Dubai Holding, which manages several of Dubai's large-scale infrastructure and investment projects, recently held a ceremony where 38 individuals graduated from one of its leadership training initiatives.

Dubai Holding’s Leadon, a two-year programme designed to develop individuals with high potential, is built around four development verticals – strategic thinking; inspirational leadership; operational excellence and personal growth.

“At Dubai Holding we recognise the importance of leadership to success,” said Mohammad AlGergawi, chairman of Dubai Holding.

“We have witnessed its impact on our performance. We have seen how it can propel, or derail, a business strategy. That is why we created the Leadon programme. We want to ensure that we have the leaders required to manage the business challenges the senior management team creates,” he added.

Launched in September 2007, Leadon is designed to establish a cost effective and viable executive leadership programme across Dubai Holding’s entities and to help build the conglomerate’s future leadership pipeline.

It also positions Dubai Holding internationally, as a champion of excellence in leadership development.

Ahmad Bin Byat, CEO of Dubai Holding said: “The Leadon programme has a significant impact on the future leadership of Dubai Holding. The nurturing of individual’s talents and skills is a strategic priority, so that we can ensure that our leaders have what it takes to move Dubai Holding forward."

Erik Slotboom, chief human capital officer, Dubai Holding, confirmed that the second generation of the Leadon programme would be launched shortly.

“When it was established two years ago, the Leadon programme was designed to instill the qualities that are required for leadership within Dubai Holding With this graduation we can say the pioneering Leadon journey has been successfully accomplished,” said Slotboom.

The Leadon programme is benchmarked against similar programmes in global organisations, including General Electric, the multinational technology and services company and top auto maker Toyota. – TradeArabia News Service