Chair role, which benefits boardroom dynamics more in family firms than non-family businesses. Female Chairs are also more likely to implement a transformational leadership style, that better embraces family business’ values, needs and characteristics”.

This is the first study to simultaneously examine the relationship between female leadership, family ownership patterns and firm’s performance. The results of which were published in the Journal of Business Ethics.

* Mehdi Nekhili is professor at Maine University and ICD International Business School (France) and Héla Chakroune at the Institute of Higher Business Studies, University of Sfax (Tunisia).

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