Good morning.
The Fortune Global Forum got underway yesterday in Abu Dhabi. This oil-rich Emirate has a unique perspective on the three issues top-of-mind for most CEOs these days: 1) the technology revolution 2) the energy transformation and 3) the rethinking of supply chains in the face of geopolitical challenges.
On the first, the UAE has established the first university dedicated solely to AI, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of AI. Delegates from the forum visited the university yesterday morning and heard from President Eric Xing, formerly of Carnegie Mellon. Explaining the role of the university, which now has roughly 70 professors, 300 graduate students and 200 researchers, Xing said:
“We serve the community. We are actively involved both in technology transfer, but also in cultural exchange and also in talent creation. We actually want our university student graduates and faculty to be part of the community, to help them develop technology, and also to explain to them all the potentials and limitations of the technology.”
On the second, Abu Dhabi is an oil-rich nation that has nevertheless clearly committed itself to a detailed strategic plan, backed by critical investments, to decarbonize. Among the speakers on Day 1 of the forum was Abdulnasser bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminum, one of the world’s largest makers of premium aluminum. He talked of his company’s commitment to both decarbonization and recycling.
“This is what our customers are demanding. And we are proud that at EGA we were the first company in the world to produce aluminum based on solar power. So you take that and you blend it with recycled metal, and we will give you the greenest aluminum in the world.”
UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy added:
“Companies that don’t have a purpose relative to the planet in the long run don’t have a path to success. There is a real commitment to focus on what green technology looks like.”
And on the third point: our partners at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development used the entire event to showcase their country’s many assets: good weather, modern infrastructure, nonexistent crime, and easy connections via two regional airlines to almost anywhere in the world.
But my favorite moment in the day was the exchange between McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, whose cars finished a respectable 5th and 6th place in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi. Hudson said he sought a partnership with McLaren after learning about its dedication to data analysis. Said Brown:
“We have data analysis around every piece of our race car. We have 300 sensors on a race car. We pull down one and a half terabytes of data a weekend. And for those who don’t know what that means, that’s 10 million documents, that’s about 400 movies….and we will run 50 million simulations over a race weekend. We have to make split-second decisions, so we have to rely on the data.“
Said Hudson:
“We took our senior leaders to McLaren to see and listen to how people operate in a time-sensitive environment to make critical decisions dispassionately, and then how they provide each other feedback afterwards. It’s been quite incredible.”
You can find more news from the forum here, and other news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
