Entries Tagged 'LOG.Cafe' ↓

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman, Dubai World

“A good leader is one who can connect a bird’s-eye view with a worm’s-eye view of the world.” That’s how N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys, describes leadership. Having spent 12 hours with His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World and its subsidiary companies at sea level in the Algerian port of Djen Djen and at 45,000 feet aboard this private jet, I am qualified to say he is someone with a very good view of the world from any altitude or angle.

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Thomas Varghese, Driver, Nikai

Thomas Varghese seems angry. He doesn’t mince his words. That’s not to say he’s having a rough day or that he doesn’t like his job. He loves being a driver, he says and likes the three-tonne pick up he drives all around Dubai and Sharjah making deliveries for his company Nikai Electronics.

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With his low, raspy voice and smaller stature, combined with tall presence and a banker’s suit, my first impression of Mohammad Shafi, Director – Corporate Banking, HSBC, is that he looks somewhat like a sub-continental version of Michael Douglas’s character Gordan Gekko in the film Wall Street. And I start to wonder if he is as money hungry and aggressive as Gekko.

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Although he’ll never admit it, one can guess from a chat with him that Hussein Hachem is Aramex. The GCC CEO’s first job, after all, was with the company, and it may be his last. “Aramex gave me lots of opportunities from the time I joined,” he explains. “It has turned out to be a good decision. Ten years from now, I think I’ll still be around these offices.”

Hussein Hachem, CEO – GCC, Aramex

Hachem joined Aramex in their Management Trainee programme in 1990, right after he graduated from the American University of Beirut.Beirut was recovering from a civil war and Hachem took the job as way to leave the country. At a time when opportunities were limited, Hachem considers himself lucky to have gotten out.

And, luckily, Hachem’s career grew with the company. “When I joined, I was sent to Jordan for eight months of training,” he says. “After that I went to Kuwait to set up a new office. It was very exciting as we were witnessing the construction and rebuilding of the city after the Gulf war.” The company’s growth in Kuwait was staggering, says Hachem – a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

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Between the picture of a Togolese pineapple growing in his backyard he sends out to friends via email, the Mickey Mouse satchel bag hanging from the door knob of his office closet and a confession that he will still clean the upholstery of a plane at 3:00 am if need be, Tom Ronell, CEO, Istithmar World Aviation Holdings, clearly does not take himself too seriously.

Tom Ronell, CEO, Istithmar World Aviation Holdings

In fact, the son of Swiss musician parents who grew up in both “Mafioso” Brooklyn and “Soprano Country” New Jersey tells the story of a very serious career as if it were a joke.

“I credit myself for making the worst career move in aviation history,” he proclaims, explaining how he left his position as Vice President of Sales with Airbus to set up a western- style business airline in Russia for Boris Yeltsin.

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Ghaith Al Ghaith isn’t sure of his exact birth date. “In  the days I was born, not everyone had a birth certificate,” says the UAE national who serves as Executive Vice President for Commercial Operations Worldwide, Emirates. “I would say I was born around ’64, ’63.”

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Executive Vice President for Commercial Operations Worldwide, Emirates and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai’s new low -cost airline

“It’s one of these things that show you how dramatically things have changed here,” he adds.

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“In the past 17 years I have not turned off my mobile phone,” says Mahmood Amin, Chief Executive Officer, Group Security & Dubai Security Services, who often receives phone calls in the middle of the night. “But all the time I am smiling when I answer it,” he adds.

Mahmood Mohd. Amin, Chief Exec Officer, Group Security & Dubai Security Services

It’s no surprise Amin receives calls at all hours, considering he heads the security department for over 50 of Dubai’s most important organisations, including DP World, JAFZA, Dubai Maritime City, Tejari, Istithmar, Port Zayed and Dubai Drydocks World.

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When she worked as a business development manager in the IT industry, Nermeen Mahmoud managed a team of men in Saudi Arabia without ever going to the Kingdom. Because women are not allowed to work in Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud would travel from Dubai to Bahrain twice a month to meet up with her team.

“I never really needed to go there,” says the Cairo native, who now works as Business Development Manager for Dubai Logistics City (DLC), as she nibbles at a blueberry muffin at Costa Café in The Greens.

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The queue of people to see Des Vertannes at the Etihad booth at the World Air Cargo Event in Bahrain last month, resembled the queue outside Don Corleone’s office in ‘The Godfather Part 1′.

Des Vertannes, Executive Vice President, Etihad Crystal Cargo

It seemed every congress exhibitor and visitor was waiting to meet him, eager to pay his or her respects and talk business.

While he is far less frightful than Don Corleone – and will likely never make anyone sleep with the fishes – Vertannes does share on thing with the ‘Godfather’ – a commitment to family and community.

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David Christmas, regional director, Middle East, DHL Exel

Although he hasn’t measured himself since he was 22, David Christmas says he stands at around 6 feet 4 inches. “I like being tall,” he says. “It gives you a bit of confidence.”

When asked if he believes the theory that tall people are more likely to be successful, he says he’s inclined to agree. “I think it’s probably true. I think confidence is important and I do think the way you look, the way you stand, the way you talk, helps.”

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