 I would like to welcome you to the luxury brand symposium held at the US in partnership with the Chaloupe Group. Having launched the first luxury brand management professorship in the MENA region with the support of the Chaloupe Group two years ago, we share a strong bond through commitment to education and leadership. As a star in the field of luxury goods, the Chaloupe Group represents a high quality partnerships between the US and the Chaloupe Group. The global luxury goods industry, comprising fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, watches, luggage, handbags, and much more, is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow and play a diverse role in economies throughout the world. According to Bain and Company, one of the world's leading advisors to the global luxury goods industry, the global personal luxury goods market saw $251 billion in revenue last year alone, an increase of 3% from the year before. This growth continued into this year, with the market's full-year performance expected to increase between 2% and 4% on an annual basis. With the changing dynamics of today's global marketplace, where cross-cultural influences and perspectives flow across national boundaries, and where experience is how business is conducted, have an impact far and wide, shared values have assumed a significant role, luxury brands are considered distinct because of the quality of their products. The history, artisanship, expertise, and attention to detail of luxury brands are what set them apart from others. Perhaps it might not be realized, but it is this meticulousness that is not only responsible for the uniqueness of the product, but also for preserving a particular skill and vocation undertaken by hand that might otherwise have fallen by the wayside due to automation. Throughout the world, we are still fortunate to retain many age-old traditional crafts because of the luxury brand industry, which has sustained them by creating a demand. In this day and age, sustainability is an essential factor without which a corporate entity cannot expect to succeed in the long term. The luxury brand industry is cognizant of this reality and has, along with other industries, expanded its approach to corporate social responsibility. According to a report compiled by Deloitte Touche to Matsu Limited across the industry, there is now an expectation that societal and environmental investment should go hand in hand with a brand's corporate strategy. Filled artisans from an integral part of any luxury brand's unique selling points and many luxury brands on undertaking support programs aimed at local artisans and their traditional skills. For instance, Brunello Cuccinelli's School of Craftsmanship works with local communities not only to create employment but also to maintain the legacy of their craftsmanship. Other prominent brands such as Fendi, Bulgari and Todd's give back to the citizens of regions to which they belong by supporting the preservation of their prominent cultural monuments such as the Spanish Steps and the Colosseum in Rome and art collections. The newly expanded Milan complex supported by Prada, open to the public earlier this year. Omega has announced a five-year association with a new section of Milan's Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, devoted exclusively to space and astronomy. LVMH hosts the Young Fashion Designers Competition and supports and nurtures the winning designers. Other brands such as a few from the Estee Lauder Group have launched a range of pink ribbon products to donate a portion of their sales to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. As markets expand, the luxury brand industry's commitment to sustainability, societal responsibility and improving its environmental footprint appears to be moving ahead. In the U.S. it has been our mission to engage with the industry and society and to act as a bridge between the two. Our luxury course offerings have been growing since 2012 when we first introduced a 400-level senior luxury brand management course. Over the past two years we have introduced two other luxury courses, one in fashion marketing and one in business of luxury, and student demand has been extremely high. With 90 registered students across the three courses, the university's commitment to the luxury brand industry is growing stronger. This symposium is a reflection of that commitment. I look forward to listening to eminent panelists, sharing their views about our regional industry's efforts to tackle issues of sustainability, support and long-term opportunities. Once again, I would like to welcome you to AUS and to extend an appreciation to the Shalub Group as well as the School of Business Administration for organizing this event. And without further ado, I would like to introduce our keynote speaker, Mr. Patrick Shalub, co-CEO of the Shalub Group, who will present the content of the Shalub Group's third white paper, Luxury in the Gulf, The Sustainable Future. The Shalub Group is a leading partner for luxury across the Middle East. The Shalub Group is a family business which has been in the region for more than 60 years. For 30 years, Patrick Shalub has been involved in the strategic development of the business to guarantee its long-term success. As such, he continues to expand the group's distribution, retail business and marketing and communications activities, and also eager to strengthen the group's support services. Patrick has been instrumental in guiding the development of a sustainability strategy for the group with a focus on education, environmental and humanitarian sustainability. At the age of 42, the French government awarded him with the Medal of Chevalier de l'Ordre Nationale de Murie. He's a founding member of the Rotary and Capital Club and also an active member of the Young Presidents Organization. He also co-chairs the Board of Directors of Endeavour's UAE affiliate. Mr. Patrick Shalub. Good morning everyone. It's a pleasure being with you. Thank you for