< Previous20 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 TALK HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? A restless entrepreneur who enjoys building things and people. I try to be a source of energy. I believe that there is an obligation for someone like me, i.e., someone with Arabic roots who lived all his life in the West, to contribute to the region. HOW WOULD OTHERS DESCRIBE YOU? The words most frequently used to describe me would be ‘contagiously energetic’, followed by ‘impatient’ and ‘people person’. WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR? I prefer ‘personal contribution’ rather than ‘career achievement’. Looking back on the past 20 years, I would focus on the people that have visibly accelerated their personal development due to my direct personal contribution. To me, that’s the biggest source of professional satisfaction. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? I enjoy the fact that I do not regard this as work. I am enormously privileged that my profes- sional life is more or less in line with my personal interests. To me, it’s more of a passion that I am allowed to follow while being compensated for it. DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS? I believe everything in life happens for a reason. My religion calls it destiny. The short answer is: No. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT? My four children, aged between five months and six years. WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN BUSINESS? I want to create something that still exists 25 years from now, that my children are proud of, and that has satisfied many, many people. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU VALUE MOST IN OTHERS? Integrity, ownership, ambition, and consistency. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? To be able to witness how people grow with the right coaching and the right challenges. IS THERE A QUOTE YOU TRY TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY? There are many quotes that I constantly refer to. My current desktop background is, “my job is not to be easy on people. My job is to make them better”. FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW Q+A MUHAMMAD CHBIB, EX-CEO, TAJAWALJA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 21 HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? I am driven, ambitious, and generous to the people I’m close to, but impatient and hungry for success. WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IN LIFE? Setting up a brand new business alone. It has been the greatest challenge and achievement simultaneously, with a large number of lessons learned along the way. WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST FEAR? Rejection – but as an entrepreneur, this has be- come something to embrace and use as a source of energy and drive to succeed. WHAT IS THE SINGLE LARGEST PROBLEM FACING YOUR INDUS- TRY TODAY? Access to funding. At all levels of development startups across the ecosystem are being starved of access to the capital needed to help them grow. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT WORKING AT YOUR COMPANY? Creating impact through data. Our goal is to cre- ate transparency for stakeholders, helping them to make informed decisions, which in turns leads to impactful and meaningful change. WHAT VIRTUE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST IN OTHER PEOPLE? The ability to overcome adversity! I am in awe of people that confront challenges and take pleas- ure in success when the odds are against them. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE? Determination, perseverance and a thick skin. To be successful, you need a lot of self-belief and the willingness to overcome any challenges and to take punches along the way. WHAT’S THE ONE PRODUCTIVITY TIP YOU WISH EVERYONE ELSE KNEW? To help me sleep well at night, I put my phone in another room far out of my reach. A good night sleep sets you up for a productive following day. HOW DO YOU MAKE DECISIONS? I am a big believer in listening to others, whether they be customers, investors or advisors. I will canvass opinion but then take a decision and stick to it without hesitation. FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW PHILIP BAHOSHY, CEO OF MAGNiTT TALK Q+A22 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 TALK FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW Q+A EMMA BANKS, GENERAL MANAGER, JUMEIRAH RESTAURANT GROUP HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? Energetic, resilient, hard working, competitive, results focused and determined. Doing my best at balancing being somewhat of a worka- holic alongside a wife and mother! I am also a natural worrier. HOW WOULD OTHERS DESCRIBE YOU? I hope the above! I think my team would see me as demanding, clear in my expectations but sup- portive. I don’t suffer fools easily as well. I never forget even the smallest detail, which can be a tad annoying for my team! My husband and daughter think I worry and plan too much which is true as well. I don’t relax very easily. I tried yoga and failed. WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR? Running the JRG business as its GM and being highly commended in the Leaders in Industry F&B Lifetime achievements Awards in 2016 and 2017. Maybe not the bridesmaid next year! WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? The people, and how no two days are the same. DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS? Not moving to the GCC earlier. It’s a great place to live and work especially in the field of food and beverage. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT? My family, job, animal welfare and spinning (RPM). WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN BUSINESS? To continue to lead JRG and support Dubai Holdings in its vision to grow the business and manage and operate the best food and bever- age concepts in the region. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU VALUE MOST IN OTHERS? Passion, energy, authenticity, honesty, creativity, a team player and those who have fun at work! WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Walking on the beach and spinning. I do my best thinking during these activities; the evolving city of Dubai and the great F&B concepts in the city; my family and my team. WHO ARE YOUR ROLE MODELS? Is it bad to say that I don’t have any in particular? I’ve been inspired, supported and developed by various mentors during my ca- reer who I am very grateful to for shaping me into the leader I am now. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST LUXURY? My four rescue pets (three cats and a dog), which in Dubai cost a fortune. IS THERE A QUOTE YOU TRY TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY? In business “what gets measured gets done” and in general “lets crack on”. JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 23 CAN YOU NAME A PERSON WHO HAS HAD AN IMPACT ON YOU AS A LEADER OR MENTOR? I believe that the best mentor is one who uses the tough love. That would without a doubt, be my wife. She reminds me to practise what I preach. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Results, and impacting others positively. WHAT’S ONE THING MANY PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU? That I’m a qualified swimming pool technician. WHAT’S A PRODUCTIVITY TIP EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW? Checklists. From my morning routine to remem- bering to have lunch. I urge everyone to use checklists if they want to perform at their best. IF YOU WERE TO GIVE SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT IN BUSINESS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? You will never be perfect, but you must always strive to be. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? My Raymond Weil watch that was given to me on my 18th birthday by my mum and my grandmother. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST LUXURY IN YOUR LIFE? The luxury of travel. That we live in an area of the world that allows us to visit so many great places. Our ability to do so is something that I treat as an absolute luxury. WHAT MAKES YOU GET OUT OF BED EACH DAY? My morning routine, my loved ones, and know- ing that each day presents new opportunities. QUOTE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY? Keep your powder dry. In other words, always be prepared and exercise integrity in every- thing that you do. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR 18-YEAR-OLD SELF? Buy Amazon stock. HOW DO YOU RELAX AND SWITCH OFF FROM THE OFFICE? I love to read. In fact, I read a new book every week or so. FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW PETER SKUDUTIS, GENERAL MANAGER, ZERO GRAVITY TALK Q+A24 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 TALK TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR CAREER BEFORE YOU TOOK UP THE ROLE? My career began with IHG in the early 90’s, after finishing Hotel School in Les Roches, Switzerland. I excelled in the commercial and F&B branches of the hospitality industry. I have been with the company for 18 years now and a total of 26 years in the hospitality industry. IF ALL GOES WELL, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE NEXT DECADE? Doing another pre-opening position in Asia before moving into a senior regional role. WHAT’S THE SINGLE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING YOUR INDUSTRY/COMPANY TODAY? I would not discount that the Middle East is experiencing an oversupply of hotel rooms. The average revenue rate is a big challenge HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE CREATIVE THINKING? Roundtable discussions with the team where I challenge them to come up with ideas that may be unconventional while reassuring them that all ideas are welcome. I am a very inclusive leader. CAN YOU NAME A PERSON WHO HAS HAD AN IMPACT ON YOU AS A LEADER? My first director of sales and marketing, two decades ago. She knew how to make me push myself and this set the foundation for me. THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YOU’VE HAD TO MAKE? Coming to Dubai while my husband needed to stay back home. WHAT IS A LUXURY YOU TAKE TIME OUT FOR IN YOUR LIFE? Travel with the family. This is what I look forward to everything year. It keeps me going WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE GROWING UP? A