Global Leaders In Corporate Health, Wellness & Productivity

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, Dec. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM) and its WorkPlace Wellness Alliance (created by the World Economic Forum | powered by IHPM) held its 15^th Annual Global Health & Productivity Conference in Dubai, UAE at the World Trade Center and its 11^th Annual EU Forum at Nestle Global Headquarters, Vevey, Switzerland.  At each location, an IHPM President's Award was given to an outstanding individual leader, from Dubai Holding and Saudi Aramco.  In Dubai, two leading companies in Corporate Health and Productivity Management (CHPM) were recognized:  American Express and Dubai Holding.  IHPM has been the global leader in recognizing best in class corporate health and productivity management programs and employer leaders since 2000.  To date, 56 awards have been presented to companies from around the world in all industrial sectors and government.  "The CHPM Award represents world-class achievement in making work force health a strategic investment in business performance, demonstrating leadership commitment to people as valuable "human capital" and to establishing a "culture of health" throughout the organization that sets it in the top rank globally of the best companies to work and produce for in the future." said Sean Sullivan.  This year's recipients are:

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• American Express, recipient of an IHPM Corporate Health and Productivity Management, Level I award has been in business for 165 years, employing 53,500 people globally and is the World's largest credit card issuer by purchase volume. Recognized for its global Healthy Living program, launched in 2009.  Healthy Living is available in 22 countries and has 17 on-site Healthy Living Wellness Centers globally.  Ninety percent of employees have access to Healthy Living programs and services.

"American Express' Healthy Living program has deeply enriched our employees' lives since its 2009 launch," expressed Dr. Wayne N. Burton, Chief Medical Officer, "Over the past six years, our program has successfully expanded to more than 30 countries, and continues to grow as we tailor our services to the needs of our workforce. We are thrilled to be recognized for our commitment to enhancing employee health across our organization and are excited to carry on our innovation in the field of corporate wellness."  Dr. Burton joined American Express in 2009 as their Global Corporate Medical Director to help strategically guide the Global Healthy Living program.  Together with Professor Dee Edington at the U of Michigan, Burton published the landmark study on the Role of Health Risk Factors and Disease on worker productivity in telephone call center workers, and also was recipient of the IHPM Inaugural CHPM Award  (presented to Bank One in Toronto Canada 2000) in recognition of his health and productivity research.  Dr. Burton has authored more than 100 publications on employee health and productivity.  American express ranks 8^th on Fortune Magazine's 2015 America's Most Admired Companies list.

• Dubai Holding was judged a winner of IHPM's International Corporate Health and Productivity Management Award and is the first UAE company recognized for improving employee health and wellbeing.  Dubai Holding, established in 2004, is a global investment holding company with interests in 24 countries and employs 20,000 people from 121 nationalities.  Dubai Holding's cohesive wellness structure was achieved in two phases.  In 2003 its Wellness Committee was designated to align its programme across the group as part of its Wellness strategy; and in 2007, Wellness was placed under direct oversight of the Chief Operating Officer, Fadel Al Ali as a supporting arm of the business along with Finance, HR and other divisions.   As part of the Wellness strategy, Dubai Holding sponsors some of UAE's best sporting events such as Dubai Marathon, Vertical Marathon and Women's Run in addition to blood donation drives, GX classes, Weight Loss Challenge and team building activities for employees.

Sean Sullivan, President and CEO of IHPM, commented: "Dubai Holding and American Express join an illustrious group of corporate leaders from around the world who have received IHPM's Corporate Health & Productivity Management (CHPM) Award over the past 15 years.

• In addition to Dubai Holding, receiving an International Corporate Health and Productivity Management Award, Chairman of Dubai Holding Wellness Committee, Cedric Betis, was presented the President's Award for demonstrating individual leadership in building and implementing a successful Health and Productivity Management model at Dubai Holding. The award positions him as an example for others in companies in the Gulf region to emulate.

