Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Program (SOAMLP) aimed at providing a forum and learning opportunity for 45 top leaders in the Kingdom kicks off on Sunday. The program is being organized for the third consecutive year by the North Program for Development, the National Competitiveness Center of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), Oxford University's Said Business School and RAKISA Holdings, a private Saudi company that provides structured opportunities in construction, real estate, education, telecommunications and various other sectors. The program will be held consecutively in Oxford, United Kingdom from Feb. 21 to March 13 and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from May 10 to May 13. Senior Saudi executives, chief executive officers, business leaders, educationists and senior public servants will participate. These leaders are nominated by various ministries, government authorities and private companies in the Kingdom. The program is an academic initiative that aims at creating a change in the strategic thinking of Saudi leaders and executives. Sagia Governor Amr Bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh said: “The authority supports this program, which is a practical translation of the Kingdom's strategic approach to support the competitiveness of its human resources and develop and train leaders in the public and private sectors. This is especially important since investment in human resources is the foundation stone in the development and prosperity of nations.” “We in the National Competitiveness Center share the vision of the North Program for Development to improve our competitiveness in the Kingdom. This program will be able to instill the business methods and strategies which managers and businessmen can use to help them transform our economy and society.” Dr. Lalit Johri, Director of SOAMLP and Professor and Fellow in International Business at Oxford University, said that since this particular program was launched in 2008, it has built an academic curriculum based on the needs of the Kingdom. This was achieved by intensive analytical research conducted by academics from the university, who studied the management, economic and development challenges in the Kingdom's public and private sectors. The Oxford Management and Leadership Program, in its original form, is one of the leading programs for executives. It was set up in 1983 for elite executives including heads of government, ministers, presidents of companies and civil society leaders.
