Jenny Hewson

Government Administration

GASCO is an operating Company of 6500+ employees engaged in the extraction of Natural Gas Liquids from associated and natural gas. ​Gasco was seeking to establish and embed a ‘leadership culture’ which nurtures and develops talent, ensuring the next generation of UAE leaders. My role was to establish then lead the department responsible for working with GASCO's Executive Team and high potential employees to consolidate leadership skills and refine competencies associated with developing vision, corporate direction, and exceptional performance.

The Dean is the senior administrator and has responsibility for both the administrative aspects of the School, and for the leadership of the academic body. Responsible to the Board of Trustees, the Dean oversees all aspects of the day-to-day management of KMBS including corporate governance, HR, finance, accreditation, marketing, student issues, curriculum, and facility management. KMBS is an outreach partner of the Maastricht School of Management (MSM) in Holland, and delivers MSM's MBA qualification in Kuwait.

As Chief Project Controller for the largest Real estate and investment company in Kuwait, the National Real Estate Company of Kuwait (NREC) I managed a diverse project portfolio spanning 7 countries. Projects under my direct supervision included the design and construction of a USD 1.2b retail shopping mall in Abu Dhabi. Other projects included commercial towers, hotels, industrial warehousing, residential precincts and community infrastructure. The portfolio under my supervision included Kuwait, the UAE, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya and Djibouti. Sound financial skills in the preparation of budgets, the monitoring, analysis and reporting of expenditure against performance indicators, and financial modeling underpinned this role.

In 2001 I developed a business concept which led to the establishment of the first Private University in Kuwait, the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK). Accredited by Australian universities and Vocational colleges, ACK commenced the delivery of internationally recognized diplomas and degrees in 2004. My pre-opening role involved initial scoping and feasibility studies, market research, sourcing of investors, regulatory approvals, land acquisition, campus master-planning, design and construction management, auspicing agreements and curriculum design, HR planning and recruitment, marketing and government liaison. The design and implementation of several successful Offset Projects was another notable achievement in Kuwait, and was linked to the establishment and capital expanison of ACK. This involved negotiating and working with multinational companies such as Boeing (Macdonald Douglas), Lockheed Martin, Northrop Gruman and the French Group, Cofras. This role was underpinned by my practical experience in innovative project development and my knowledge of Kuwait's government, regulatory, corporate, technical and legal environments.

The Director of Corporate Services was the Senior Administrator of the College and was directly responsible to the Chief Executive Officer for all services supporting academic activity in the College. Responsibilities included; Personnel, Finance, Library, Academic Registrar’s Office, Technical and Property Services, Information Technology, Residences and Planning, and Government liaison. This position provided the shift from my previous academic roles into the management of higher education.