hosting us. Thank you for your nice words and I much appreciate this partnership which we have established now since a few years with the American Versus of Georgia. As you mentioned, the Shalub Group is a family business. It's a family business which has been established 60 years ago. It's a family business which has been created by my father and mother and we are very proudly, my brother, myself and our 2012 team members, very proud of continuing what has been started and trying to push it further. As a family business, we are very committed to sustainability. Obviously our focus is luxury and the Middle East. But sustainability is very important for a business created six years ago and where we would like it to exist and develop in six years, 120 years, 180 years from now for our children and grandchildren and to develop our business. But how can we be a sustainable business if we are not living in a sustainable environment? How can we really not put sustainability as our first priority? So to build this sustainable model, it's important that we build it in a very sustainable environment. And luxury has been often accused not to be going very much in pair with sustainability. But it's something which we will be bringing forward during this day in the seminar. It's true that in the past 30, 40 years, we have all somehow destroyed a little bit the earth like nobody have ever done before. But the earth is strong and have faced since four billion years or more many big crisis. Nevertheless, we have to act and we have to act seriously, all of us in any industry or an activity where we are. What we are witnessing today is a change of mindset. What we are witnessing today, including in the Gulf countries, are totally what we could call a silent revolution. This revolution of consciousness where people are becoming much more conscious of the needs of creating sustainability around us. At government level, at corporate level, and at individual level. So we'll have to create much stronger awareness and have multiple initiatives which are taking place. Let me introduce few paradoxes which we are living in this region. Some of them which have been the basis of our white paper. Every year since now, three years we are publishing this white paper on a different topic and different subject. And this year, white paper was about luxury and sustainability. So it has been built on few paradoxes which we have discovered and which I will develop. I will then explain the inherent social value which you could see in our society into the Gulf. I will then focus a little bit on the family business as we are a family business and I think that the family business create a really sustainable model and then reveal some of the strong initiatives which are facing in order to face those current challenges which we have and showcasing this change of mindset. We are in a polarized region. We are in a polarized region and as I said, we are facing many paradoxes and I will highlight three of them. Our region is a region where we have probably some of the highest GDP per capita in the world. Qatar is on top of the list. It even went up from the figure I'm mentioning. It's over $100,000 per capita today, but it's not only Qatar. Even the UAE are among the 10 highest GDP into the world, very comparable to the GDP of the US. At the same time, we are facing a critical problem, a critical problem which we could see all around the world but which is even more credible and less understandable into the Middle East. We have a very high use in employment into a region which have highest GDP into the world. About 30% of the region in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, of the GCC region use are unemployed today. If we compare it to other part of the world, it's much higher even than Africa where there is only a lot, 24% of unemployment about it. So is it sustainable to have such a high GDP and such a high level of unemployment? I think that I will try to bring some of the answer about it. Sorry. It's welcome. In our part of the world, we have a very high consumption of natural resources. We are among the highest, probably, users of natural resources. We have, I would say, a very high carbon footprint per capita, again, amongst the highest into the world. At the same time, we could be very proud that some of the initiative, we have one of the only four worldwide urban sustainable projects. I'm speaking about MasterCity and soon other projects which are, again, not giving any carbon free, which would be quite spectacular to see and which probably is the way forward in order to reduce this very high consumption of natural resources. Again, in our part of the world, we have some of the highest consumers spent into the world. According to our consumer research, we have an average spend of over $2,400 on fashion, beauty, and gift, while if we compare it to some of the Western world, those figures would stand at $1,000 or less than $1,000 on the same category of it. But at the same time, we have a part of the world which is giving a lot into foreign ads into the world with a huge contribution among the 10 biggest in the world, not per capita, in value as we are reaching about over $5 billion of foreign ad for the only country of the UAE about it. So those paradox explain why we felt it was important that we focus a lot on sustainability because sustainability is key to shape for us, for you, a different future and the future into the region. But let me go back a little bit to some of the social value of this part of the world. A lot of you know them, have lived these cultural and social values, but I think it's important to remind them because I'm sure that this will contribute a lot for the sustainable future. The ancient tribal structure have shaped the culture of the modern Gulf region and are an integral part to the region inherited social value which still feature prominent today. Community, solidarity, trust are deep rooted values into the society which stem from a between culture