KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) celebrated the graduation of the 8th cohort of its leadership development program “NBK High-Fliers” which is held in collaboration with IE Business School, Madrid. The closing ceremony was attended by NBK Executives, as well as representatives of IE Business School, Madrid. This cohort extended over a period of 6 months and graduated 21 participants from different areas in the bank including NBK Capital, as well as international locations (NBK KSA Wealth Management, London, Shanghai, Paris and Bahrain).

The program covered a variety of important topics including key leadership skills, new trends in marketing, negotiation skills, building a culture of excellence, change management and innovation, measuring and managing performance, as well as management science, effective communication, developing new and unconventional thinking, and combining technical and leadership skills to cultivate strategic thinking in leadership.

The participating teams presented their projects for innovative banking themes and solutions; and the panel consisting of executives at NBK and representatives of IE Business School, Madrid, selected 3 winners in the top performance ranking, and a winning innovation project team, whose project will be implemented subject to a set of criteria and conditions set by NBK.

On this occasion, Najla Al-Sager, Head of Talent Management, Group Human Resources at National Bank of Kuwait, said, “The NBK High-Fliers program for developing young banking leaders is part of the ongoing efforts to develop our human capital and talent. It also echoes the bank’s vision of placing the sustainable development of human resources as a top priority, especially young leaders, who are considered essential for achieving the bank’s long-term ambitions.”

“NBK places the development of its people as a top priority, harnessing all its capabilities to contribute to their career progression by providing training and development programs held in partnership with globally renowned educational institutions, in order to keep pace with the key changes in the banking business,” she added.

NBK boasts a unique work environment that is comparable with international peers, where it harnesses all its capabilities to develop employees and stimulate their creativity and innovation. This reflects positively on employees’ performance, and helps the bank maintain its leadership position, both locally and regionally. Founded in 1973, IE Business School is considered one of the leading and top ranked business schools in the world according to international magazines and newspapers including Forbes, The Economist, Financial Times and Bloomberg.