Business Extra

Pfizer executive on pharma’s post-pandemic future

Last week, the World Health Organization announced that Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking an end - albeit a symbolic one - to the pandemic.

Pfizer, maker of one of the most-used Covid-19 jabs and an antiviral pill, hit a record-breaking $100 billion in revenues in 2022, spurred by earnings from those treatments.

As the pandemic wanes and demand for treatments drops off, the New York-headquartered pharmaceuticals company is in a "transition year", chief executive Albert Bourla said on a first-quarter earnings call.

Patrick van der Loo, a regional president who oversees the Middle East, Russia and Africa, talks to host Kelsey Warner this week about what a transition means for the world's biggest pharmaceutical company by revenue, how the pandemic changed drug development cycles and what the Gulf's potential is for taking a piece of the booming life sciences industry.

In this episode:

Pfizer's transition post-pandemic and its role now (0m 20s)
The velocity of drug discovery and the impact of the pandemic (6m 52s)
The UAE's role in the pharmaceutical industry (9m 14s)
Public health challenges and the ambitions in the region (17m 37s)

 

Read more on our website:

• Pfizer drops sales guidance after posting 47% jump in Q4 profits
• Stem cell therapies promise breakthrough in Dubai life sciences
• Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and G42 launch tech-focused healthcare company M42

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e& group CEO on Careem Super App deal

Fifth Wall eyes Gulf as it tackles real estate’s climate problem

Brendan Wallace, co-founder and managing partner of Fifth Wall, the world’s largest venture capital firm at the intersection of real estate and tech, joins host Kelsey Warner this week.

Fifth Wall had a massive 2022, closing its $866 million Fund III in December, the biggest property start-up investment fund ever, on the heels of a $500 million climate fund it closed last July.

The LA-based VC fund brings together some of the largest owners and operators of real estate globally, including here in the UAE, with Aldar and Damac as limited partners.
Brendan and Kelsey discuss how Fifth Wall is evaluating start-ups amid the market correction, where he sees untapped opportunity in the Middle East and why real estate is critical to the climate conversation.

In this episode:

Defining PropTech and the future of real estate (1m 01s)

What opportunities does Fifth Wall see in the Middle East region? (5m 15s)

Evaluating tech ecosystems (6m 54s)

AI and start-ups (9m 39s)

What is a parent-friendly workplace?

A new nationwide programme in the UAE, the Parent-friendly Label, is aimed at identifying employers supporting parents who are juggling work and home life.

Laila Al Hassan, chief culture officer and lead of the Parent-friendly Label at the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, talks to host Kelsey Warner about what inspired the programme and the criteria organisations need to be considered parent-friendly.

Ms Al Hassan says the programme aims to support working families in the UAE, where a majority of parents are expats without a typical family support system.

She explains that parent-friendly policies go beyond just offering nursing rooms, to understanding the needs of employees and considering their wellbeing. To get this label, companies go through an assessment to check if they meet certain criteria, such as parental leave, family care, family wellbeing innovation and company culture, Ms Al Hassan says.

In this episode:

What is the Parent-friendly Label and which criteria is used in awarding the label? (0m 41s)

How can a company apply? (3m 59s)

The benchmarks for the Parent-friendly Label (5m 39s)

Policies parents should look for when applying at a parent-friendly company (7m 12s)

CEO of OSN on Ramadan and watch trends

 

Ramadan is the time of year when consumers in the Middle East tend to up their TV, streaming and media consumption.

Joe Kawkabani, chief executive of OSN Group, one of the largest entertainment content companies in the region, joins Business Extra this week to talk about trends in streaming this Ramadan.

OSN is investing in data science to know more about their customers’ preferences and consumption behaviour to better recommend content to them, Mr Kawkabani said. The privately held media conglomerate is open for acquisitions and partnerships, he added.

In this episode:

OSN's content, partners and viewership (0m 33s)

Ramadan viewership trends and the subscription model (4m 03s)

OSN Originals and competing for attention (7m 27s)

Recruiting talent and what's next for streaming services (13m 37s)

AP’s top editor on AI, fact-checking and journalism

The senior vice president and executive editor of Associated Press, Julie Pace, joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week to talk about the transformation of the news industry in the age of artificial intelligence.

Ms Pace was appointed to this position in September 2021. She leads AP’s global news operations and oversees news content and all formats from journalists across the world, with 250 locations in more than 100 countries.

Moving from text only to a multi-format platform, AP is expanding in digital advertising, e-commerce and fact checking, Pace said.

She said AP now considers itself a digital news company to help its customers to meet the demands of a new type of audience.

In this episode:

The AP's business model and its mission (0m 45s)

Fact-checking and social media (6m 25s)

Evolving media and the revolution of AI (11m 48s)

Covering the US election and the future of work in media (17m 28s)

Gary Vee on ChatGPT, doom-scrolling and why he still believes in NFTs

Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee, documents his life on social media, dispensing advice on entrepreneurship, technology and media to his more than 44 million followers.

As an early investor in Facebook, Uber and Twitter and chairman of VaynerX and chief executive of VaynerMedia, the serial entrepreneur and investor has strong views on ChatGPT, social media use and NFTs.

He joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week from Abu Dhabi.

In this episode:

The state of consumer culture, content creation and the role of influencers (0m 48s)

The evolution of content and the influence of ChatGPT (5m 13s)

Creating value with NFTs and decentralisation (7m 26s)

Advice for SMBs, opting out social media and staying motivated (11m 44s)

What did we learn from four-day work week largest trial?

Founder and managing director of 4 Day Week Global, Charlotte Lockhart, joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week to share the results of the world’s largest trial to reduce working week.

Ms Lockhart led the trial with dozens of employers and thousands of employees in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The results showed that reducing work time doesn’t affect productivity of employees, highlighting that some companies were able to reduce official work hours by 20% without decreasing their pay.

It also revealed a significant decrease in rates of stress and illness among the approximately 2,900 staff who participated in the shorter working week.

Supply chains are ready for disruption, according to investors

Sacha Haider, a partner at Global Ventures, joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week to discuss supply chain technology. Haider is the youngest partner in venture capital in the region and she is leading the investment team, focusing on technology and emerging markets.

In this podcast episode, they speak on investing in emerging markets, access to digital services and goods, and recent consumption trends.

Looking at building a sustainable future, Haider said that supply chain sustainability is among the main areas of importance, in addition to agriculture technology, food security and energy scarcity.

In this episode:

Sasha Haider's on investing in supply chains (0m 32s)

Tech and disruption of supply chains (6m 30s)

The consumers that will drive the market (11m 00s)

Initiatives in the UAE that will make it more than a hub (18m 47s)

 

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MBZUAI president on careers in AI and the real concern for ChatGPT

Professor Eric Xing, the president of Abu Dhabi's Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, joins host Kelsey Warner this week after the university graduated its inaugural class.

They speak on jobs prospects for the fresh grads, the less-discussed risks of ChatGPT and other newsmakers in the field of AI.

In this episode:

Prof Eric Xing on the moment AI is having right now (0m 22s)

The use of AI and its effects on academia (7m 08s)

MBZUAI and putting UAE on the map (12m 30s)

Finding the possibilities for UAE (17m 34s)

 

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