Cedric joins an impressive fraternity of corporate wellness champions including Dr. Catherine Baase, Global Director of Health Services for the Dow Chemical Company; Dr William Bunn, Vice President of Health, Safety & Productivity for Navistar International; Zorianna Hyworon, CEO of InfoTech; Dr. Michael Drupp, Director of the AOK Institute in Hannover, Germany and Samantha Horseman, Wellcare Administrator for Saudi Aramco.

Mr. Betis took the opportunity to present Dubai Holding's eight-year journey to building a culture of wellness across all its companies through the success of the Corporate Wellness Programme. The genesis of the Programme, he explained, dates back to 2007 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He discussed how he, with Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Bin Byat's support, developed a measurable action plan in light of chronic diseases prevalent in the region.   "I am delighted to be honoured for my efforts in growing Dubai Holding's Corporate Wellness Programme from just an idea to a full blown-out campaign that now also resonates with the wider public. It is my pleasure to be spearheading this programme which has without doubt become a key pillar of Dubai Holding. Wellness to us is much more than a clinical view of health risks -- it is a lifestyle and a personal choice that requires intrinsic motivation. We reach down to each of our 22,000 employees and try to influence a sustainable change in behaviour. And to that effect, I would like to thank Ahmad Bin Byat for truly leading by example and being an inspiring role model for my colleagues and myself."

Dubai Holding's events and activities garner increasing levels of participation amongst employees and the wider public each year - Dubai Marathon 2015 alone saw an unprecedented participation from 2,436 employees. Funds raised through Dubai Holding's Corporate Wellness programme's events and activities go towards their official charity Al Jalila Foundation's Obesity Research Fund. Cedric emphasized the importance of assessing the outcomes of such wellness interventions and the effects of having a supportive environment in the offices, and shared with the audience the metrics in place.

• Brent Mattson, PhD, Director, Management & Professional Development Department, at global energy leader Saudi Aramco, based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, recipient of IHPM'sGlobal Leadership Award for Advancing the Field of Leadership Development in Health and Productivity Management (HPM).

VEVEY, SWITZERLAND, November 2015/ IHPM President & CEO, Sean Sullivan commends Saudi Aramco's executive leadership yet again, by presenting Brent Mattson, PhD, the IHPM Global Leadership Award for Advancing the Field of Leadership Development in Health and Productivity Management (HPM), given only when someone has demonstrated leadership by taking action to advance Health and Productivity Management.  Brent Mattson, PhD has made a significant knowledge contribution in the development and implementation of the Saudi Aramco leadWELL program and innovative research for the emergent Health & Productivity Management Industry. 

LeadWELL, designed in continuation of building an integrated health and productivity management model, marks Saudi Aramco as a global leader in making health an investment in human capital – this time through excellence in leadership training and development. ‎ The leadWELL program sets Saudi Aramco out ahead by making HPM practice integral to the professional development of its senior managers. This program, founded on the idea of human energy management, sets a new global standard in the HPM field.

LeadWELL was developed and implemented by the Human Energy Management team in conjunction with the Excelsior Consulting Group of Atlanta, Georgia in May 2014. Since the initial launch it now is an integral part of the formal leadership training at Saudi Aramco for leaders at all levels known as Leadership Series.

Saudi Aramco played a leading role in the establishment and development of the Work Place Wellness Alliance, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, provided a case study from Saudi Aramco for the published report distributed by the Forum at its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and has since become a member of the new Global Steering Group of the Alliance after it was transitioned to IHPM in 2013.

About IHPM (Learn More) | IHPM's mission is to Advance Health & Performance Globally, which is an important reason the World Economic Forum selected the Institute to continue the global effort of its WorkPlace Wellness Alliance.  IHPM does this in part by showcasing leading companies around the world through its regional Chapters; Saudi Aramco leads the IHPM-MENA Chapter as one of its professional groups, and sets an example for other companies to emulate in bringing the HPM model into their workplaces.  The IHPM works with companies across the globe to help them establish the full value of employee health as a business asset and an investment in workplace productivity and corporate performance.

Contact: Deborah Love, EVP 
Deborah@ihpm.org     phone:  +1.480.305.2100