The age of talentism in a digital world

By: Ali Sajwani, General Manager Operations

Talent is becoming the new capital and the core of a rising economic system that puts a premium on human resources as the driver of a more sustainable, new future world order.

As a concept, talentism was first coined by the founder of the World Economic Order, Dr. Klaus Schwab who, at the opening of popular event in Davos in 2013, asserted that talent was going to supplant capital as the primary driver of production in the future.

Schwab urged the world to recognise that entrepreneurship is actually the essence of capitalism today and while capital was the most important factor for success when capitalism was created, it is no longer the case.  He emphasised that it was "no longer appropriate" to call today's economic system capitalism but it is now rather based on "talentism," which has a particular emphasis on innovation.

While Schwab was onto something big, perhaps he underestimated just how integral technology would be to this new world order. I have always been a vocal advocate that technology is no longer the driver of business nowadays — it is the business.

Talented Tech Minds

That is why, at DAMAC, we believe that attracting and nurturing the right tech talent will help future-proof the Company and keep it relevant in the medium to long term future. DAMAC’s investment in new technologies such as Robotic Process Automation, Virtual Reality, Cloud Data Platforms, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Solutions, among others to develop a Total Experience (TX) strategy have not only helped improve and streamline customer experience, but also have attracted top tech talent to want to work with us and the exciting new technologies we are implementing.

I am proud to be leading DAMAC’s Information and Technology team which has bagged multiple awards for its achievements in digitisation, including best transformative project in real estate for our one-stop-shop community app implementation, DAMAC Living.

The app is just one example of how innovation can enhance customer experience and glean greater value from digital technologies.

Metaverse & Cryptocurrency

This commitment and drive to stay on top of tech trends has been my personal objective. Seeing way into the future and trying to capitalise on opportunities before the herd, we recently established D-Labs — a Company that aims to build its own digital cities in the Metaverse, becoming one of the pioneers in the GCC to do so.

While we have been a pioneer of digitisation for a while now, the past two years we have doubled down on our digitisation efforts, and this new initiative into the metaverse will only further leverage our digital footprint. As well as updating our systems, processes and operations across departments, we have been investing in building a strong team of skilled and talented experts to help support our ambitions of being a digital leader.

Another exciting announcement made this year was the facilitation of Bitcoin and Ethereum for property sales. We believe the purchase of property through cryptocurrency will revolutionise the future of real estate and provide convenience to real estate investors worldwide.

So here, we see just how much technology adds value to our operations, by giving our customers even more options for transactions — making it easier and more seamless.

People remain integral

With these revolutionary initiatives towards a futuristic digital world, I am excited for the road ahead and it is imperative we recruit and attract the sharpest tech minds from around the world to help us realise our ambitions.

While technology and digitisation continue to drive businesses forward, I believe that people and process remain at the centre of operations and I am working hand in hand with our award-winning talent acquisition here to ensure we have the right human capital to take DAMAC into the future.

-Ali Sajwani is General Manager of Operations at DAMAC and CEO of D-Labs