The year 2020 has been declared a “breakthrough” one for electric vehicles, with sales of EVs up around the world, even in the petrol-happy US. With tax breaks, new infrastructure plans and Covid-related discounts on zero-emission autos, the market may be at a “tipping point”, according to the World Economic Forum. But host Mustafa Alrawi, assistant editor-in-chief, says not so fast. “There’s hype everywhere you look,” he wrote in The National last week, and argued the market is not that much di...
Apr 14, 2021•18 min
More than a century in the making, a genomics revolution is now unfolding. The extent of the Covid-19 outbreak has prompted nations and biotech companies to pour billions of dollars and emergency resources into the field, spurring it to new heights of potential. Within a month of the first novel coronavirus case reported in Wuhan, the 29,903 letters that make up the pathogen’s genome were published online. Now, more than a year later, researchers around the world are scrutinising the genetic mar...
Apr 07, 2021•21 min
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 benc...
Mar 31, 2021•15 min
"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...
Mar 24, 2021•20 min
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 ho...
Mar 17, 2021•21 min
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 nat...
Mar 10, 2021•36 min
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 Laws continue to limit women’s economic opportunities, World Bank says ...
Mar 07, 2021•17 min
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 tech...
Mar 03, 2021•19 min
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 M...
Feb 22, 2021•13 min
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 t...
Feb 17, 2021•15 min
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 tradin...
Feb 07, 2021•12 min
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 a...
Feb 03, 2021•24 min
Is there a revolution taking place in the US stock market? The GameStop stock price has surged because of support from an online community on Reddit. This goes against some of the big boys of Wall Street who have been shorting the same stocks. Losses in the market are estimated at billions of dollars. Hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner explain what is happening, who the major players are and what we can expect for the region.
Jan 28, 2021•11 min
The Swiss winter resort town of Davos is eerily quiet this week. It is typically the convening place and playground of the global elite for a week every January, but this year, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting has gone online. To discuss the forum’s agenda and the impact of its message, managing director Sarita Nayyar joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner. She says the pandemic has demonstrated that no institution or individual alone can address the economic, environmental, so...
Jan 26, 2021•19 min
This week, Neom’s president of technology and digital, Joseph Bradley, describes his vision for the futuristic city. “What you’re going to do is way more valuable than what you’ve done,” he tells co-host Kelsey Warner, describing how artificial intelligence will underpin some of the biggest plans for the $500 billion megaproject. “The power of prediction creates new and exciting possibilities.” It is the first interview with Mr Bradley since Neom’s chairman, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced...
Jan 20, 2021•24 min
Shares in Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, all slid at the start of the week. But analysts said they won’t fall far. This week, co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner dig into the unfolding drama at the world’s biggest platforms and what it means for the future of US civility and shareholder sentiment. The National’s social media editor Cody Combs lays out the partisan debates over anti-trust and censorship levied against Facebook prior to the event...
Jan 13, 2021•19 min
China is expected to overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously anticipated, as it recovers faster from the coronavirus pandemic, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said. But what does it mean for the Middle East? This week, co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner unpack the complicated power dynamic between the world's two biggest economies, from trade and technology to energy and finance, and how it impacts the region. In thi...
Jan 06, 2021•16 min
This week, Business Extra takes a look back at the 10 biggest business moments from the UAE and beyond in 2020. Co-host Kelsey Warner is joined by The National’s personal finance editor, Felicity Glover, to count down. In this episode: Dr Rajesh Suri in February, delivering a message to residents from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi as it prepared for the pandemic (1m 05s) Naim Yazbeck of Microsoft UAE on the fate of the 9 to 5 in the WFH revolution (4m 41s) Ian Ohan, founder and CEO of restaurant op...
Dec 23, 2020•24 min
Rising protectionism and technology are changing the shape of trade. To capitalise on emerging dynamics, unprecedented global cooperation is needed - with the UAE a critical hub. Co-hosts Kelsey Warner and Mustafa Alrawi are joined this week by Feryal Ahmadi, chief operating officer of Dubai’s trade free zone at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. Ms Ahmadi maps out the scenarios for how trade will develop in the 2020s based on DMCC’s research and interviews with experts across eight key trade h...
Dec 16, 2020•15 min
Arabesque Partners chairman Georg Kell speaks to Kelsey Warner this week on the future of responsible investing, including the role of artificial intelligence to drive decisions. As the founding director of the United Nations Global Compact, Mr Kell was a pioneer in defining and assessing environmental, social and governance factors that can drive corporate strategy and investment decisions to improve the state of the world. Since September 2016, Mr Kell has also chaired the Volkswagen Sustainab...