and anchored into a strong interpersonal bonds. Traditional regional custom include caring for the community through caring for the environment, the economic roots and pastoral nomadic societies. The traditional conservation model, Al-Hima sees pastoral areas set aside for regeneration purposes. Transitional architecture created harmonious environment for harsh climate through sustainable designs. Wind towers for natural cooling system, tall allways for shade and thick wall for natural isolation. Generosity towards the community is also a pillar of Islamic tradition. The tradition of Zakat guarantees support through a fixed contribution for the community and in particular giving to those less fortunate. In response of the harsh desert environment, hospitality, Diyafa is an integral part of tribal generosity and follows a strict code of honor. Gifting is deeply entertained in the Arab culture of hospitality and generosity when choosing a gift high quality is a priority. The art of perfuming is a strong part of Arab identity and encompass the sense of community. Ritual and gifting the use of layering of wukhur powders, oils and perfume is an ancestral tradition passed down through generation. Luxury is firmly embedded in the story of the Gulf social traditions. The highest quality premium materials and the finest craftsmanship are symbols of the region strong sense of respect and honor toward the community and its members. In a region where trust is abiding luxury is a trusted choice. In addition to the social values, the way of doing business is also a key factor for long-term perspective. Family forms the basis of community structure in the Gulf providing both financial and emotional support to a wide network of family members, relation, relationship and social ties are an integral part of the Middle East business culture. 90% of the companies in the region are family-owned businesses constituting over three quarters of economic activity in the private sector. The previous seller of the American University of Sharjah said family business model has become a culturally appropriate vehicle for the region's sustainability. Family businesses into the CCC are principally first and second generation established over 50 years ago. Respect for tradition and older members still prevail in family businesses today. Women specifically are taking a larger and larger role into those businesses. These companies are facing one of the largest challenges yet, managing the transition to the third generation in the next five to 10 years. And we know that the passage for the third generation is also always very critical in a family business. Formal family governance structure are pivotal in succession planning and securing solid sustainability for the future of the business. Family business model in the Middle East tend to reinvest into the businesses for generations to come rather than a rip-off in short-term profits. My brother said that a family business driven like ours, driven by values of respect, excellency and entrepreneurial spirit, we really believe that this region and its potential, and we want to make sure that our group will be still around in six years from now. The social culture and the family business are the roots which explain this region can play a key role in building sustainability despite all the criticism which we have heard about it. But obviously it's not enough. I will show some of the key initiatives currently done to go further in response to the priority challenges exposed into the three paradoxes I exposed. The challenge is to be a society dependent on energy and non-renewable resources. Oil and the gas accounts for 33% of the GCC GDP and 84% of the GCC government budget. According to the government, sustainable solution will come economic diversification, innovation, entrepreneurship. GCC is committed to reinvest oil and gas revenue into infrastructure, housing, education and healthcare in order to develop long-term economic environment and social sustainability for generations ahead. His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said, we want our public and private sector to explore new horizons to develop our economy. Innovation is our only way to build a great history of the United Arab Emirates. The future will be for those who adapt or adopt innovation. In Saudi Arabia, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology is a graduate level research university established by Aramco, the world's largest energy corporation and the first platinum-led certified project. Another example is the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. Master plans of a new vision of social and environmental harmony will reshape social principle of living. Abu Dhabi Master City, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company with the aim to achieve a low-carbon or zero-carbon waste city through solar and other renewable sources. It will cover an area of 2.4 kilometers, the equivalent of 250 football fields. And will be powered by Shamswan, the largest solar plant into the Middle East. Dubai Expo 2020, the world exhibition that will celebrate innovation and connecting minds. 50% of the operational energy requirements will come from renewable sources. 30% of construction for the expo site will come from recycled materials. In conjunction with Dubai 2020, government vehicles will switch to compressed natural gas. The current challenge remain use in employment. High population growth rates, a young population, an increased in labor force, together with skills mismatch, have all contributed to one of the region's most problematic social challenges. 