ATIC Two Year in the Making
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NEWS RELEASE
23 January 2012
ATIC and UC Berkeley conclude the first executive leadership program
Business program focuses on creating successful Emirati leaders with an emphasis on leading technology related venture and companies
Tuesday evening marked the graduation of the first 20 students from the Leadership Development Program, a joint venture between The Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) and University of California, Berkeley Hass School of Business. The curriculum is designed to empower Emiratis as well as expatriates working at ATIC with fundamental leadership skills specifically applicable to the advanced technology industry. The program focused on creating a core group of Emiraties to lead future technology ventures and drive the growth of an advanced technology hub, as part of the ATIC vision and efforts to support economy transformation.
“ATIC is committed to the development of its human capital. Investing in our people is a top priority for us to help grow and sustain a culture of leadership, excellence and innovation within the company and the larger Abu Dhabi business ecosystem” commented Ibrahim Ajami, CEO of ATIC. “This program was designed to provide a unique and tailored training experience to our employees on leadership while benefiting from a world class teaching institution such as Berkeley University.”
“The ATIC program represented an opportunity to create profound, sustainable change within the region by enhancing indigenous skills and expat understanding of the culture and regional development goals to become a technology hub,” commented Whitney Hischer, Assistant Dean - UC Berkeley Center for Executive Education (CEE) - Haas School of Business.
“I found the ATIC participants to be exceptional professionals who are deeply committed to the new mission of creating a technology hub in Abu Dhabi,” added Mark Rittenberg, professor at the Hass School of Business and program director. “They are a group of independent thinkers, full of intelligence, creativity and courage. The Berkeley faculty was both honoured and inspired to teach such a group of ‘doers’ and looks forward to the many successes that will clearly impact and improve the quality of life in the region.”
Khaled Al Shamlan, the Head of Strategy and Operations at ATIC, and one of the graduates of the Berkeley Program said “the program helped me bring out my own potential and polish the skills that I have to become a more engaged leader. This is very important as we move with our journey forward to building a technology ecosystem and help diversify the economy of Abu Dhabi.”
Hajer Al Bloushi, Talent Manger at ATIC, said “developing local talents to fuel the economic transformation of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; the program is also unique in its role in empowering young female Emiraties to become part of this transformation by equipping them with the skills, tools and knowledge to take an active part of building the future of the country.
Running for 10 months, the Leadership Development Program consisted of three 3-day modules accompanied by project work and coaching. The curriculum was experiential in nature and included subjects such as Leaders as Coach, Leading Change in Difficult Times and Global Strategy and Strategic Planning.