Hotelier. I am living my dream ANY DAILY RITUALS TO PREPARE YOU FOR THE DAY? A silent prayer and a list of what I need to accomplish for the day QUOTE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY “There is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices and persistence” – Michelle Obama. FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW Q+A PATRIA PUYAT, GENERAL MANAGER, HOLIDAY INN DUBAI FESTIVAL CITY JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 25 TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO SISTERS? Initially, I joined The Grooming Company Holding as Franchise Director, to help the company scale locally and internationally. A few months later an opportunity came to lead Sisters and I welcomed it. I saw a lot of synergies between keeping a foot in operations and another in business expansion. WHAT MAKES YOU GET OUT OF BED EACH DAY? I am very fortunate that I have such great passion for what I do. I have been working in the beauty industry for around 20 years and I can’t see myself working in any other field. WHAT MAKES FOR SATISFIED CUSTOMERS? The journey. From the moment you step into Sisters, you should feel taken care of, whether it’s in between services, being offered a drink, educated on the treatments and home care products, to re-booking or asking how the service was. A client should feel pampered from the moment they enter until they check out. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO BE A GOOD LEADER? What can be nicer than making a positive difference to other people’s lives? The desire to help develop people to become a better version of themselves is what drives me and pushes me to be a better leader each day. IS THERE A PRACTICE YOU TRY TO INSTILL IN YOUR TEAM THAT HELPS DELIVER QUALITY EXPERIENCES? Training is key! Hence, we have extensive and continuous training programs in place and we lead by example. I make it a habit to constantly visit the branches, listen to what the team requires and come to a solution that can help support them. Like our clients, our team also needs to feel valued. There is no ‘I’ in team and mine knows that we are here to thrive together successfully. WHAT IS A PRODUCTIVITY TIP EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW? Get a head start. Before leaving the office for the night, take a few minutes to look over the next day’s commitments. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE? Be very well-prepared and aware of what you are stepping into, and be eager to learn. Always keep FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW VALERIE REYNAERT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SISTERS BEAUTY LOUNGE the faith that you can and will succeed in the end, regardless of the difficulties. Build a strong team; always look for great people and never compromise. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR OWN 18-YEAR OLD SELF? If I could do it all over again, I would do it in exactly the same way. HOW DO YOU RELAX AND SWITCH OFF FROM WORK? Reading and diving! I find words extremely powerful and every book I read takes me on a completely different journey. Also, I’m an advanced diver. I can be on the water for hours and feel extremely connected with the ocean. Being in tune with nature is a luxury that is completely taken granted for. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? AND BIGGEST LUXURY? This has to be my award for the EIDEAL Santi Business Leadership, this recognition was the first of its kind in the region and knowing that all my hard work throughout the years had been recognised was immensely gratifying. My biggest luxury? Living a happy and healthy life! TALK Q+A26 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 TALK HOW DO YOU PURSUE DIVERSITY IN YOUR ORGANISATION? It starts with products that must be designed to the technical specifications of the regional markets and countries concerned. Diversity in the team is, for Miele, not only a matter of decency and propriety, but also an approach which makes sound economic sense. WHAT MAKES MIELE’S PRODUCTS STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD? Our ‘Immer Besser’ brand promise, expressing our pursuit of being ‘forever better’ than the competition and striving to become better than we already are. We are assisted by our focus on first-class domestic and commercial machines and by our continuous positioning in the premium and luxury segments. So, we strive not only to satisfy customers but to delight them by offering that little bit more. IS THERE A LEADER WHO HAS HAD A PARTICULAR IMPACT ON YOUR OWN WORK ETHIC? My own most important adviser and mentor was and indeed, still is, my father, through his calm leadership style. He listened carefully, packed criticism into suggestions and visited employees in their offices instead of summoning them. Apart from that, former BMW CEO Eberhard von Kuenheim impressed me greatly as a leader. I learned a lot from him when I first worked as a trainee at BMW and later as a young sales executive. He demanded a lot, but also gave me a lot of trust and freedom. