Kuwait – 08 February 2017: In order to maximize its banking services, Gulf Bank kick started 2017 with an exclusive workshop on "Innovation and Strategy" for its senior management. The workshop was conducted by the renowned Dr. Alexander Osterwalder, leading international innovation speaker, for the first time in Kuwait on Sunday, 29 January 2017 at Jumeirah Messilah Hotel.

Gulf Bank believes in fostering a culture of innovation amongst its employees, as well as differentiating itself by investing in its human capital. The "Strategy and Innovation" workshop aimed to equip executives with the latest strategic innovation tools needed to succeed. Its main objective was to hone their skills and further enhance their professional development in alignment with international standards.

Mrs. Salma Al-Hajjaj, General Manager for Human Resources at Gulf Bank, said: "Innovation has become a pivotal component to succeed in the banking industry today and Gulf Bank's strategic direction is based delivering innovative, easy to use products combined with superior customer service. As we strongly believe in investing in our staff, we felt this workshop conducted by one of the leading figures in this domain, Dr. Alexander Osterwalder, would be beneficial to Gulf Bank's senior management. It helped them with the needed tools and methodologies which will be invested in the overall Bank's strategy."

Mrs. Al-Hajjaj added:" We were proud to have Dr. Osterwalder to explore and discuss the world of innovation and strategy. Participants in his workshop were given practical tools and methodologies on the latest concepts that are used by multinational companies worldwide."

During the workshop Dr. Osterwalder highlighted the connection between innovation and strategy saying: "Value propositions and business models need to always be fundamentally challenged. Success can only be achieved with the right value proposition, the right business model, and great execution. And even then, you must always assess, is this the right model""

The three-hour workshop focused on innovation and its effective implementation that assure improvements in the implementation of new products and services. It also highlighted key methodologies on how to increase efficiency and ultimately profitability.

Dr. Osterwalder is a frequent speaker at Fortune 500 companies. He is also a lecturer in top universities such as Stanford, Wharton MIT and IESE. His practical methodologies, latest concepts and business tools are used by such companies as MasterCard, GE, Microsoft, and SAP, to name a few.

Dr. Osterwalder is a Swiss business theorist, author and consultant, known for his work on business modelling. In the late 2000s Osterwalder and a team of 470 co-creators published a very attractive and popular model for describing business models: the Business Model Canvas. The Business Model Canvas offers an excellent exemplary to develop ideas about the business model for monetizing data.

For more details about Gulf Bank initiatives, please visit the bank's website: www.e-gulfbank.com  or its social media accounts.