Basel Abu-Ali – Get to know our VAB member
It’s a pleasure to introduce you to our member Basel Abu-Ali who joins the VAB community from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is an experienced and qualified business professional actively involved for over 25 years in business leadership roles across the region. He holds Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Northampton. Basel is now ramping up his career transition toward more governance and advisory board roles, working with groups like VAB, Advisory Board Centre (ABC) and MyFractionalCEO. He has extensive experience in the areas of finance, accounting and strategic management. You can also check out his recent article for VAB News here. Feel free to reach out to Basel to learn more about his professional journey.
What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?
Firstly, this is a phase of my career plan wherein I imagine myself sitting on the other side of the boardroom table as a non-executive director or advisory board member. Secondly, due to its high-level professional reputation mentioned by other colleagues and members, I recognised that VAB would be one of the "must do" steps I would need to take to achieve my long-term career goal concerning boards. I am very excited to learn, practise with my VAB peers, and add value to this unique community.
In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?
Actually, they can add value in several areas: finance, sustainability, governance, fintech and even in human resources and talent management. On the other hand, when boards lead by example, through their professional and ethical behaviour, this has a huge positive impact.
What would be your dream company/organisation to work with as a board advisor/NED?
I would probably say Google or Microsoft! Of course, one has the right to dream big and aim high because you never know when things will work out!
What book or podcast would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?
There are several valuable books that I could recommend; for example, Harvard Business Review's 10 Must Reads on Board Issues, The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett, and The Handbook of Board Governance: A Comprehensive Guide for Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Board Members by Richard LeBlanc. In addition to these, there are several institutes and websites that provide excellent courses and webinars such as the Corporate Governance Institute and the FT Board Director Programme.
