A fine balance

Ahmed BUkhatir, CEO of Promax Middle East, and renowned Nasheed singer

"I am a firm believer in working hard in order to realise my dreams. I personally think the sky is the limit.

I was appointed the CEO of Promax Middle East when I was 29. It was an achievement because I was young and being put through the paces by an international public relations organisation that carried out its routine grilling [in interviews] for a management position and subsequent training.

It selected me from several other candidates vyng for the same position.

If I set my sights on something, I aim to reach for it. In the 30 summers of my life, this has been more or less my motto.

At a time when UAE national young men weren't even thinking of it, I graduated in Management Information Systems from UAE University, Al Ain.

I was the first UAE national to be enrolled in that field and after I graduated, I worked with my father in his construction company. He wanted me to learn about construction.

But at some stage I felt, I was not delivering 100 per cent of what I am capable of, so I decided to move into another field.

I am glad my father, Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, gave me a free hand. I could have been [content] being known as the son of a very illustrious father who had a string of businesses, but I chose to create my own identity from the lessons I had learnt early on in life from my father.

I am sure like every father, he too had hoped that I would join his business, but he gave me the freedom to fly. I respect the fact that he allowed me to bloom on my own. Today, he is very proud of me.

I have been a people's person since childhood

Perhaps, a career in public relations was my destiny. I am comfortable with people – in turn I can make them comfortable and read their mind as well as understand their body language.

Not in an uncanny sort of way but owing to my keen observation, I can tell what people are thinking or how they would react in a given situation.

That is because, to a large extent, many people think or do the same kind of thing or have similar emotions to specific situations in life.

In 2003, the Dutch company, Promax, was looking for a young and dynamic person to be the CEO of their GCC and Middle East operations. I wasn't expecting to be selected.

When they interviewed 16 people and told me they'd come back to me, I thought that was the standard brush-off that I had not made the grade.

It was a pleasant surprise therefore, when a a few day I heard from from them and was be told that they had selected me [for the post].
Management training was held for a year and after completing a worldwide CEO training and passing the necessary interview, I was chosen to be the CEO of Promax ME at 29.

In the course of my training for the job, I learnt a lot. I was sent to various parts of Europe and it gave me plenty of exposure in understanding human behaviour and different workstyles.

I was in the Netherlands for some time as a management trainee and then went to Brussels and later to Madrid.

I also studied media relations in London, government relations-to-public administration in Greece and consumer behaviour and public relations in Geneva.

Apart from the important lessons I learned in my course, I received a thorough grounding in living a down-to-earth frugal life for the two years that I was training in various places.

Here I was, a student staying in a 1m x 1m studio apartment, surviving on shawarmas, sometimes going without breakfast and braving temperatures at 10 degrees Celcius. These conditions toughened me.

I think there is a very humane and practical side to public relations. It is about handling people and images. It is not like advertising that has to eulogise a product to sell it.

In PR you can present a balanced view of the situation, giving both the upside and the downside of the service or organisation.

I think my training years were a steep learning curve for me and I gathered many significant observations on attitudes of people as well as an insight into how and why people behave the
way they do and think in a particular way in a given situation.

[Having said that] I find it difficult to apply and implement all that I've learned and studied in Europe here in the UAE.

Our country needs a higher level of education and awareness which is taking place gradually.

My music has helped me at work

When I am not busy with my work, I am involved with my favourite hobby: Islamic or religious music.

I have several CDs to my credit and have a sizeable fan following in the Middle East. But it is the calm and peace that I derive from music that draws me to it.

I have always been interested in music since my school days. At one time, I offered to help out my brother who opened a studio at home.

I wasn't really satisfied with the quality of music so I decided to sing and cut a CD myself (‘Entasat-al-Layl').

It turned out to become very popular and I subsequently had four music albums to my name. Then I went to London to study voice training. I specialise in Nasheed singing that has its roots in spirituality.

In fact, there are many talented members in my family who are religious artists. I believe everything has a beauty to it and if you are prepared to give your 100 per cent to something, you can see the beauty in it.

I attempt to see that beauty in whatever I take up. As in my music and at work too, I try my best to stay away from negativity and negative-minded people.

You have to invest in your employees

I have inculcated a positive work culture, wherein I accord breathing space to my employees. We all work very hard, but I allow them to chat, discuss among one another and relax a bit.

I believe in being easygoing with people. After all, they all have another life back home – they have a family and I am sympathetic to it.

I feel that as a people manager, if you exploit your employees, they are bound to move out. If I recruit a person, educate him in our workstyle and invest in his/her growth, what is the point then of losing that employee?

I think Dubai still has a long way to go when it comes to implementing global management styles.

For instance, I haven't so far heard of any kind of training that CEOs can undergo here.

My ambition does not end with being the CEO. My profits have to convey [to the management] the fact that I know what I am doing.

However, what I have achieved so far is not enough. My head is buzzing with ideas. In my very first year of being a CEO, I have led a public awareness campaign for osteoporosis.

I call it a national disease for women. While breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women in my country, osteoporosis affects 1 in 3.

The campaign was a tough one [to pull off]. But the reward was that we swept all the industry awards and our project was announced as the best PR campaign and marketing achievement of the year.

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