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DETERMINANT OF A PERSON’S PROGRESS IN A WORKPLACE SUCH AS YOURS? We believe in trusting them to assume responsibility and also to be able to make mistakes – from which they must learn. Employees should not just driven by career thinking, but, more importantly, from a sense of identification with their duties and the company at large. WHICH CHARACTERISTICS SHOULD LEADERS POSSESS? Authenticity in the way they come across, consistency in both their actions and speech – and the ability to motivate those around them. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Good conversations, good books and impressions from my many journeys all over the world. Relaxing FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW Q+A DR REINHARD ZINKANN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO-PROPRIETOR OF THE MIELE GROUP works best with classical music, especially opera, and sailing. I am also very interested in history and art. A MOTTO TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY? I consider the inheritance of my father to be a gift on loan from my son. FINISH THIS SENTENCE, “THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE IF ONLY….” People were more tolerant, more generous and less dogmatic. JA N UA RY 2 0 1 9 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 27 WHAT LED YOU TO THE GROOMING COMPANY? I have been a regular and loyal client at N.Bar, one of The Grooming Company’s (TGC) brands, since it opened in 2001, I. In 2012, I had the opportunity to start working at TGC with Negin Fattahi Dasmal, the founder of 1847, N.Bar, and JetSet. It was an incredible opportunity to learn the business from the best there is in the industry. WHAT ABOUT YOUR JOB MAKES YOU GET UP OUT OF BED EACH DAY? I love what I do. I love the people I work with and the industry. Everyone in the team – 500 employees and counting – has something to teach me every day. My team’s passion, dedication, and hard work drive me to want to succeed every day. WHAT AT THE JOB IS YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN EACH DAY? In the service industry, we need to ensure our employees are highly motivated. This directly affects the level of service provided to our customers. A happy customer always returns. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH CHALLENGING CUSTOMERS? The customer is always right. In the service industry we need to make sure our clients are always happy. Some can be more detail-oriented, and hence more demanding, but we welcome the challenge to elevate our service to the next level. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO BE A GOOD LEADER? I get my inspiration from my mentor, Negin. She is incredibly passionate about our brands and her attention to detail in every aspect of the business is second to none – which is why we have winning brands in the market. Besides her, I love watching the team at TGC succeed and have passion for the brands and work that they lead. Without them none of this would be possible and I am grateful that I have gotten to know all of them. WHAT IS A PRODUCTIVITY TIP EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW? Being passionate about what you do will best boost productivity. If you lose it, you will no longer be productive or be able to inspire others around you, which will affect the organisation’s productivity. ANY ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE? Be patient, passionate, and persistent. The combination will take you far and high. FIVE MINUTE INTERVIEW LEILA SANII, MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE GROOMING COMPANY 1847 & N.BAR WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR OWN 18-YEAR OLD SELF? Continuous learning is the foundation of elevating your life. Never stop being curious and never stop growing. HOW DO YOU RELAX AND SWITCH OFF FROM WORK? Honestly, I am so obsessed with what I do that I don’t even know how to relax anymore. Having said that, I try to spend time with my family, go to gym and, of course, socialise a lot. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? My 9 -year-old daughter Sophie. There is no love in this world like a child’s love. WHAT IS SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE WOULDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOU? That I am introvert. Might be very hard to believe but I sure am one. QUOTE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY? “When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy” – Rumi. TALK Q+A28 C EO M I D D L E E A S T JA NUA RY 20 19 HE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS PROBABLY the most important thing that has ever happened in human history. In the space of a few centuries, much of the human race, which had long hovered on the brink of starvation, was suddenly lifted into relative security through the power of new technology. But why did this amazing explosion happen? There are many theories, and we’ll probably never have a definitive answer. But there’s a strong argument to be made that communities of smart individuals, exchanging information and ideas, were key. Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Boyle and many other giants of the early scientific revolution are now household names, but they didn’t operate in isolation. They correspond- ed with each other, wrote letters, read each other’s work. Ideas were in the air. Economists William Maloney and Felipe Caicedo have found evidence that countries with the highest densities of engineers were the ones that contrib- uted most to the Industrial Revolution and hence were quicker to benefit. Robert Lucas, the famous macro- economist, put it thus: “The benefits of colleagues from whom we hope to learn are tangible enough to lead us to spend a considerable fraction of our time fighting over who they shall be, and another fraction travelli ng to talk with those we wish we could have as col- leagues but cannot...[This] is common to all the arts and sciences — the ‘crea- tive professions’. All of intellectual history is the history of such effects.” Many other economists have praised the value of smart communi- ties. Richard Florida speaks of the “creative class,” and Garett Jones of the “hive mind.” Get a bunch of smart people together, the theory goes, and good things happen. Enrico Moretti has found evidence that productivity rises more than one-for-one with an increase in a city’s number of college graduates, implying that smart people complement each other. Much of the modern economy is based on this idea. Universities gather scholars in the same place, and aca- demic conferences and publications create communities across distances. Venture capitalists encourage tech- company founders to move to Silicon Valley, Seattle, or Austin, Texas. The government creates national laboratories to bring smart people together in the service of long-term research projects. So far, it seems to have worked. The rich countries of the world have continued to push the boundaries of technology ever outward. China, India T GROWTH HAPPENS WHEN SMART PEOPLE ARE NEIGHBOURS GOVERNMENTS AND COMPANIES EVERYWHERE NEED POLICIES TO GET THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST IN PROXIMITY TO ONE ANOTHER “PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN RICH COUNTRIES HAS BEEN SLOWING. MANY ECONOMISTS ARE WORRIED THAT THE ENGINES OF INNOVATION ARE SPUTTERING.” BUSINESS | PRODUCTIVITYJA NUA RY 20 19 CEO MIDDLE E A ST 29 and other developing countries are now getting in on the act, using similar strategies. But productivity growth in rich countries has been slowing. Technol- ogy is a long-term determinant of productivity, so many economists are naturally worried that the engines of innovation are sputtering. There are signs that technological improvements in established fields are getting more costly to find. That implies two things. First, in order to maintain the pace of innovation in existing areas of technol- ogy, it will help to figure out how to make research more productive. Second, we need to increase the chances of whole new fields of technol- ogy being created, as when informa- tion technology and genetics suddenly emerged in the 20th century. The obvious way to address both of these needs is to double down on the strategy that worked well in past cen- turies — do more to encourage smart people to locate in communities where they can exchange ideas. The internet will hopefully help this happen, espe- cially once machine translation lowers language barriers across countries. But online interaction is still fun- damentally limited, and may remain “GALILEO, KEPLER, NEWTON, BOYLE AND MANY OTHER GIANTS OF THE EARLY SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION ARE NOW HOUSEHOLD NAMES, BUT THEY DIDN’T OPERATE IN ISOLATION. THEY CORRESPONDED WITH EACH OTHER, WROTE LETTERS, READ EACH OTHER’S WORK.” so for a long time to come. Physical proximity, and the random extended interactions it generates, is still impor- tant. That means that concentrating smart people in cities and universities is important. The U.S. and other rich countries can accomplish this if they do three things. First, they need to allow high- skilled immigration to continue and even to increase. Rich countries pro- vide researchers and engineers and thinkers with the most resources, and already have high-class universi- ties and thriving tech hubs. High- skilled immigration simply builds on these existing strengths, letting smart people go where their ideas can be realized most quickly. Second, rich countries should pro- vide ways for smart people to live close to one another. Tech hubs need to provide enough housing so that smart residents can afford to be in densely concentrated areas. Universities should be enlarged, and their research capaci- ties upgraded. Finally, countries need to adopt policies that facilitate the free flow of ideas among their smart people. Harsh restrictions on speech, as China now maintains, are a big impediment to group creativity. And the U.S.’s slow- down in research spending starves smart people of the physical resources they need to innovate. It’s likely that the engines of tomor- row’s innovation will be the same as yesterday’s — namely, dense communi- ties of freely interacting smart people. Rich countries should aim to create ever-better intelligent communities in order to keep pushing out the bounda- ries of human technology. To do oth- erwise, risks stagnation and an end to the remarkable human progress of the last few centuries. Next >