Dec 09, 2020•23 min
What do Toyota, Disney, IBM and Airbnb have in common? They were started during – or right after – a crisis. Whether the Great Depression, the Second World War or the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, major struggles have led visionary founders to build some of the world's biggest, most durable companies. So what will 2020 yield? Host Kelsey Warner is joined this week by Noor Sweid, founder and general partner at UAE venture capital firm Global Ventures, to discuss how entrepreneurs can capital...
Dec 01, 2020•14 min
The changes to the UAE Commercial Companies' law , which were announced allowing almost all companies to be fully foreign owned, have been widely welcomed. The idea of further opening up the economy to foreign investment will have obvious potential benefits such as attracting more FDI and spurring business activity. This has been an evolution of a number of steps over the last 17 years or so, making doing business in the UAE easier for all nationalities. The changes to the law will prove interes...
Nov 25, 2020•26 min
The nexus of technology has had a real impact in the way we work and live. What happens when the disruptors have to move even more quickly than they expected? This week, Richard Sikkel, chief executive of Massar Solutions, and Tino Waked, regional general manager of Middle East & Africa at Uber, join Mustafa Alrawi to talk about all things transportation. In this episode: What happens when the disruptor becomes disrupted? (0m 41s) The changes the pandemic has brought (5m 28s) How Uber moved ...
Nov 18, 2020•17 min
Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner talk to Huawei's chief technology officer, Paul Scanlan, on the advantages of 5G and why it is better for the future of telecommunication. In this episode: Let's talk 5G! (0m 43s) How is 5G different? (1m 55s) Living with 5G (5m 32s) Why is Huawei number one in 5G tech? (9m 24s) Why is China ahead of the curve? (15m 00s) Working under the Trump and the new administration (20m 13s) Information security and Huawei 5G (21m 58s) Headlines (25m 20s) Read more on our w...
Nov 11, 2020•26 min
Uncertainty in Pennsylvania is a potential “perfect storm” for a contested election that would send shockwaves through the markets, but investors are otherwise betting on a Joe Biden win. “The market is a bit pre-positioned for the Democratic wave, unlike last time,” John Hardy, head of FX strategy at Saxo Bank, said, while adding that markets were in no way prepared for President Trump's victory in 2016. He joins co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner this week to outline market scenarios de...
Nov 02, 2020•21 min
"Last year, between Apple, Tencent and Google, their combined revenue in one year was hundreds of billions of dollars. But who got paid?" Jennifer Zhu Scott, executive chairman of The Commons Project and a leading voice on technology and artificial intelligence, joins Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner to discuss her idea that Internet users be paid for the data they share with companies who are profiting from consumer insights. In this episode: Overview of US Dept of Justice case against Google (...
Oct 28, 2020•20 min
Ibrahim Ajami joins Kelsey Warner this week to talk about Mubadala's technology investment strategy in a year unlike any other. The head of ventures at Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment fund is looking at 25-year time horizons, longer than the typical private equity investor, and looking for ways to build bridges between Abu Dhabi and tech hubs around the world. In this episode: Mubadala and Silver Lake (0m 44s) The 25-year Investment Strategy (6m 50s) How was 2020 significant to Mubadala? (9m 00...
Oct 21, 2020•21 min
In the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, there has been unprecedented international cooperation, with the UAE a most recent example - jumping in to join the phase III trials of Russia's coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V. News editor Rory Reynolds, who has been overseeing The National 's pandemic coverage, joins the podcast to discuss the role of a vaccine in economic recovery and the companies, investors and citizens who stand to gain and lose. In this episode: UAE is hosting the Russian vaccine ...
Oct 13, 2020•17 min
The pandemic is increasing demand for mental health services with uncertainty, isolation and loss of income triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones, the World Health Organisation said this week. “Covid-19 has interrupted essential mental health services around the world just when they’re needed most,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general. Paying close attention to this secondary crisis taking shape is Jerome Droesch, CEO of Cigna MEA. He joins co-hos...
Oct 07, 2020•20 min
Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and managing director of UAE defence conglomerate Edge, and the Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council, joins host Kelsey Warner on the podcast. Speaking during the Global Aerospace Summit this week, they discuss lessons learned for the defence industry from the pandemic, the UAE’s ambitions with drones, if there is a red line on use of such capabilities and the historic Abraham Accord. In this episode: Is the Global Aerospace Summit relevant to Edge?...
Sep 29, 2020•14 min
