ABCK - AmCham Kuwait held its 37th Annual Gala and Excellence Awards event at the Grand Hyatt Hotel – Kuwait with over 120 AmCham members and non-members in attendance who celebrated together with ABCK, their accomplishments throughout the past year. The event was done in collaboration with our Platinum Sponsor, Kuwait Resources House (KRH), Tariq Alghanim Limited, and our Travel & Tourism partner for this event - IFA International Travel & Tourism.

The event began with opening remarks by AmCham’s Chairman, Pete Swift who welcomed member companies and friends from across different industries in Kuwait to participate in this event. A special welcome was given to the Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, James Holtsnider, our U.S. Embassy guests, guests of honor, and awardees, AmCham Kuwait Champions, VIPs, Chairman’s Club Members, Corporate Members, Small & Medium Enterprise Members, and Individual Members.

Swift then introduced the Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, James Holtsnider, who thanked AmCham for their great contribution throughout Discover America Week, and the plans for further collaboration between the U.S. government and Kuwait in order to enhance bilateral relations, as he made remarks regarding the steps both governments are taking to create a more collaborative and positive relationship between Kuwait and the United States.

Swift thanked the Chargé d’Affaires for his speech, and then called on AmCham Kuwait’s Vice-Chair, Dr. Arezou Harraf to recognize the Gala and Awards’ Dinner sponsors. AmCham Kuwait’s Platinum Sponsors for the 37th Annual Gala were: Kuwait Resources House (KRH) represented by Mohammed AlMuaili, CEO, the Silver Sponsors: Tariq Alghanim Limited (TAG), represented by Simon Khayat, General Manager, and IFA International Travel and Tourism, represented by Ayman Sawires, General Manager. After the recognition of the sponsors, the live entertainment was resumed, and guests were invited to enjoy the dinner service provided by the Grand Hyatt. Paola de la Roche, Executive Director of AmCham Kuwait spoke about the organization’s achievements and mentioned that this event aims to celebrate our achievement together as AmCham recognized some of the entities that have supported the organization since the beginning.

Awardees: Leadership Impact: Mr. James Holtsnider, Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy . Honorary Members / Founders Awards were: Fred Shuaibi, Vice-Chair of KNDR & Chair of the Energy Focus Group of AmCham Kuwait, Jafar Behbehani. Chairman of TriStar Motorcycles Establishment, Lionel Gittens, Managing Director of American General Trading (AGT), and Dr. Ernest Alexander Legal Advisor of Al Otaibi & Partners. Longest Service Award – Jenson Joy, Operations Manager of AmCham Kuwait. 2022 Champions Awards- Kuwait & Gulf Link (KGL), Gas & Oil Field Services Company (GOFSCO), Lockheed Martin, Kuwait Resources House (KRH). Focus Group Award - Women in Business Focus Group (WIB FG), Represented by Dr. Arezou Harraf, Chair of the WIB FG. Lastly the Most Active Focus Group Member Award was given to Talal Al-Wazzan Member of the FMCG/F&B Focus Group and Healthcare Focus Group.

The AmCham Kuwait team, represented by Samar Bqaeen, PR and Event Coordinator, held a raffle for participants to finalize the evening. The first prize won was two baskets of PepsiCo products. The second prize won were five vouchers from Del Monte Arabia. The third prize won were three vouchers from Rentokil Boecker - free yearly pest control contracts for residential estates. The fourth prize won were four vouchers from Grand Hyatt for lunch or dinner at Stambul and Liberte restaurants within the hotel. The fifth prize in the raffle was six vouchers from Al-Diwan Gate for General Trading & Contracting Co. The sixth prize was five vouchers from AAB World. The seventh prize was two gift vouchers from Harley-Davidson. Finally, the highlighted raffle donated to our Annual Gala & Excellence Awards was provided by IFA International Travel, a complementary business class ticket to the United States of America.

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ABCK-AmCham Kuwait:

Is a non-profit organization operating since 1985 and is composed of Fortune 500 corporations, small and medium-sized companies, and prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs, both American and Kuwaiti. ABCK-AmCham Kuwait has acted as an advocate for American interests in the state of Kuwait. For More Information, please visit our website at www.amchamkuwait.org or follow us on our social media channel @abck1985