Talal Abu-Ghazaleh

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh (Arabic: طلال أبوغزاله) (born 22 April 1938 in Jaffa, Palestine) is the Chairman and Founder of international Jordan-based group Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg). Dubbed as the godfather of Arab accounting, Abu-Ghazaleh has also been credited for promoting the significance of Intellectual Property in the Arab region.

Quotes

 * Business can constitute an enormous force for goodness in society. Through its commitments to corporate citizenship and to the principles of the UNGC, the global business community can continue to create and deliver value to society.
 * July 5, 2007 at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, at the Palais de Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.


 * Moving to the forefront of advanced nations is not a choice but a national duty. This requires, among other things, erecting the best industrial property protection systems despite all challenges, particularly in the transition phase that we must endure.
 * November 28, 1999 at the National Seminar on Industrial Property and Technology Transfer in Arab States, Amman, Jordan.


 * With support from institutions like the United Nations as well as the donor community, governments can strengthen their national technological and scientific capacities by devising policies to link up to research networks, encourage technology transfer, and build indigenous capabilities through education and collaborative projects.
 * May 23, 2005, at the Eighth Session of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, Palais de Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.


 * Making the future and the road to the future wealth lies in the youth of the present and future, and rebuilding the nation’s institutions based on knowledgeable scientific foundations that require promising human capacities derived from college graduates. Universities are the makers of men, we are proud of their role and of the efforts of their administrators.
 * May 8, 2005, at the First Scientific Conference of the Faculty of Commerce – Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza Palestine.


 * An efficient telecommunications network is the foundation upon which an information society is built.
 * March 21, 2004, at the Arab ICT Regulators Forum, Movenpick Dead Sea, Jordan.


 * We can never be certain about the future and therefore we must continue to be flexible and adaptable so that we can react quickly to the needs of our clients and our market place.


 * A healthy, creative, open, growing, learning society will spontaneously create and develop the types of individual that the society needs. It will make development to economic and social adjustments all the more easy and natural. It will allow those of us in the private sector as well as government and civil society to correspond with each other and meet the needs of society in a positive way.
 * January 6, 2004, World Bank Video Series, Amman, Jordan.


 * The increasing speed of technological advancement and economic integration in recent years has highlighted the importance of intellectual property and put great stress on the ability of established national and international systems that administer IP rights to effectively serve the global community.
 * August 11, 2003, at the Jordan IP Week Conference, Amman, Jordan.


 * The goal of providing basic literacy and education to all the world’s people is still the most basic development challenge.
 * October 14, 2003, at the World Congress –Engineering and Digital Divide, Tunisia.


 * Governments should be role models of leadership and improve the utilization of ICT in all the governmental departments in order to improve the efficiency of governmental services and motivate ICT industries.
 * May 15, 2000, ESCWA Team of Experts Meeting, Amman, Jordan.


 * The foremost challenge is that of the knowledge revolution. Economic power will depend on creativity and innovation. Creation of wealth will move from traditional resources to the one asset: knowledge.
 * June 27, 1999, Crans Montana Forum, Switzerland.


 * Throughout all the years and in everything we do, we have focused most of all on the development of human capacity, beginning with our own professional staff, and leveraging their expertise to enrich the Arab community. We have embraced the concept of the ‘knowledge worker’ and have sought to empower our people and the Arab world’s people to dream, to imagine, and to create.


 * Creating a system to protect industrial and intellectual property is a prerequisite for the transfer of technology and consequently the resurgence of national technologies.
 * June 18, 2007, National Seminar on Industrial Property and Technology Transfer in Arab States, Amman, Jordan.


 * Human experience throughout the ages has been enhanced through learning, information and communication.
 * January 6, 2004, World Bank Video Series, Amman, Jordan.


 * In this century, technology will concentrate on the brain, whose heavenly potential, is yet to be realized.
 * April 1, 2001, First Arab Conference on Arabizing the Internet, Amman, Jordan.


 * The information revolution will lead us through a knowledge revolution to the wisdom revolution.
 * April 1, 2001, First Arab Conference on Arabizing the Internet, Amman, Jordan.


 * Despite the immense challenges that we have faced and continue to face, we refuse to indulge in negativity or pessimism. We are an organization that believes in empowering people to be their best.


 * E-Business will become the virtual market place in 20 years.
 * April 1, 2001, First Arab Conference on Arabizing the Internet, Amman, Jordan.


 * The internet plumbing years are over - The internet intelligent years are ahead.
 * April 1, 2001, First Arab Conference on Arabizing the Internet, Amman, Jordan.


 * Internet literacy must become universal within the Arab world.
 * April 1, 2001, First Arab Conference on Arabizing the Internet, Amman, Jordan.


 * Technology is not simply additive; it is more often exponential. An invention usually triggers other inventions.
 * April 1, 2001, First Arab Conference on Arabizing the Internet, Amman, Jordan.


 * The INFOSPHERE we are heading towards invokes the inherent risk of being the sphere of the developed, the few. Unless we can bridge the technological gap between the 20% and the 80% of the global population, we will be heading towards an ugly world with ugly consequences.
 * November 16, 1999, Amman, Jordan, Speech entitled : Technology in the Next Millennium.


 * Intellectual capital is the main determining factor and the base for economic and social development to any country.
 * Meeting the Challenges of Electronic Business” in Muscat, Oman, October 9, 2000.


 * I believe that I was lucky to have suffered. Some people don’t realize that in suffering there is great potential, because if you are deprived for any reason… Politically, financially, socially or otherwise… and if you set your mind in the right direction, you will find that the only way to survive is for you to excel, by being better so you can be treated better.
 * December 2006, Interview with Jordan Business magazine entitled “The Grass is Greener … On Both Sides”.


 * I wanted to be the exception to the other kids, but in the right way. We have a lot of suffering in our part of the world, but that suffering is, in a way, a blessing. Obviously, I could not afford to go to school without a scholarship, so that meant I had to excel in order to get one.
 * December 2006, Interview with Jordan Business magazine entitled “The Grass is Greener … On Both Sides”.


 * We call ourselves a “capacity building” organization; self-motivated and self-initiated capacity building. For example, in 30 years, I don’t think I have signed a check for the company.
 * December 2006, Interview with Jordan Business magazine entitled “The Grass is Greener … On Both Sides”.


 * "You will not be able to enjoy a good night’s sleep unless you’ve worked hard during the day"
 * April 2008.


 * "How do you achieve success? By two words: Correct decisions
 * How do you make correct decisions? By one word: Experience
 * How do you gain experience? By two words: Wrong decisions"
 * May 2009.