KUWAIT: Reflecting its dedication to develop its human capital with the best-in-class training and development programs, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) continues the series of masterclasses provided for its employees in collaboration with IE Business School, Madrid. This series covers a variety of topics relevant to the banking business, including digital transformation, innovation, effective change management, communication and negotiation skills.

Titled “Effective Change Leadership”, this masterclass is the fifth in this series, which was delivered by Prof. Art Uprety, an experienced strategy, business transformation and leadership coach at IE Business School, Madrid.

The masterclass shed light on the radical transformations in business and operating models due to rapid technological advances, changes in consumer behavior, seismic geopolitical shifts, and the climate crisis, and organizations need to be able to and adapt them to the needs of the changing environment on all levels. The lecturer showcased a study of sponsoring and having overall ownership for implementation of strategic transformations across geographies, industries and change contexts which revealed that leading transformational change is mentally, emotionally and physically demanding for leaders and therefore stressful.

Art also shared with participants some practical ideas on how to become a more effective change leader by avoiding the ‘doom loop’ of ineffective behavior, and how the leader can break free of the doom loop to enter the gain loop.

Speaking on this, Maryam Al-Nasralla, Talent Management Manager, Group Human Resources at National Bank of Kuwait, said: “Investing in the human capital is instrumental in NBK’s culture and strategies, as well as a fundamental part of its endeavors to achieve sustainable growth and build a generation of qualified banking leaders for the future.”

“We firmly believe that raising the efficiency of our employees and qualifying them with the latest training and development programs ensures the continued growth of NBK’s business in the future at all levels, especially that the bank’s local and regional leadership is mainly based on developing high-caliber human capital,” she added. “NBK makes its utmost endeavors to develop its human resources, harnessing all capabilities to drive their career development; and therefore, places the initiatives for learning, training and upskilling the youth at the heart of its strategic plans,” she noted.

Art brings with him over 30 years of business experience in strategy, business transformation, leadership and top management consulting. He has worked with top management consulting firms in UK, Western Europe, Asia, Middle East and the CIS region. Art was a Partner and Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

He also specializes in supporting CEOs and their senior teams in developing and executing winning strategies to create competitive advantage in the changing business environment. Founded in 1973, IE Business School is one of the largest business schools in the world, consistently ranked among the top international educational institutions by international magazines and newspapers, Forbes, The Economist, Financial Times and Bloomberg.