JEDDAH: According to a study by management consultants McKinsey, out of the 25 largest family businesses in the GCC, nine are based in the Kingdom alone.
Family businesses in Saudi Arabia tend to be specialized in industry (24 percent) services (14 percent) and banking (11 percent), as per a recent article by Marcopolis.net.
They are estimated to hold around SR250 billion in domestic investments, the article added, with 200 of them working across different sectors.
In response to regional needs, and in its efforts to offer educational programs and academic courses that are American but also tailored to the GCC and the wider Arab region, American University of Sharjah (AUS) established the Sheikh Saoud Bin Khalid Bin Khalid Al-Qassimi Chair in Family Business.
Bjorn Kjerfve, chancellor of AUS, met with Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, MD of Al-Saud Company, and Sheikh Saud Majid Al-Qassimi, DMD of Al Saud Company, recently to discuss the program and how it will benefit the wider GCC community.
Through the chair, described as the first of its kind in the country, AUS aims to become a recognized family business knowledge hub in the national, regional and international context.
Also present at the meeting was Rodrigo Basco, associate professor, School of Business Administration, and chairholder of Sheikh Saoud Bin Khalid Bin Khalid Al Qassimi Chair in Family Business.
The chair’s mission is to foster the university’s sustainable support to family businesses by creating value through conducting research and developing teaching activities that will strive to connect different generations in a family in order to achieve individual, family, business and community objectives.
"The purpose of establishing this chair is to honor my grandfather’s legacy. He was a Sharjah businessman who founded a family business back in the 1970s that is now in its third generation,” said Sheikh Saud Majid Al-Qassimi.
Family businesses in Saudi Arabia tend to be specialized in industry (24 percent) services (14 percent) and banking (11 percent), as per a recent article by Marcopolis.net.
They are estimated to hold around SR250 billion in domestic investments, the article added, with 200 of them working across different sectors.
In response to regional needs, and in its efforts to offer educational programs and academic courses that are American but also tailored to the GCC and the wider Arab region, American University of Sharjah (AUS) established the Sheikh Saoud Bin Khalid Bin Khalid Al-Qassimi Chair in Family Business.
Bjorn Kjerfve, chancellor of AUS, met with Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, MD of Al-Saud Company, and Sheikh Saud Majid Al-Qassimi, DMD of Al Saud Company, recently to discuss the program and how it will benefit the wider GCC community.
Through the chair, described as the first of its kind in the country, AUS aims to become a recognized family business knowledge hub in the national, regional and international context.
Also present at the meeting was Rodrigo Basco, associate professor, School of Business Administration, and chairholder of Sheikh Saoud Bin Khalid Bin Khalid Al Qassimi Chair in Family Business.
The chair’s mission is to foster the university’s sustainable support to family businesses by creating value through conducting research and developing teaching activities that will strive to connect different generations in a family in order to achieve individual, family, business and community objectives.
"The purpose of establishing this chair is to honor my grandfather’s legacy. He was a Sharjah businessman who founded a family business back in the 1970s that is now in its third generation,” said Sheikh Saud Majid Al-Qassimi.