30% among youth in Saudi Arabia are unemployed. MENA will require more than 50 million jobs over the next decade to ensure social and political stability. Thank you. The sustainable solution is a qualitative education. I'm glad that we have such initiative that the American University of Sharjah to offer it to us. Qualitative education for all with the necessity of a stronger vocational training and national integration. National integration in its various form of gulfanization. Etisalat Academy has been one of the first initiatives. It is the training and development arm of Etisalat and the largest single source provider of training and development solution in the Middle East. Partnered with the program Educate a Child, build a nation to support computer literacy program for children living in the United Arab Emirates. Our group have engaged into many initiatives about education. We have established in Dubai but also in Jeddah in Riyadh retail academies to train and our workforce into getting a great retail component into their education. Another one in our industry has been the creation with the American University of Sharjah of the luxury brand management professorship. Accompensing courses in luxury brand management, fashion, marketing and basic in luxury principles. The objective is to fill the gap between industry and academia. Students are mentored by eight senior executive of our group. Today more than 70 students have completed the senior level course since its launch in 2012. Mrs. Murtada former vice chancellor of the American University of Sharjah said, the luxury brand management professorship established at AUS has demonstrated the strengths inherent in partnering business and education for an economical sustainable United Arab Emirates. Sustainable solution is also making entrepreneurship a priority for national agendas. The fastest growth in the entrepreneurship worldwide is taking place into the MENA. Again, let me present here only two of those examples. Abu Dhabi government founded the Khalifa Fund. Our group have partnered with the Khalifa Fund in order to create three projects merging knowledge, sharing, mentorship and experiential learning. Worship are delivered to Khalifa Fund staff on retail specific skills as well as annual seminar organized for entrepreneurs who are given the opportunity to observe back and store operation. Dr. Hilal Al-Sukari, advisor of the CEO of Khalifa Funds have said public private relationship encourage positive change in our society by nurturing entrepreneurial activities in their development. In the event other key initiative have been taken a better young entrepreneurial program in which again our group has participated is a joint venture with the Lebanese Finance Ministry and 40 young business leaders which is providing education financing and networking for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Today millions of dollars have been invested into those startups. Hundred thousands of dollars have been invested into scholarship to train those entrepreneurs and have been awarded to those entrepreneurs in order that they can fulfill their initiative. Those examples are among many which exist today of a lot of initiative which are being taken in order to be able to face the challenges which we are facing. It clearly demonstrate the importance of environment and education to which our group is investing quite heavily. And it is important to create this sustainable future into the region for consumers as well. It's a lot of question mark. The challenge which we have to face together is a very high expectation of our customers towards corporate sustainability. 83% of people whom we have surveyed are expecting our retail stores where they buy to be engaged in environmental and friendly activity. 68% of our customers still feel that we are the brands that retailers are not caring enough about the environment and the community. But those customers trust us and we shouldn't disappoint them. So we have to work clearly in order to make it happen. Consumer expectation is to see more and more the private sector contributing to this need for the future as demonstrated into some of those examples. Dubai Future Fashion is an initiative, a concept for sustainable and responsible fashion. A marketplace bringing together beauty and fashion driven sustainable product from all around the world. The main purpose is to maximize benefit to people and communities with minimizing impact on the environment such as the sustainable abaya made out of high-end eco-fabrics from certified manufacturers. The green building of Majed Futem Properties is an initiative driven by the real estate and properly serviced company. Member of the UN Global Compact since 2013, 33% of the asset have green building certification. 20% of water consumption in all malls have been reduced and 100% of all new talents and leases have green closures. The previous CEO of Majed Futem Properties declared, I fundamentally believe that every organization into the Middle East and North Africa should hold sustainability as a core philosophy. What we are noticing is this change of mindset and about sustainability. A new archetype is arriving with greater sense of pragmatism and consciousness to be part of a fragile world. This new archetype is distanced itself from the materialistic world and appreciate luxury for the experience it offers, for the enjoyment it offers. They have a passion which they like to share bound with their key driver. They are attached to bespoke and made to measure items and intimate events. In store, knowledge of the brand history, heritage plus deep understanding of how the product is made are paramount. There are the need of us becoming storytellers. The answer of the big picture of this world challenges start by visionary leaders. Today, more and more, the private sectors combine their efforts with public sectors and NGO to set the path in order to change the mindset and shape a different future. Today, the consumer like the government, the public and private sectors are totally part of this silent revolution, of consciousness. They are all becoming engaged actors with a clear social and environmental conscience. It's not a war anymore but real contribution. And to conclude, I believe that by combining our individual efforts, we will be able to contribute into this region sustainable future. Thank you.